Law-Forums.org

[bearchan]

It is not mendatory that you get your seat back if you just left it for couple of minutes and intended to come back. but it is natural to claim so. If talk about manners if a person left a seat and comes back its his seat if you had seen him going out and coming back. otherwise you cant know.

[merla15]

It is crazy to think that you own a seat for any lenght of time in a public place like a church. It is just wrong to want to show ownership for a church seat now thta is just not "godly". There are many times when it is appropriate to claim a seat in the public domain such as in the Theatre or at a resturuant but in church nooo! that is just wrong.

[trucker]

This is so true. There are only a few people at church that have assigned seats and that is the Pastor, Worship Leader, Organist and Piano Player. And I surely would not want one of those seats. We have been going to the same church for 12 years and yes we sit in the same spot, but if someone new was there I would find a new spot, no big deal. As someone mentioned earlier God can hear you no matter where you sit.

[caffar]

having been a church attendee and member for many years I need to tell you that anyone who believes a church is a public place is sadly mistaken. Churches are open to visitors but they are not public places. The are privately owned by the church and congregation at that church. Ask any pastormost will tell you they are not public. There were people who came to church a few times who said similar things about the church being a public place. Our pastors told them churches are not public any more than a private home is public. if they are public then the state could tax them and tell them what to say in sermons. There is a seperation of church and state for a reason. Most who come attend by invitation via other members or by the church sending out an invitation for a specific time like a revival. Most churches do have some seating that is assigned or appointed and regular members know this and don't take that area of seating that is for the pianist, the pastor, the choir, the ushers, the sound board operator and their families. Or at times for some elderly people who have health problems. Not all churches put out reserved signs as they should either. The members know who sits there and why and most tell guests not to sit there but not always. There is often seats for greeters to sit at too and watch for late comers to make them welcome and help them find seating. 90% of church seating is available for people to sit where they want but about 10% is not in most churches.

[francisco]

hi there! yes, it's inappropriate to claim a seat is yours, especially in church. oh, i remember a time though when i was still about 9 years old. i was in a moviehouse with my 70 year old grandmother and auntie. they both went to the restroom so i watched over their seats. a man came to sit on my grandmother's seat, so i said, "sorry, somebody's sitting here." the guy said, "where? i don't see anyone!" and he sat on my granny's seat! we had to go out because i was spooked and my granny and auntie were scared by the incident! besides, he rudely took our seats, so we had no choice. hehe.

[jerrick]

hi there! yes, it's inappropriate to claim a seat is yours, especially in church. oh, i remember a time though when i was still about 9 years old. i was in a moviehouse with my 70 year old grandmother and auntie. they both went to the restroom so i watched over their seats. a man came to sit on my grandmother's seat, so i said, "sorry, somebody's sitting here." the guy said, "where? i don't see anyone!" and he sat on my granny's seat! we had to go out because i was spooked and my granny and auntie were scared by the incident! besides, he rudely took our seats, so we had no choice. hehe.

wahahhaha... I haven't experienced that in the church, resto, or somewhere else.. But i did, most of the time in school... hehehhe I guess if someone would actually tell me that in the church, I'd give them the seat.. I wouldn't want to cause a commotion.. hahahhaha

[banys]

It depends. If that person has been a church-goer at this specific church for a while, then everyone, including him, probably thinks it is 'his seat'. Although, if there is no rule at the church that says you have assigned seats, he can't argue at all.

[eadweald71]

imagine yourself in a church. you take your seat, then a person approaches you and says, "that's my seat." do you leave and give way? in a restaurant, perhaps it's a rule that once you took a table and ordered, it's "your seat." how about in other public places? like churches, park benches, etc? when exactly is a seat somebody else's? if a person leaves a public seat (like in a church) then comes back after 1 minute, is that seat still "his seat"? when is it okay to claim a seat as yours? although this problem seems trivial, i have found myself in this situation so many times and i have begun to wonder when it is ctually alright to claim a public seat as yours. it seems our etiquette books don't have a steadfast rule on seating arrangements. haha. so perhaps you can help me out instead?

[jorel]

imagine yourself in a church. you take your seat, then a person approaches you and says, "that's my seat." do you leave and give way? in a restaurant, perhaps it's a rule that once you took a table and ordered, it's "your seat." how about in other public places? like churches, park benches, etc? when exactly is a seat somebody else's? if a person leaves a public seat (like in a church) then comes back after 1 minute, is that seat still "his seat"? when is it okay to claim a seat as yours? although this problem seems trivial, i have found myself in this situation so many times and i have begun to wonder when it is ctually alright to claim a public seat as yours. it seems our etiquette books don't have a steadfast rule on seating arrangements. haha. so perhaps you can help me out instead?

I see it like this, Most of the time people will go to public places, especially churches, in a group or will go because he/she was invited. There is a pretty good chance that they are sitting somewhere because it's close to a friend or family member. People tend to sit in groups. Would you rob someone of sitting with the their friends? If someone got up to go to the rest room and came back would you refuse to give them their seat back? Of course not. Now, the seat being "theirs" is more of a figure of speech. It's almost that they are more comfortable sitting there than elsewhere.

[dennie18]

Well, i do agree with Chrono1210 based on this situation. But usually if the situation is like this, the other family member or friends while waiting for you to come back will tell other people who intend to sit on your seat that it's your seat and you've gone to the restroom or somewhere and be come back in a minute. If this happens, yes i agree that we can actually 'own' public seats for that moment.