Christian Signatures on MDC

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I haven't been on MDC in a few years but have been back on the boards a bit lately and feel as though there are more Christian signatures on the boards than there were a few years ago.

Is there a greater number of Christians on the board these days or are people announcing their Christianity in their signatures more than they used to?

Also, if you have a Christian signature, why? Is this something decided as a group or is it just that individual Christians just like having that in their signature. If it is true that more Christians than other religious or non-religious people have signatures declaring their faith or lack there of, what do you think the impact of so many Christian signatures is on the board?

[AngelBee]

I think people put things in their siggies that are important to them at the time they write the siggy. It makes perfect sense that people would put their faith (regardless of what religion it is) in their siggy. It is an important part of who they are.

I do not currently have a "Christian signature" but any time in the past 5 years that I have, it has been solely by my choice. I have never discussed with other members putting our faith in our siggy.

I also have never thought of the impact nor have I ever tried to evangilize by having a christian siggy.

I have simply been offering pieces of myself so that others may better understand who the person posting is.

[Tradd]

Originally Posted by IdentityCrisisMama

Also, if you have a Christian signature, why? Is this something decided as a group or is it just that individual Christians just like having that in their signature. If it is true that more Christians than other religious or non-religious people have signatures declaring their faith or lack there of, what do you think the impact of so many Christian signatures is on the board?

I see plenty of pagan/nature-based spirituality folks mention that in their signatures. Same thing with Muslim and Jewish mamas. Perhaps you should ask these folks why they mention their spirituality in their signatures.

As the PP said, people mention the things that are important to them.

[crunchy_mommy]

Yeah when I wrote my signature I just put in the things that were important/'identifying' to me -- I guess just to kind of summarize who I am & what kind of lifestyle we live? Just giving a little glimpse into "me" & I try to remain largely anonymous for safety reasons so I can only share so much.

Evangelizing was not something that even occured to me & I don't know anyone on here well enough to decide ANYTHING as a group but especially not my signature. I don't know if there are more Christians on here than in the past, I've only been on here for a year or two, but I do notice lots of non-Christian but spiritual signatures as well.

I am genuinely curious, do you find the signature offensive? And if so, why?

[IdentityCrisisMama]

You know, I used to see more religions in signatures but I've been thinking about how I used to use MDC and it's way different than what I'm doing now. I'm mostly in the pregnancy forum. One of the things I used to like about MDC is that there really was quite a bit of spiritual diversity. Perhaps it is still there and I am either being bias or just happen to see many more Christian signatures.

I don't find the religious signatures offensive but I did feel a bit put off by primarily seeing Christian religious signatures. I suppose I could be a bit sensitive these days in general about that because I moved to a more predominantly Christian part of the US and feel as though I never see any other kinds of religious bumper stickers in my town and I feel more pressure for not being Christian. Then, I came to my old home of amazing diverse mamas and felt like that had changed as well. That's why I asked...is it just me?

Honestly, it isn't that I mind anyone expressing their religion...it's that I guess I would mind if there was just one majority being expressed.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

The more I think about this the more I am realizing that the issue of where I live and what I see when I'm out in my town is really tied to how I am viewing signatures on MDC. I feel as though I see outward signs of Christian expression very often (bumper stickers, t-shirts and stuff like that). More so than with other religions. I have absolutely no data on that but it's what I'm seeing.

[lolar2]

Plenty of us non-Christians are still around, as far as I can tell.

[crunchy_mommy]

Yeah I think there are lots of non-Christians here still. I actually usually feel like I'm the minority as a Catholic on here -- I can only recall one or 2 other mamas mentioning being Catholic. In my 'real life' mom's group there are 80 or 90 moms and I don't think any of them are Catholic and most of them aren't Christian. I do know how it feels to be the odd one out.

ETA: I think it all goes back to noticing differences more than similarities -- it's automatic to look for differences... I find myself doing it so often, when in reality we are all much more the same than different.

[tracymom1]

I am Jewish, but do not cover my hair so there really isn't any smiley devoted to Jews - but if there was one I would probably use it.

I never thought to just write something like "jewish mother to DS...etc..." but I think that is because on this board I identify as a mother more than anything else so that is what my siggy reflects.

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by IdentityCrisisMama

The more I think about this the more I am realizing that the issue of where I live and what I see when I'm out in my town is really tied to how I am viewing signatures on MDC. I feel as though I see outward signs of Christian expression very often (bumper stickers, t-shirts and stuff like that). More so than with other religions. I have absolutely no data on that but it's what I'm seeing.

(a) The U.S. is mostly Christian, so that will tend to be the case.
(b) Non-Christian Americans are more likely to be leery of the possibility of meeting a negative response or otherwise being stereotyped when their affiliation is obvious, so, again, that will tend to be the case.

[treeoflife3]

I'm not Christian I actually don't identify with any faith with no plans or desire of trying to find one to practice/believe in.

[Bluegoat]

I think our setting really affects how we notice these things. I never really thought about putting my religion in my signature, but where I live I would be just as likely to get negative feedback for being a Christian. I am sometimes a bit hesitant to tell people my religion before I get an idea how they might react.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Thanks everyone! It already clears up some of my worry to be able to ask a rather tough question and get Christians and non-Christians alike answer so reasonably.

