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It’s me that the OP has quoted and I went to some effort to make it clear that this was public perception, not a condemnation of him/her personally. And now they attack me by claiming I attacked them. It’s tiresome, this whole business of Christians claiming they’re being attacked. They’re not - they’re being called out for announcing their intolerance, which is an entirely different thing.
And I will say this: you say “Christian” is a beautiful thing, but unfortunately, many people find it a hateful word associated with being judged, being discriminated against, being treated poorly and even being the victim of violence.
A good test is to replace “I’m a Christian” or “I have this religion” with “I judge people” and see whether it still feels like a statement you’re happy to stand behind. You might not feel they’re equivalent, but this is not about your feelings, it’s an advertisement, so it’s about your GUESTS’ perceptions. Unhappy with that perception? Change it. Happy with that perception? Keep it.
Say what you want about your home - it is your home - but don’t ask for feedback and then get annoyed that it wasn’t the feedback you wanted.
Yes, I agree with this. I may have personal beliefs, but will they affect the way I treat people? No. Will they keep me from inviting non-partying, respectful guests into my listing? Heck no. So why should I list a label of what I believe on my listing when people have conflicting beliefs within the same label, and people definitely have received ostracizing from people claiming that label!
So while I believe in personal liberty as far as how you describe your space and what you offer and think that small businesses should have more personal freedom, etc, that does not mean I think they’re right or shouldn’t change. I just think that there’s billions of people in this world, and even billions that claim the same faiths and yet have different ways of exhibiting it. We can’t claim our freedoms without giving a little grace to those who exhibit things in ways we don’t agree with. We sure shouldn’t give our money to places we don’t agree with though, so thankfully we can shop and stay at places that fit us.
Our country has come a long way and still has a ways to go. And we surely shouldn’t be surprised if we hold to a controversial belief and speak it openly if others don’t agree. It’s speaking out and respectfully disagreeing that gets people to see the other side and maybe change their minds. Or even if they don’t change their minds, they can at least understand the other perspective.
It’s hard for me to have family members and friends make comments about opening my space to everyone. But I can’t judge other people for how they live their lives if they’re not harming other people. Why should I put on my listing verbiage that would make them uncomfortable or move on to someplace else when it has no bearing on how I would treat them or whether I would welcome them openly in my home?
We can write things to turn people off, of course - if that’s our aim. We just need to be somewhat aware of how certain things can be perceived, hopefully, without feeling offended at a stranger’s opinion.
And that is the hardest thing about written communication. It’s so easy to read into. It’s even harder to clearly state your opinion without putting in some word or statement that will offend someone without the ability to see each others expressions and hear tone. So I always err on the side of caution with my listing to not put anything on it that could unintendedly turn a lovely guest away. But of course I’m going to put rules that purposely tell people BEHAVIORS I do not allow that would actually affect my home, like parties and dog crap.
I am a Christian and I don’t put that in my listing. I do as the apostle Paul did be “a Greek to a Greek and a Jew to a Jew.” If people go poking around the house, they’ll find plenty of books and artwork that exemplify my faith, but their rooms are void of that. If a door opens to share the Word, cool, but I don’t push for it. Airbnb is a necessary business for me so I don’t mix the two. Oddly enough, about 95% of the people who stay here are Christians - I know cuz they prayer over the breakfast I make them. One thing I did add to my listing after a few months was saying that we often spend our evenings on our golf cart taking care of our farmette and having a few beers. I did that so that possible religious guests could chose not to stay here. However, we got lots more bookings since then! (And, yes, we have hosted several LGBT guests.)
I think this is a good way of being more “transparent” with what type of guests you may be seeking, and or any agenda you may have. It will turn away some, but attract others -
I haven’t read the thread and the comments below yet, but I do wonder why you’re asking for opinions if you’re not prepared to remove the term “Christian” from your listing. So I can only assume you are genuinely interested in what people think.
I think it’s correct that you mention your faith in your listing as it’s so important to you. You will avoid the type of guest you don’t want and you will attract people who like a Christian home and want to be with other like-minded people.
If you’re asking because you wonder if it deters people, my answer would be ‘yes.’ I am a law-abiding family person who feels that in this modern World, religion does nothing but divide. And I would not be comfortable giving my money to, or exposing my children to the type of person who perpetuates division and intolerance - and unfortunately that’s what all religions do. If it’s simply a belief in God that you want to convey, you don’t need to declare “Christian” household - unless of course you’re wishing to avoid people of the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Atheistic beliefs.
And as they should so they can eliminate the possibility of having people they deem undesirable enter their homes. Otherwise you might end up having a queer or an atheist, or even worse, ME
Oh, yes. Are you as tired as I am of people wondering if you’re amoral, because you’re an atheist? I tell them I definitely have a moral code; it’s just not based on fear of punishment.
Perhaps @vhhorne why don’t you do your thing and not try to seek the approval of others? You know you want to mention your faith in your listing and probably are determined to do so, so why open this Pandora’s Box not once, but twice?
Well, I know it’s because I had awesome parents who modeled how to treat others (despite growing up in a rigid religious system, lol).
To change the subject into one more positive, I think it just goes to show how important how we treat others is, because there are too many kids posing as adults who had no kind of example to follow, or adults invested in teaching them how to treat others. And now we all reap the “benefits” of kids who don’t know how to adult now having kids and doing the best they can… It doesn’t matter what religious on non-religious system you grew up in, what matters is how you saw adults treat people different than them and how it shaped how you treat others (either because you wanted to model it or wanted to be different).
After just visiting America - I can say here in the UK religion isn’t as strong in most areas. I have never come across a listing here that has anything about religion or LBGT for that matter. This is just a observation not a dig or anything.
