I'm from a c,c++, and now PHP background and the syntax of ruby has always seemed backwards to me. In addition to this, Rails adds too many abstraction levels. I feel like it's actually dumbing down future developers.
PHP gives me just enough power and now has enough OO support to build large-scale projects. It's not without its flaws, but I have used it in many projects over the years and will continue to do so until I have a reason to switch.
I can understand why you consider the syntax of Ruby as backwards seeing how you come from a C-background, they're quite different languages in most ways.
To be honest, the OO support in PHP feels a lot like an afterthought (and it actually is), it never quite feels right.
I understand that it sounds like a religion. It's probably because, at least for me, my choice of it is just as much about it ideals as it is about it's technical pros & cons.
I do Python and used to do a fair bit of Django work. Melvin's reasons are pretty on the dot.
Migrations are one advantage Rails has over Django. They're otherwise pretty similar. (South doesn't count.)
I wouldn't say that any language dumbs anybody down. People can be dumb in any language. You should chill in ##C on Freenode and see what stupid really is.
I'm from a c,c++, and now PHP background and the syntax of ruby has always seemed backwards to me. In addition to this, Rails adds too many abstraction levels. I feel like it's actually dumbing down future developers.
PHP gives me just enough power and now has enough OO support to build large-scale projects. It's not without its flaws, but I have used it in many projects over the years and will continue to do so until I have a reason to switch.