I totally agree with the idea that we "see what we're looking for" and with the idea that we tend to see differences rather than similarities.

I do feel better hearing from some mamas about why they put Christian signatures (if I see a large percentage of another religion, Tradd, I'll ask them too). That it's just what's important in your life at the time. I'll admit that because the result for me was making MDC seem like it had become "mostly Christian" I wondered if that was the intent. I will admit that I still have this feeling that Christians are more likely to express their faith in this way than other religions but I don't want to be one of those people who keep asking until they get the answer they want.

Thank you all for your input!! Perhaps I will one day venture back into some of the other forums and see that I have no idea what I'm talking about.

[wombatclay]

I love the diversity of MDC, and how informative/helpful this community is! Please remember that any questions or concerns can be sent to a moderator via PM. (well, almost any question or concern... I have no clue what the winning lotto numbers will be, or where to find Hoffa, or how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop and I'm pretty sure the other mods are with me on this But questions about MDC policy, practice, and guidelines we can do you for.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In line with similarities/differences I've noticed myself that once I'm aware of something I suddenly see whatever it might be everywhere. Like, before I got pregnant I never saw pregnant women around town. But once I was pregnant there seemed to be another mother-to-be in every bus shelter, corner, cafe, store, public restroom, library, and park! And I remember reading the Illuminati trilogy in college and suddenly seeing the symbols/number mentioned in the book on everything. So if something has brought a specific type of "public display of religion" to the top of your mind then it makes sense that you'll start finding similar things everywhere.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Yes, very true WC! If I get obsessed with this issue, I'll keep track over the course of a week or so and post here. I don't anticipate getting obsessed though! Although, a fun car game to play with DC could be keeping track of bumper-stickers.

BTW, I have a friend who did find out how many kicks it takes to get to the center of a tootsy roll pop. I think it was something like 3000.

[lilyka]

Your friend has a lot of time on her hands.....

As for the signature issue...I am always surprised at what random/very personal information people have in the signatures. I have been noticing MDC becoming more vocally Christian over the last few years. It used to feel like I was the only one. And because of that always was worried people would disregard my point of view if they knew I was a conservative Christian. But as we come out of the wood work I think people feel more comfortable being who they are and owning that. But I have also been noticing more Muslim and Jewish mothers as well. And more conservative and/or devout of all three faiths. I think especially among those serious about their faith they may mention it because it seems pertinent to their world view. And it is for me. I like to know what religious world view a person is coming from when weighing their perspective. It is at least as important as weather or not we are single or married or have children with this or that diagnosis, or how those children came to be a part of our family, what we eat or what our pets eat or any of the other random personal information we can squeeze into two lines. But all these random bits and pieces of peoples lives, those things we would never blurt out in public without it fitting in the conversation or make into a T shirt for random strangers to see serves as a short cut here to hooking up to our communities within this very large community.

[lilyka]

oh good grief, now I am tempted to make a really random signature with a million useless personal tidbits about myself.....thanks for putting that in my head.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by lilyka

And because of that always was worried people would disregard my point of view if they knew I was a conservative Christian.

This is how I feel & I hesitated to put that I'm Catholic in my sig because of it. But I did WANT a sig (it helps me recognize people I 'talk' to regularly) and if I was going to include other personal info then I definitely had to include my religion because it is way more important to me than what I eat or how I parent. I have seen some of my comments criticized because of it but oh well, I guess that comes with the territory.

Religion is something I always hesitate to bring up in real life for fear of offending people, and I wish I felt comfortable enough to ask people what religion they are, what it means to them, etc. but I'm really paranoid about offending them or making them feel alienated because they are not religious or something.

[CatsCradle]

[QUOTE]

As for the signature issue...I am always surprised at what random/very personal information people have in the signatures. I have been noticing MDC becoming more vocally Christian over the last few years. It used to feel like I was the only one. And because of that always was worried people would disregard my point of view if they knew I was a conservative Christian.

It is interesting that you bring that up, Lilyka. As a non-Christian who grew up in a predominately conservative Christian area of the country, I have to admit that I have feelings of defensiveness when I come to MDC and see the amount of Christians posting here. In essence, it is not about Christianity itself but my own experiences and the current political climate. Sometimes it is very hard to separate the present political climate from people who I can truly connect with on a parenting level. I grew up in an area and "culture" where AP and Christianity were not compatible. There are some parental values that I hold dear that seemed to be undermined by the loud voices in the "Christian" political community. As an outsider, it is hard to separate the people who I hold common ground with and the people who annoy me.

That being said, one thing that has been enlightening about MDC is that I have been encouraged by the number of professed Christians who I do agree with on parenting principles as well as other life issues. I do try to keep an open mind and hope I can continue to do so.

[lovebeingamomma]

I'd like to know where all these Christian posts are! Maybe because I'm from a very liberal state and I hang out in that tribe forum that I don't see them...but honestly I notice very few conservative Christian anything (expect the few Christian tribes). I happen to not have a siggy right now but if I did it would say born-again Christian. It would be interesting to know the actual percentage of Christian vs. other religion, or non-religious. And there are sooo many Christian veiwpoints. Take just the core, "CHRISTian" and yeah there are a lot.