It's Iimi! In Dust and Ashes

Ash Wednesday has come once again. Because Catholics make up such a small percentage of the Babylon population, the girls feel self-conscious about it and the rumors/stereotypes that come from it. But among the students, a few have sincere questions about why Catholics on this day are… In Dust and Ashes.

Post-Comic Notes:

The dates and events Tasha refers to are for the Orthodox.

To get a sense of religion in the Tri-Cities (Babylon, Hipso Hill, and Lovil, which combine at 13,000 people), the demographics are:

• Protestant: 50% (split between conservative and liberal denominations)
• Nones: 24.4%
• Buddhist: 7% (Mostly in Riverside and South Riverside)
• Muslim: 6.6% (Largely in Hipso Hill)
• Catholic: 5.7% (39% of them are active)
• Mormon: 2%
• Jewish: 1.3%
• Hindu 1% (Largely in Hipso Hill).
• Shintō: 1%
• Other (Eastern Orthodox, Native American ways, SSPX, Neo-paganism) 1%

 Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine's Day in 2024 (for those reading the comic later).

The "ashes as an extremist symbol" is a parody of an event in 2016 where a Dominican monk with a rosary was mistakenly viewed as a Klansman with a whip. Babylon is very ignorant of Catholicism and inclined to believe rumors.