Personally, I am cautious about dating random people of non-European origin, but specifically for cultural/religious reasons in fact (people in central Europe - but not Eastern Europe - aren't very religious, and this suits me well).

Eh? That doesn't make any sense. Which Eastern Europeans, for example, are more religious than Poles?
--P

Maybe it was phrased weirdly? This is what I meant:
People in central Europe where I live (and in the North, particularly) aren't very religious, and this suits me well because I know religion isn't going to be an issue in the relationship.But this is not true in Eastern Europe.

Where do you live in Central Europe? Poles are incredibly religious, at least by European standards (not necessarily by American standards). Poland is definitely in Central Europe.

And you're saying people in Eastern Europe are religious? Please name one country, I'm quite curious!

--P

Florian is French. He lives in London, England.

I understood what he said perfectly. You're just being logistically anal...........lol

Central Europe is defined as France? How is that possible? Not trying to troll, or be "logistically anal," whatever that means. Really trying to understand how he (and I suppose you?) defines these terms.

--P

By the way, I wonder if Poland is an interesting analogy for the "Black Church" in America? Poles, under communism, used the church to organise and protest, similar to Black Americans under Jim Crow. It's no coincidence that many Black leaders were ministers, including the greatest: MLK. Lech Walesa was (and still is) an extremely devout Catholic, and the church was key to the rise of his Solidarity Movement. The communists were able to crush practically all of civil society, but they couldn't extinguish the church in Poland. And hence its credibility, still today, as one of the few places that opposed totalitarianism.

But as someone who has travelled extensively to Poland over the past 20 years, I can say the grip of the church on Poles is slowly loosening. Poland is fast becoming a modern, successful European nation, and hence the lure of religion is fading. Although it's still much more religious than the rest of Europe. It's a slow process, but the trend is clear.

It will be interesting to see if a similar dynamic will overtake Black Americans. Yes, religion is a cultural thing, which is hard to change. And while communism is dead in Poland, racism lives on in America, although in more subtle forms. So perhaps the church will remain a key pillar of Black society for another generation, at least.

On the other hand, I do believe we'll see a massive exodus from religion among White Americans. More or less following the European model. This is already happening with the young, if you believe recent polls on religious affiliation. Now approx 20% of Americans consider themselves to be non-religious, and atheism - although still stigmatised in America, sadly - is the fastest growing category. These trends will only accelerate, since few people who were not brought up in a religion choose to become religious later in life. Without indoctrination in youth, it's hard to convince a rational person to embrace religion. So I do believe we've reached a tipping point, much like in Europe after the war.

What this means for trends in dating I do not know. Probably little or nothing, since I don't really think religion is important in selecting a significant other for the vast majority of Americans, even those that are religious. Although Black Americans, again, may be the exception to the rule for some time in the future.

--P