There are some assumptions that that aren't necessarily true. I'm honestly interested in learning about different religions and cultures. But I once asked someone I believed to be a Wiccan about her religion and she started yelling at me really bad.
2007-02-24 06:52:38 · 22 answers · asked by GBG 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
P.S. My sister's best friend is Wiccan, I know that they can be nice people. I just don't want to offend someone who doesn't know that I'm about to try to bring them to Jesus.
2007-02-24 06:59:34 · update #1
I asked her what religion she was.
2007-02-24 07:05:26 · update #2
I just saw my typo. I'm so sorry. I meant "doesn't think I'm only trying to bring them to Jesus".
2007-02-24 07:09:22 · update #3
I am with you on this one. I like learning about other religions too simply because I do not know. So I always start out by saying, "what are your religious beliefs?" and "what are some of the things you practice or celebrate?". However I have had some ppl be rude to me.... I think it's just the person really.... Good luck
2007-02-24 06:58:03 · answer #1 · answered by rosepassions 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Like you said, there are some assumptions that aren't necessarily true. This goes for all religions, but today the religion that suffers from inaccurate assumptions accepted as truth would definitely be Islam due to everything going on in the Middle East right now. Anyways, all you need to do is ask kindly, and at least sound interested and curious about what you are asking. Take a look at some of the questions I asked other people about their religions (including Wiccan! :). You can take some of my questions or their ideas, or just read the answers to my questions, because a few are about Wiccan practices. Hope this helped!
2007-02-24 06:59:17 · answer #2 · answered by Omer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, I've never really gotten in that kind of situation, but I'd imagine that the best way to go about it is to begin with the statement, "I'm really interested in religion, and..." without putting too much emphasis on your own faith. Some non-Christians can get rather touchy if brought into a religious discussion with a Christian, since they've probably had a few other Christians attempt to convert them.
But, if you end up getting too many negative responses when trying to learn from people, you can always go to books for information. It might not bring as much enlightenment when compared to talking to someone of the certain religion, but at least you'd gain quite a bit of knowledge from it.
2007-02-24 06:59:08 · answer #3 · answered by Nanashi 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Politely. I would add that you may want to make it clear you are not on a conversion mission. I've had several christian people ask me about my religion, and only ONCE it was out of genuine interest. The rest the time, they were going for a conversion/trying to 'save' me. For some odd reason many christians don't like being told there's nothing to save me from.
I've never yelled at anyone who asked about my religion, by the way. But then again - I'm not a Wiccan. I'm Asatru. Some of them seem a bit sensitive to me. Could be just be the one's I've met, however. *shrug*
~Morg~
2007-02-24 07:01:16 · answer #4 · answered by morgorond 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Well, you might start out by making things clear: "I'm Christian myself, but I'm genuinely interested in what other religions believe. Don't worry, I won't try to convert you!" And then, DON'T try to convert them. Listen. Ask questions respectfully. If you're at all in doubt, say: "I hope you won't find this offensive, but I'm honestly trying to understand..."
I think most Wiccans have had the experience of having a Christian "ask" about our faith and then turn it into a conversion attempt. This is VERY rude, and there are only so many times you can have it happen to you (or hear about it happening to others) before the reflex action of annoyance sets in.
If you have serious questions about Wicca, feel free to email me.
2007-02-24 07:22:27 · answer #5 · answered by prairiecrow 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry to hear about your experience, but I'm sure most people are nice.
I find it's more irritating when people ask "Is it true that you guys do [something weird] in Christmas?" But it's perfectly fine to ask "How do you celebrate the holiday?" Former one suggest you already make assumption about them.
So I advice you to use a more gentle approach. Ask questions but don't interrogate. Offer your own stories as a friendly gesture. Like "I visit my grandma for Christmas. How about you? How do you celebrate the holiday?"
2007-02-24 07:03:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
that's really harsh, too many of us have had so many bad experiences with christians, I guess some people just hear the word and go ballistic - I'm sorry this happened to you, and as a former christian, now buddhist, I would be happy to talk to you about any of the religions I have studied, buddhism, islam, or hinduism, I find it commendable that you want to learn about other people's beliefs rather than just convert or condemn.
feel free to e-mail, jennyedoll@yahoo.ca
2007-02-24 07:00:16 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Pray beforehand, then use whatever words the Holy Spirit gives you in love and respect. If you ask respectfully and the other person gets mad, it's not your misunderstanding or your "fault". I'd suggest you make it clear to them that you intended no offense and were truly trying to learn and understand. Or, you could simply ask someone else.
2007-02-24 07:04:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
How about this....
What does your religion (faith, holy book...) believe when it comes to this?
For example, I had many questions on Islam, so I asked, as respectfully as I could, the question. It is really a matter of letting them know you genuinely want to know.
The most important is to ask respectfully.
2007-02-24 07:09:58 · answer #9 · answered by Mav here! 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
One must always come across with the utmost respect when dealing with certain matters such as religion and politics and cultural subjects.
2007-02-24 06:57:31 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