How do you deal with being judged for your beliefs?

Question

Whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Atheist, whatever...how do you deal with being judged for your beliefs?

Everyone's had it happen to them. Some more than others. Everyone, at some point, has been told they are stupid for what they believe, that they are "wrong", things of that nature...from these self-righteous bigots who feel it is necessary to pry into every detail of people's lives.

Sometimes, it's not as easy as turning the cheek and ignoring those people. Sometimes you can feel that you will never be accepted by society because of the number of times you (or your beliefs) have been judged. The thought that someone is going to look down on you for your beliefs...that thought is always in the back of your mind.

How do you deal with these unfair judgments? It seems like not enough people today agree with the "Live and Let live" notion.

Answer 1

It's hard to let people bash your beliefs in sometimes cruel ways and just sit back and take it. The 1st reaction is often to stoop down to their level and retaliate. You see a lot of that on here. Ignoring it the best you can, and hoping that one day they smarten up is the way to go. Hope they will learn that its ok to have different opinions.

Answer 2

First .... let's not quantify all Christians in one lump. I do not think someone is a devil worshipper unless they admit they are. I think part of your problem is that you are taking a scripture or two out of context and believe that you know the whole Christian belief system. The Bible speaks of men and women expressing their love and commitment in many instances in the Bible. If you don't know about the other instances check out the Song of Solomon. I don't go door knocking either? Why do I need to when I have the internet. I can come right in without even knocking once you open that screen.

Answer 3

As a witch there are people who actually don't believe I exist let alone practice magick! Lol! Those who know fall into 2 groups. They suspect I am a bit eccentric at best, they view me with suspicion but are a bit intrigued. The others believe I am the daughter of satan and if they like me a bit, they pray for my soul. That's ok. I don't follow the crowd. It is logical to me that God is both male and female and that is what the pre christian folk knew to be true, Our Earth needs its mother back in charge - and soon.

Answer 4

1John 2:15--Love not the world, neather the things that are in the world. If any man love the world. The love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:16--For all that is in the world,the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not the Father, but is of the world.
John 15:9--If ye were of the world the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world , but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
John 17:16--They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
John 17:18--As thou hast sent me into the world, even so I also send them

Answer 5

i agree that it is not always as easy as "letting it go" and ignoring them. sometimes, the ludicrous, hateful things that people say make you want to rip your hair out!! and it does NOT make you a bad person. it's a natural human reaction to get upset when your beliefs are riddiculed, or worse...when you are judged yourself just because of your beliefs

it's easy to run out of options. i think some people have it much worse - "orthodox" christians probably don't have it as bad as jehovah's witnesses and mormons. atheists have it pretty rough too. people let all these wacky stereotypes influence their opinions of other people. it's sad.

best thing you can do? i guess just be nice to them. maybe they will realize how rude they look, and how foolish they look because you don't want to engage in a battle of insults with them.

Answer 6

This is a country of free speech but there is a time when you don't push your beliefs onto other people. Just be true to yourself and share your belief briefly without being defensive about it and then get on to something else. Refuse to get into a debate as that is what can bring out a lot of hostility in those who do not happen to share your belief. We need to respect what others think and avoid making issues of it.

"do unto others...."in those situations I tend to tell them "let's just agree to disagree" and then end it there.

Answer 7

Surprisingly, I've never been "judged" for my beliefs. Most people are just curious, even the hard-core fundies. I even was able to have an intelligent discussion about my faith with a group of Jehovah's Witnesses who came to my house once.

Answer 8

I let it go. I don't care what anyone thinks about me as long as I know I'm a good person. I have my friends and family and they accept me for who I am. I don't need the approval of some random people that don't give a sh-t about me. I will tell them my views though if they try and make me look bad or stupid. For the most part though I let it go.

Answer 9

"How do you deal with these unfair judgments?"

By keeping at least a trace of a thought open to the question of *whether* they are unfair judgements.
Am I sure I am absolutely right?

If those denigrating my stance are absolutely sure of theirs I reserve the right to be sceptical, since there's a range of "absolutely true" beliefs out there, and they can't all be.

Answer 10

Funny, I was just discussing this with a close friend. It is something we just have to learn to live with, as hard as that may be. No matter what happens, forever there will and always has been judgment and discrimination on religion..and the best thing for everyone to do is accept others for what they believe, and keep your own faith strong regardless.