[Serious] Questions about Belief and Personal Identity

[arewethereyet]

I tried the 'I'm not particularly religious' tack when questioned about my religious stance by people whose business it wasn't. However, I live in South Carolina and they rarely settled for that answer, they almost always wanted to know particulars. So for years  when asked what church I go to I said I don't go to church, I'm an atheist. Then I got involved with a Untiarian Universalist fellowship, so now I say I go to that sometimes. The conversation is much less likely to turn personal and more likely to turn to 'what's a Unitarian Universalist'?

When I was in SC my son played baseball and football so I met a lot of the other parents.  I noticed that after the exchange of names the next step was about your church affiliation...always.  I always found it rather rude.  My usual answer was that I was raised Catholic and with enough of the typically Southern flavors of faith...that was enough said.