Would you concider this shoving religion down one's throat?

Question

I am the only Christian (Catholic) among my friends. I normally see them after morning mass on the weekends. They know I got to church first. Sometimes, the sermon will be interesting and I want to share it. I don't see it as cramming religion down their throats. It's often, "Oh, yeah, Father H. said mass today. He talked about this topic." and then I'm off cooking dinner and let the matter drop.

I don't see it as shoving my religion down the throats of others, but I was wondering how others viewed it. My friends never complain, mainly because why argue the the person cooking you dinner.

Thanks.

Draco Paladin: "Listen you hell-hound heathens?" Oh, that made my day. I found it funny. Never use it, but it made me laugh.

Answer 1

As long as your cooking a good dinner, you could be like Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell and I wouldn't budge

Answer 2

I don't consider what you do to be shoving religion down your friends' throats.
When I worked in sales, on Sundays a friend and I had a little game we would play. Every Sunday when he came to work (after attending his church's service) I would ask him for my "thought of the day". He would then try to condense the main theme of the days sermon into a simple little thought. I always looked forward to it. He was honest about it too--if he felt that his preacher didn't actually say anything that week, he'd admit it. We followed very different religions but we respected each other and encouraged each other.

If he had constantly tried to convince me to follow or believe in his religion (knowing that I wasn't interested), that would have been shoving it down my throat. And that would've stopped any meaningful conversations. But he never did and our game was really fun.

And I'm sure that your friends are visiting you for many others reasons besides your cooking abilities.....

Answer 3

That would depend on the person you are talking to. Some may not see it the same way as you do. For me, I consider cramming religion down other people's throats when you keep referring to the Bible, acting holier-than-thou (most don't realize it) and dropping hints about religion in every little topic we touch upon. Also, there's the "I'm right - you're wrong" attitude that gets on our nerves as well.

As for "why argue the the person cooking you dinner", you simply are the most convenient person available, since you're already feeding them. If they don't like it, they can always eat elsewhere. Do take note to remind them of that.

Answer 4

No, that's not shoving your religion down someone's throat at all. You went to mass. You're Catholic. They know you're Catholic and went to mass. I'm sure they respect your views very much, and if all you're saying is, "Yes, Father H talked about this topic, which I enjoyed", I don't see how that could be considered cramming it down someone's throat. That's like a Wiccan saying, "I was sitting under the oak tree in my front lawn this morning and just had such a sense of peace and calm, like the Goddess was with me." They aren't trying to convince you to sit out under your front tree to commune with nature or the Lord and Lady any more than you're trying to convince them to go to mass by relating your experience.

I really hope no one has given you grief about this. I would completely understand that my Catholic friends were just relating an experience if they mentioned what Father H talked about at mass.

)O(

Answer 5

Do they seem to welcome it? Do they respond back to it? Or is it more that they just watch you with a pleasant smile because you make them food?

Have you ever asked if they mind? Sometimes the best way to find out how someone views something is to specifically ask them, "Hey, you know, I know I do this but I can't quite tell what you think about it... does it bother you?" If they say it doesn't bother them, then I'd say what ever anyone here says doesn't much matter.

Some of your friends may not be particularly religious but enjoy your enthusiasm so don't mind listening -- sometimes friends put up with topics they don't care about because the other person obviously does. Some of your friends may be religious but enjoy hearing Father H's sermons, even if paraphrased, and enjoy when you tell them.

Ultimately, to simplify: Don't ask us. Ask your friends.

Answer 6

As long as your comments from church make sense, you should be okay. If you try arguing the validity of your religion, you will lose, no matter what religion you are from--so do not start down that path unless you are in the mood to become angry with your friends.

Being non-religious, I don't see a discussion on life lessons you learned from mass to be a form of shoving religion down one's throat. As long as you aren't preeching your beliefs to your friends, you'll be alright.

Answer 7

Concider? Is that a drink made from the juices squeezed from conservatives?

sorry.

To answer your question, I would not consider that to be "shoving religion down my throat." That is just sharing your interest. If you were to go on and on and try to force yourself on your friends then that would be.

Answer 8

I can only tell you that I never feel that the religious folks close to me shove it down my throat by a simple mention of what they found interesting.

But Bad Liberal is right in that it only matters how the people close to you feel about it. Check with them.

Answer 9

that is quite different from shoving your religion down peoples throats
i wouldnt mind if someone wanted to share what was said in a sermon ..
it would be annoying if it was said in such a way that made it quite clear about what happens to non believers etc
but apart from that .. no worries and i would listen if your cooking was good :o)

Answer 10

No that isn't shoving religion down throats. Shoving religion down throats would be sending constant letters of copied sermons every day, putting a crucifix in their mailbox every day, having your pastor call them every day to tell them to come to church, etc.