There are no ashtrays outside of churches. This is because no one in Christian culture smokes.* When a Christian culture member sees someone smoking they automatically assume, consciously or subconsciously, that that person is not saved. The reasons for this are not entirely clear.

Occasionally a member of Christian culture will have a drink, but not a smoke. The drinking Christian enjoys talking about wine and feels relevant because he knows things about wine. He is careful though to not make another Christian “stumble” by seeing him drink, unless their drinking has been adequately discussed with the non-drinker. This special breed of Christian will be discussed further in a future post (as will “stumbling”).

It is not entirely clear why smoking is so taboo in Christian culture. On one hand, Christians hold the belief that your body is the temple of God and you should not defile the temple with something unhealthy. On the other hand, Christian culture members are not known for their cardiovascular fitness. They are especially not known for their cardiovascular fitness in the Bible belt. When church lets out it’s a mad dash for the Cracker Barrel. Seriously, watch out.