US Journal: In the Solitude of Virginia, Why So Many Crucifixes and Churches?

More than 2000 years ago on the Appian Way leading to Rome, Pompey the Great left human markers hung on a crucifix every few hundred yards. While I'm not certain if each martyr cried, “I’m Spartacus” as Pompey and Crassus rode by, but as I drove the Virginia backroads, I was tempted to yell that referenceevery two or three minutes --- there were so many crucifixes.

We passed Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and churches of other Protestant denominations so often that we quickly lost count. Occasionally, we saw three churches within 200 yards of each other. The McDonald’s, KFC, and Subway signs, the normal companions on a US drive, had been replaced by God's advertising. (Or rather a certain type of God's advertising --- we did see one church for Jehovah’s Witnesses but there was not one mosque, synagogue or Hindu temple. Instead, markers setting out the Ten Commandments were frequently set up in corners of fields.)

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Egypt Special: Why is Religion All Around? (Samir)

Dina Samir writes for EA:

From the ringtones on the mobile phones of Cairo's underground riders --- chiming out the Islamic call to prayer or Christian worship songs --- to religious products such as Islamic books to the preaching of a Muslim lady in the women-only carriage, a stranger can hear and feel religion in the air. Just one ride gives you Egyptians’ “religious mania,” a term used by various intellectuals to refer to an obsession among many Christians and Muslims in Egypt.

But why is religion all around? Professor Madgy Guirguis offers a challenging conclusion, “Since they cannot speak loud about political activism, corruption, inheritance of power, contemplating religion and football are the safe choices left for Egyptians.”

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