How often do you go to church

[Seeker]

When my very catholic grandma (nona) comes to town we all have to pretend we still believe that BS and go to the 'sit down/stand up, look at a man in a dress ring bells' house.

[Last Conformist]

I'm not religious, but my parents are, so I end up in church a few times a year.

[Az]

Haven't been to a sinagogue for years. Was praying daily till the age of 11 ( goddamn religious school )

[Sandman]

Too many options, JM.

[aneeshm]

How does a Hindu answer this poll ?

[Az]

Do Hindus have places of religious congregation?

[aneeshm]

Usually , Hindus have a small part of the house designated as a "prayer room" , where you can pray if you want to .

Temples are of various types - you have local temples , where the people of the neighbourhood usually can pray ( but unlike a Church , you can come and go at your leisure - there is no man in funny clothes telling you what do and how to behave , nor are there any fixed timings ) .

Then there are the larger temples , where people from a larger geographical area ( like a town ) usually visit on religious occasions ( every geographical region has quite a few such temples , and different people go to different temples ) .

Then there are the great temples - temples who have been places of worship for thousands of years , and are not today great pilgrimage centres ) .

There is also another type of temple ( strictly speaking , it is not another type of temple , only that it is given a special position in a family ) - usually , families have a certain kuladevata or kuladevi ( kula means family or clan , devata is a god , and devi is a goddess ) , which members of the family usually visit on important occasions . All these are places of congreagtion ( because as long as there is someone else visiting at the same time as you do , it can be called a congregation ) , but there is no compulsion that you go to any of them , nor are there any fixed timings for visits .

Then there is another type of congregation - the Kumbh Mela . The Wiki can explain if better than I can .


So tell me , how can someone like me , from a non-Semitic religion with no concept of "organised congregation of the faithful" , answer such a question ? Won't it be better for me to abstain , instead of giving an answer which makes no sense when converted from my context to yours ?

[Zevico]

aneeshm: well then the question can be 'translated' to mean--
Do you have a prayer room? How often do you use it?
Do you ever go to a temple? How often?
Pick whichever is relevant (as presumably both can apply or are somehow 'equivalent'?)
As for me, I haven't been to a synagogue for 2 years, and 3 years before that. I'm proud of that, but I think I'll extend it a bit more in the future--make it a decade, at the least. Set my sights high and all that.

[aneeshm]

We do have a prayer room . It is used daily , twice a day ( though prayers are short - usually less than a minute ) .

We visit temples very infrequently - usually a few times every year , or we visit the great temples on vacations .

[Snotty]

I dont go to church (except for the architecture) .

I wasnt forced to go as a kid, but went for a little while with my cub scout leaders. There was no pressure to go and no pressure when I didnt want to go anymore

its probably why I have grown up with a healthy respect for modern religion. Too many of my friends were forced and now have somewhat of a backlash against religion in one way or another

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by aneeshm
Temples are of various types - you have local temples , where the people of the neighbourhood usually can pray ( but unlike a Church , you can come and go at your leisure - there is no man in funny clothes telling you what do and how to behave , nor are there any fixed timings ) .

You can come and go in a church if you want. There aren't people guarding the entrances or anything. At least Catholic churches. There are smaller shrines and such in the church, and people come in and out throughout the week to pray by themselves, or even to pray in the main sanctuary. As long as there isn't something else going on (like a wedding, or church service), then there is no problem coming in and praying on your own.

[Alexander's Horse]

I go to church every week. I like going to church.

[Sava]

the only times I have to go in a church are for weddings or something... and once a year for slava

but it's not by choice

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by aneeshm
Usually , Hindus have a small part of the house designated as a "prayer room" , where you can pray if you want to .

Temples are of various types - you have local temples , where the people of the neighbourhood usually can pray ( but unlike a Church , you can come and go at your leisure - there is no man in funny clothes telling you what do and how to behave , nor are there any fixed timings ) .

Then there are the larger temples , where people from a larger geographical area ( like a town ) usually visit on religious occasions ( every geographical region has quite a few such temples , and different people go to different temples ) .

Then there are the great temples - temples who have been places of worship for thousands of years , and are not today great pilgrimage centres ) .

There is also another type of temple ( strictly speaking , it is not another type of temple , only that it is given a special position in a family ) - usually , families have a certain kuladevata or kuladevi ( kula means family or clan , devata is a god , and devi is a goddess ) , which members of the family usually visit on important occasions . All these are places of congreagtion ( because as long as there is someone else visiting at the same time as you do , it can be called a congregation ) , but there is no compulsion that you go to any of them , nor are there any fixed timings for visits .

Then there is another type of congregation - the Kumbh Mela . The Wiki can explain if better than I can .


So tell me , how can someone like me , from a non-Semitic religion with no concept of "organised congregation of the faithful" , answer such a question ? Won't it be better for me to abstain , instead of giving an answer which makes no sense when converted from my context to yours ?

how often do you go to temples?

I can go to church whenever I want.. just sometimes there isn't a group of people their to worship with (and their generally is fixed timings when people congregate)

JM

[Jon Miller]

Christians pray whenever, wherever they want

I pray often in bed, or when I am walking to school, or whenever I wish to

JM