I took that silly "What part of Cincinnati are you really from?" Facebook quizzes yesterday (I got Northern Kentucky, which I find interesting...), and one of the questions was the following:

I grew up...?

• Presbyterian
• Catholic
• Baptist
• Methodist
• Democratic
  

I found this particular question to be telling and interesting in a couple of ways. I believe this quiz to have been written by a Christian, Republican West-sider. Here's why.

1) In a list of religious affiliations, "Democratic" comes up as a choice. Perhaps Democrats do cling to political affiliation as a religion, as many of us tend to be non-religious, non-practicing, or Only-Religious-on-Holidays kind of people. Or perhaps the assumption is that we're all Godless and lost, which is what the Christian Republicans generally think of us. :-) I also know that many Democrats (as many Republicans, but that's neither here nor there) follow their political affiliations blindly, as do many religious believers. So what was this author trying to get at?

2) Of the religions noted above, nowhere does "Jewish" appear. I find this particularly strange, as Cincinnati is one of the birthplaces of Reform Judaism. This leads me to "West-sider" because, by and large, the temples in Cincy are located on the East Side (where more of the "new money" is, perhaps coincidentally and perhaps not), so Judaism may not have been nearly as prevalent on the West Side and it is on the East. And, we can also assume that the author was not Jewish or Agnostic/atheist, or these possible answers would have inevitably been listed.

3) Also, nowhere in this quiz was there anything about living downtown (NO not around UC!) or Over-the-Rhine, as I guess most Cincinnatians still don't realize that people actually LIVE there...

Also, in a list of Cincinnati-style chilis, "Chili from Wendy's" was listed, but Gold Star was not?!?!? Any insights??