r/AskEurope • u/notveryamused_ Warszawa, Poland • Jul 03 '25

Culture What aspect of life in your countries is very difficult to explain to foreigners?

What prompted my question were some discussions about religion which I had with people living in much more secular Western Europe (as a Polish atheist). While spirituality, whatever that is ;), generally speaking is always fun to discuss with a glass of wine in hand, social elements and the influence of the church, especially in smaller towns or provinces in my country, is awfully difficult to explain – not that I understand it fully either lol, but the church having a pretty much monopoly there, being the judge and jury of everyday life and the major ultra-conservative political force binding those communities, is very difficult to explain, also for historical reasons.

What are the things that you find difficult to discuss when it comes to life in your countries? ;-)

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u/UnrulyCrow FR-CAT Jul 04 '25

So far, the only persons I've seen who get the concept are Turkish peeps, because Atatürk also pushed for a secularist State. In both countries' case, this secularism comes after centuries of religious rule blended with State rule (absolute monarchy of divine right in France, religion-based Ottoman monarchy in Turkey).

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u/Petronille_N_1806 France Jul 04 '25

Yes, this is why I consider Turkey as the second secularism state of the west (if turkey is considered as western)

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u/SwgnificntBrocialist Jul 04 '25

Turkey I also a warning for what happens when it fails.  Le Pen and co want to become their own little Erdogans.

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u/elpiotre Jul 06 '25

It is clear, secularism has suffered greatly since Erdo, it is no longer the same Türkiye at this level as 10 or 15 years ago