Sending Religious Themed Cards

Hello,

I have some cards of Hindu Gods. They don’t have any religious message, but only illustration pictures with some information about the photo, at the back.

As of now, I have sent these cards only through direct swaps. I am a bit worried about sending such cards on official Postcrossing in fear of upsetting anyone.

I would never send them to any profile, which says no religious cards. But, there are some, which ask for cards related to culture/heritage. Would my cards be considered part of Indian culture? Or should I only stick to more secular elements and reserve these cards, which especially ask for cards about religion/Gods?

Happy Postcrossing,
Manish.

12 Likes

I bet if you ask 10 Postcrossers, you will get 10 different answers :wink:

Personally I’m not a religious person at all, but I consider religions to be part of cultures and thus I’m interested in them as long as they show parts of that religions (and maybe some general explanation), even personal views, experiences etc - but as soon as there is a feeling of the main purpose being to proselytize I’m out (e.g. bible verse on Christian postcards). It’s really hard to describe!

In short: I’d love to receive a card with a Hindu God on it, with a short explanation of what they’re standing for, how important they are / were in daily life of people etc :slight_smile: Or rituals connected with them!

29 Likes

Beautiful cards. I would love to receive one of them :slight_smile:
But I wouldn’t send religious cards unless specifically asked for. There are too many people who are very sensitive about religion theme.

i would only send to people who say they are ok with religious cards

1 Like

And, @Cassiopheia, I would add … as long as the sender is not trying to convert me, I think it’s very interesting to receive any card that tells me something that I either no nothing about, or little about.
Postcrossing is one of the most interesting places where we can learn from each other.
So, send away Manish! And explain why the card is interesting; after all, there is some beautiful art related to religious belief systems. History and culture and art combined.
Unless … someone specifically states “no religion”.

10 Likes

Yes, I meant that not only for the picture but the message as well! :slight_smile:

2 Likes

It’s a hard one,

I don’t specifically ask for religious postcards, but in interested in Religious Architecture and like illustrations.

I have stained glassed windows in my suggestions list, and on occasions have recieved some stunning church postcards, usually depicting a Nativty scene.

Being from an Asian background myself, I also have a bundle of Hindu God’s postcards that oneday will match the appropriate postcrosser.
Something different.

Here are some of examples:

I’m not overly keen on religious quotes postcard, and I understand that some may not like reglious postcards, we don’t want to be seen enforcing our views on someone.

3 Likes

I would feel free to send these cards to people who say religious is okay and to those who do not mention religion at all. I often come across profiles that include “no religious” or “no spiders” (for example), and I honor those requests. But if a subject is not listed as a “no” I assume it is okay. As has been said before, there is a lot of beauty in religious images and buildings, and a lot that can be learned from other cultures.

10 Likes

I would be thrilled to receive such cards :two_hearts:

In general, I think that if the purpose is cultural sharing, it’s fine. Of course (as others have said), once there’s any element of proselytizing, it turns into something else much less pleasant, and I would not enjoy it. But as long as the sharing is respectful and doesn’t involve trying to change the recipient in some way, it is 100% good. I love it when Postcrossing gives me the chance to learn something new about the sender’s life and culture!

8 Likes

I would take the more narrow approach. The “Cultural” thing is too broad in my opinion. Art/Painting could be considered cultural. Even so, I would not care for religious art, especially art that depicted falsehoods. Again, only my viewpoint.

2 Likes

I think those would be fine to send, and appreciated by most recipients :slightly_smiling_face:

You may want to avoid sending them to people who go out of their way to mention their own religion in their profile, for example someone who writes: “I’m a proud Christian, and I collect cards of bible verses. . .” might be less likely to appreciate a card depicting a Hindu God. And as others have pointed out, same for people who ask for “no religion, please.”

But I think in general, if a profile says nothing one way or another about religion, those cards are a beautiful representation of culture, and perfectly fine to send.

4 Likes

I have seen someone mentioned in her profile on a non-Postcrossing site, like, NO cards of Buddhism, Islamic, Shintoism, and Hinduism. Unless people mention like that or state no to religious cards, I think it is fine to send Hindu Gods cards, too, generally.

I think they are beautiful artworks and I would love to receive them more myself. :slight_smile:

3 Likes

I think they would be terrific

1 Like

So hopefully a balanced answer… Using the person’s profile should help determine if they are absolutely opposed to anything religious, asking for that, or give no opinion. I would follow that as best as I can. That said, you are free to send what you have on hand and not beholden to meet “the demands of the profile”. It is very considerate of you to not want to offend or upset anyone and it sounds like you have good judgement in that respect.

Cassiopheia was spot on - ask 10 people, get 10 answers. My answer, for kicks… I actually do request postcards of churches, mosques, temples, etc, because I love marvelous buildings. As far as other religious themes, I have my own faith, and am not “put out” when someone shares something from a different faith. I enjoy learning about how other people think and believe. I also have a few Christian themed cards in my “sending box” just in case someone asks for that, but I never send those unless someone does.

Add images

4 Likes

I would enjoy these cards if I receive one. It’s hard to describe but “showing local culture, art, history, feature etc” is different from “trying to convert your belief”, the latter type often make people feel uncomfortable, and these cards in my mind belong to the former type.

8 Likes

I think religions are part of cultures & part of what can be welcomed & explored on Postcrossing.

There are many, many profiles that welcome cultural cards specific to religion - I’d send them to those profiles & skip the ones that explicitly say they’d not interested in religious cards.

1 Like

I’d love to get such awesome postcards!!

Myself, I am not a religious person as well, but I don’t mind receiving or sending religious postcards. Religion is a very important part of the culture of a country or of people. As I am keen on learning from other culture, I’m also keen on learning about other religions.

If I am not interested, it just takes me a few minutes to read the text on the backside of the card. If I am, then I can do some more research online. That’s all up to me, so I don’t feel offended as well.

And I also like beautiful religious art themes, for example architecture.

2 Likes

I’ve sent quite a few cards that could be deemed as religious, despite the fact I’m not religious myself. Britain is a Christian nation, and so it is quite hard to escape Christianity! From Christmas to prayers and churches, there’s all sorts of symbolism dotted around our country and culture.

If someone specifically asked not to be sent religious cards, of course I’d avoid sending them, but the line can be quite subtle between religious and non-.

Here’s a few examples of mine:

A prayer

York Minster (a cathedral)

Virgin Mary painting

4 Likes

This is a bit of a curly one that comes up for me from time to time, especially as the Christmas season rolls around. Most cards I have in stock aren’t religious at all, however I do have some Christmas meetup cards and Christmas maxicards. Unless a profile says they don’t want any Christmas or religious cards at all, I will send the following:

  • Christmas meetup (secular only)
  • Christmas maxicard (but if the user requests secular Christmas only, I wouldn’t send one with a picture of anyone like Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary or the Magi)
  • City views where religious building is part of the view but not the focus

I have in the past had some maxicards with a pope on and was always very careful about who I sent these to. I only sent them to people who explicitly mentioned they were Catholics on their profile, or who explicitly requested cards relating to religious leaders/religious themes.

2 Likes

In my opinion, religion is of course part of culture! And the goal of Postcrossing is to send postcards that people will appreciate, and avoid those who would potentially offend them. I don’t think anyone would be offended to receive a religious postcard, excepted maybe if this is a proselytizing card.

1 Like