I am damned if I know. For a start, there is only a very weak Christian tradition of open discussion, and of discussing reactions to the real world in the context of religious principles. And there is an even weaker tradition when it comes to open discussion of our society in that context. Evangelicals, for example, will stand in righteous zeal with posters denouncing abortion - but wouldn't dream of opposing the mass murder of war. Then, it's praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
There is (or was) such a tradition of discussion in Judaism. It has suffered a good deal from pressures imposed by the Zionist lobby - very noticeable in the Cote St. Luc newspaper, and in the Eleanor London Library (now a place that would have Eleanor London spitting nails'.
People want to be accepted. Having an informed opinion or being in any way critical puts their acceptability at risk. That is very, very noticeable in Atlantic Canada. And I've found it generally true of church-goers, too many of whom equate church-going with respectability - and not much more than that.
Synagogues, most of them in my experience, were very open to discussion. I don't know whether that's still true.
when I gave a speech in a church, I noticed that the audience wanted, essentially, entertainment. When I gave one in a synagogue, I knew I had better have something to spark debate.
Given the nature of our society, going to church should not make one respectable. it should make one a strong critic of our society and, therefore, quite unrespectable.
Oh, how I miss the old, Jewish community of Montreal!
I write a daily blog about the appalling quality of our local newspapers. It has a steady following - though the following is actually bigger in Germany and Russia than in Canada. Go figure.
And I get very few comments, thought I know I have hundreds of readers here in New Brunswick. And I've learned I get few comments because people are afraid of their names being associated with criticism. And, even of the few comments, most don't give their real names.