What do you do when people try to push their religious views upon you?

Answer 1

I try to politely let them know I have my own religion and don't need another.

Answer 2

I live in a small country town in Sth Australia and we have a large number of Bible Bashers that go door to door... What I have always done with these people is start asking them questions..I am well verse with a lot of aspects of their religion and when they answer me, I give them my interpretation..I usually after about 10 minutes have them spluttering for answers, then ask then if they would like to know something about the oldest religion on the Planet.. The Earth Mother religion, the religion from where all religions originally sprang...Most through murder and assimilation, by this time they are looking for an excuse to escape... Needless to say only the novices knock on my door now, as I have never seen the same people come back again...Love and Light.. Blessed Be .. )O(

Answer 3

Depends on how much time I have. If I don't have much to spare, they get treated like any telemarketer. Quick, polite, firm, over. With some time to kill, I think it makes for a much better source of entertainment than most television.

Campus Crusade for Christ went around my school asking people about their beliefs - just an interview, not proselytisation. We chatted for at least an hour, two reps and I, about faith, reason, and a lot of the topics that get dragged up here rather often. It was civil and pleasant, and only ended because I had a class to get to. Would that the soft sell would become more popular; I would prefer to be able to be civil back.

Answer 4

If they're Christians - and they usually are - say .. "Excuse me, do you know you're going against what the Bible teaches? I know the Great Commission tells you to evangelise the gospel and you've done that. However, I'm not interested and the Bible also says that you have to LEAVE ME ALONE now (brush the dust off your feet as you leave the town ... actually). If I want to know more, I know you're a Christian and I will come and ask you questions but until then, you are just being annoying and not doing yourself or your faith any favours by pestering people with stuff they don't want to hear."

or

"I'll listen to you after you've heard me tell you about the beauties of the cosmos."

If I am cornered by Jws or Mormons, I fight fire with fire and put all 24 years of Pentecostal teaching into action. Another little arrow in your quiver - ladies only I'm afraid - a pair of Mormon missionaries once caught me in the town centre and they told me in the midst of our discussions that they believed it was disrespectful to argue with a woman or to tell her she's wrong.

Answer 5

People who knock on doors asking if occupiers are interested in a particular religion are doing nothing illegal, or even offensive. Likewise, there is nothing illegal or offensive about politely declining to reply, and closing the door. There is nothing difficult about it, either. If an occupier takes up a conversation in these circumstances, there can be no complaint about pushing of religious views.

Every weekday morning, millions of children are by default subjected to the 'pushing' of religion in school assemblies, but this infringement is never the subject of debate in national elections.

m.

Answer 6

That depends on how much time I have and how they approach the subject.

If they present their view well I will try to listen. I might always learn something.

If on the other hand their views are limited to platitudes then in my experience any discussion just leads to frustration because they have a very limited knowledge of their own views and can't think 'outside the box'. In this case I just tell then that we will have to agree to differ.

I always try to be polite. Because no matter how annoying, I honestly think they believe they are doing me a favour. And there's no harm in being gracious about a gift, even if it's one you don't want.
.

Answer 7

Good question,..I have experienced this just yesterday, it sucks. when people start to impose their beliefs, I have turned on them with several questions. My approach is simple and straight forward, but I do let the one who are doing so to aswer those questions without me knowing when am not interested in them. If am interested to know, i tell them to give me the answers when they chew upon them, but later not immediately.

My questions have been like;
1) How long have you believed in what you believe?
2) Did you choose, from other beliefs, to believe what you believe, or it was none other than that that you only knew and still know?
3) What would you have chosen to have believed had it been that you were not exposed to what you believed?
4) What is the most lovely part of your belief?
5) What part or character of your belief do you not like at all? 6) Did anybody mind when you chose to believe what you believe now?
7) Will you excuse me for not being part of what you believe, 'cause am not interested in it?

Try that if you may, and tell me what the out come is...

Answer 8

for the most part, i'm respectful because their views give them happiness. as a Buddhist, what matters to me is that everyone is happy and they have the right to pursue that happiness in their own way.

i can't agree with how the abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) are being high-jacked by a small minority of closed minded individuals that seem to get a lot of attention from the media. in essence, these evil people have used religion to mask their evil (terrorism for example). on the flip-side, religion has also made basically good people able to do wrong things (using religion to mask prejudice towards the gay community for example). prejudice is prejudice, period. at the core, those religions are beautiful and it has helped millions, if not billions, of people lead good lives.

Answer 9

Some people push their religious beliefs others push their secular beliefs. What I do in either case is smile politely and respectively disagree. If that does not work than I begin to share spiritual understandings with them. That usually brings things to a closure no matter if they are religious or secular.

Answer 10

I usually give them fair warning that we both will be far more blessed if we don't speak about it. If they don't listen they often have the misfortune of encountering the effects of my many years of religious education and study on my own of the various traditions, with the grand finale being my wild interpretation of what I've noticed so far, but for that I need party hats. I've rarely gotten beyond the warning, except with family members, who have by now, learned to avoid the subject altogether.

Answer 11

1. Have the right answer to give to them (know God more)
and if they have got it then what does it hurt to say that they are right!

2. If you feel silly by being told about eternity?

3. You know thier is a God don't you? The evidence is right in front of you! Creation is made by a creator, how do you think you got that computer :-)

4. You know He is good, is this the reason you do not like to draw near - becuase you do not want to say you are doing things which are wrong?

God Bless You with this.

5. is their someone who just does not believe what is right. Try to help them, if they will not listen and you have to be around them, just do them good.

William.