Would you be comfortable with an Indic temple built in your neighbourhood?

What is your opinion of an Indic temple coming up in your neighbourhood?

  • Positive (I'd want it)

    Votes: 11 17.5%
  • Neutral, leaning towards positive

    Votes: 15 23.8%
  • Completely Netural

    Votes: 29 46.0%
  • Neutral, leaning towards negative

    Votes: 2 3.2%
  • Negative

    Votes: 6 9.5%
  • Giant Radioactive Idol! (Other)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    63
Sorry, but not possible. Zoroastrians are rather strict that way.

They don't allow non-Zoroastrians into their temples. Nor do they accept converts. Even half-bloods (people who are Zoroastrian, but have one non-Zoroastrian parent) are not allowed in. Basically, you have to be pure-blooded ethnic Persian AND Zoroastrian, AND both parents have to be Zoroastrian, in order to gain entry.

Because of this (rather ********) policy, the community is dwindling away. Only about 70,000 are left in India, and they'll probably die out in a few generations. And they're the last of the "real" Persians. :(

Well i dont know why they dont change thier policy, common sense says that its going to die out in the future if they dont.
 
Well i dont know why they dont change thier policy, common sense says that its going to die out in the future if they dont.

They're down to only 70,000, but that still hasn't enough to shock them. It seems only external help can aid them now, and for that we'll have to look westwards, to the few surviving Zoroastrian communities in Iran.

EDIT: Seems that it should be the Iranians who should be looking to Indian Parsees for help. Parsees in Indian number around 70,000, while those in Iran number only 20,000. Seems that in a few generations, one of the two oldest Aryan religions, and also the mother of the monotheistic religion, will be gone. :(
 
Sorry, but not possible. Zoroastrians are rather strict that way.

They don't allow non-Zoroastrians into their temples. Nor do they accept converts. Even half-bloods (people who are Zoroastrian, but have one non-Zoroastrian parent) are not allowed in. Basically, you have to be pure-blooded ethnic Persian AND Zoroastrian, AND both parents have to be Zoroastrian, in order to gain entry.
Apparently this is true of Indian Parsis, but Wiki says that Zoroastrians in Iran, Europe, and the Americas are more open to accepting converts. I guess it hasn't been tested here, though, because Canada doesn't have any actual temples.
 
LucyDuke said:
I think religious institutions should pay taxes.

And wal-mart hardly contributes positively to a community. Nice try though.

What about Low Prices? At Wal-Mart its the law! That's a positive contribution...
 
If there is enough people in the community who wants it, I would be comfortable with it.

Not sure if they would mind Catholic visitors though :blush:. (And no, I'm not going to evangicalize)
 
What about Low Prices? At Wal-Mart its the law! That's a positive contribution...

Yep, low prices, low wages, and low quality to boot. What a valuable contribution!

I don't want to steer aneeshm's thread to wal-mart, though. I would prefer a temple to a wal-mart.
 
Mobboss, it doesnt take half a brain to know the a mosque in the U.S is nowhere near the same enviroment is one in downtown baghdad.

Mosques do not have magnets that attract suicide bombers in otherwords.

Did you not see the links? Its not just Baghdad.

But I acknowledge your point. Thats today. Once the dems have us retreat in Iraq, who knows what the future may hold.

Personally, I wouldnt want to take the chance.
 
My answer is the same as others. I want a high quality piece of architecture. As an atheist, the greatest value religion can bring me is beautiful art and architecture. I would love if someone built something like those modern Indian temples Aneeshm posted in the other thread. Just beautiful. Perhaps a smaller scale building for a neighbourhood like mine, but still. I would want something that I could enjoy looking at when I leave my house in the morning.
 
The standards of cleanliness required by Hinduism rather preclude that from happening. ;)
The Hindu temples I've been to (and I've been to far too many...) have all been just as litter-prone and unkempt as any Church, Mosque or secular Community Centre in the area. Honestly, there's no difference between them a Hindu temple and a Community Centre :)
 
Maybe Swedes are just congenially tidy, but none of the churches I've had reason to frequent could be described as litter-prone or unkempt, except for the one on whose grounds irreligious highschooler tend to congregate in summmer.
 
Why not?
However, due to the dissappearingly small number of Hindi people in my neighbourhood, it would probably be a waste. Better to build in what is considered "downtown" around here, as that is mostly where you'll find the refugees and immigrants - the ethnical Norwegian Hinduists wouldn't mind, as they would see the sense in having the temple located close to the larger concentration of temple-goers.
 
Same here. The only real garbage I see around religious places of worship were caused by the teenagers. Darn teenagers, them and their the rock and the roll.

Back on topic! My home town all ready has a Hindu temple. It's.. honestly nothing specular. It's actually just the old YMCA building attached with swimming pool. After buying it, instead of redecorating it, they decided to just slap a sign outside saying "Hindu temple" and called it that. With that said, it doesn't bother EXCEPT during their holidays. Don't get me wrong, but as a rule it generally brings around 1,000 Indians (most of whom are elderly women who shouldn't be driving) from all over here to celebrate. This causes serious traffic along main street whenever this happens, and is extremely annoying.

But other that? I really don't care. I mean, it could be worse.

hmm. I should note, the my town generally sees it the same way. I do wonder, however, that had the temple been taller, more discernible, and more "Indian", if people would still not mind?
 
I could be a mosque!
... in which case you'd be unable to post in this thread, and have a guy crawl on top of you and shout "Allahu Akbar!" several times a day.

Why are mosques supposed to be so bad?
I personally know a few Muslims (You could count them on one hand, due to the lack of Muslims in my general area), and none of them ever exhibited suicidal or homicidal behaviour. My experience is that Muslims are really quite like Christians of the more conservative kind.

However, due to the noise, I don't want a mosque in my neighbourhood, in the same way I resent the local church.
 
Firstly, I kinda meant to say "it could be.." (just to clear things up :blush: )

Secondly, I was trying to make a joke. But after editing all my countless grammatical mistakes, I decided to cut that joke out in the process. I really wouldn't have a problem with it either way.

The noise though is an interesting point. The bells don't really bother me, but a explicit chant to prayer? I don't really think they're the same. But I think that's all kinda off topic.
 
Firstly, I kinda meant to say "it could be.." (just to clear things up :blush: )
I realized, but the opportunity was too good to pass up, wouldn't you say ;) ?

The noise though is an interesting point. The bells don't really bother me, but a explicit chant to prayer? I don't really think they're the same. But I think that's all kinda off topic.
It's not the intent or form of the noise that bothers me personally, but the volume, and there I believe the bells are the worse sinners.
 
If this brought some Indian babes to my neighborhood, I would be willing to donate... ;)
 
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