ST.PETERSBURG – Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle and St. Petersburg.
No, these aren’t the hottest travel destinations of 2015 – they’re just a handful of the fifteen U.S. cities on Glenn Beck’s list of the most “Godless” places in America.
Although Beck is well known for his outlandish political views, he hasn’t exactly missed the mark this time. His list was essentially copied and pasted from a study by the Public Religion Research Institute, which ranked the fifteen cities he chose to condemn as those with the highest percentage of religiously unaffiliated residents. Ironically enough, most of these cities are known for their liberal mindsets as well – an unlikely coincidence worth mentioning. For Beck and his co-hosts, however, taking a shot at these cities for their progressive nature was only an added benefit rather than the main objective.
While the study may have correctly highlighted the number of religiously unaffiliated residents, it doesn’t account for the myriad of unconventional belief systems that don’t necessarily require affiliation with traditional religious organizations. It seems Beck read “religiously unaffiliated” and assumed this meant “atheist heathens.” He’s clearly missing the point here, considering the fact that many metaphysical spiritualists believe in a God or God-like entity without clinging to any particular religion or belief system.
Clearly it is no surprise that those currently or formerly employed by Fox News see these cities of “non-believers” as modern interpretations of the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. However, for those who appreciate important freedoms such as the separation of church and state, and the ability to live as they choose to –without religious protest and condemnation– this list could be used to highlight the best U.S. cities to visit or settle down in.
St. Petersburg was lucky enough to receive an extra few seconds of recognition as another host of Beck’s radio show reflected on his time as a St. Petersburg resident.
“There’s been trouble in River City for a number of years,” he laughed. “For quite some time.”
As usual, there was no actual argument to back this claim.
Hopefully Beck’s followers take heed of his warning and stay away from what are arguably some of the nicest cities in America. In the end, it only means less political extremists and religious condemnation for us, while the rest of the world continues to fight off progressivism and await the rapture.
