Do religious believers actively avoid conversations with non-believers?

[Anonymous]

A religious believer posting here has said that they would avoid a conversation with an atheist if they knew the person was not religious. It can be easy to pick out a Christian or other religious believer (e.g., wearing a cross pendant, offhandedly mentioning religious services) but hard to spot a non-believer.

What would you do if you realized you were talking to an atheist? e.g., would you end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their lack of religious belief? try to convert them? Something else?

[Anonymous]

Did the person say they would avoid a *religious* conversation with a non-believer, or avoid talking to them at all? Because if it’s the latter, that’s absolutely nuts.

[Anonymous]

Generally, no I don't. There are handful of people I've known in my life that I avoid, because of their propensity for wanting to argue about my religious beliefs, but they're rare.

[Anonymous]

Why would you be talking about religion in the first place? How would it have come up such that you have stop talking when you "realized the person is nonbeliever"? I just can't imagine such a scenario.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t not talk to them but we might just agree to disagree on religion and move on to other topics.

What would an atheist do if they realized they were talking to a believer? e.g., would they end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their religious belief? try to “convert” them? Something else?

[Anonymous]

I assume everyone is a non-believer or agnostic unless something about our interactions (usually mentioning religious service attendance) indicates otherwise.

If I actively avoided speaking to these people at all, I'd only be friends with people I met through my faith community. That would be:

1) insane and bad for my mental health
2) actively opposed to teachings of my faith

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A religious believer posting here has said that they would avoid a conversation with an atheist if they knew the person was not religious. It can be easy to pick out a Christian or other religious believer (e.g., wearing a cross pendant, offhandedly mentioning religious services) but hard to spot a non-believer.

What would you do if you realized you were talking to an atheist? e.g., would you end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their lack of religious belief? try to convert them? Something else?

Did they say that, or did they say they'd like to avoid the particularly combative non-believers who love to frequent this forum?

[Anonymous]

I'd prefer not to associate with them at all, yes. IME they cant shut up or stop trying to convert everyone. Very annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd prefer not to associate with them at all, yes. IME they cant shut up or stop trying to convert everyone. Very annoying.

Wait, what? I've only known two atheist who tried to convert everyone. One was actually fascinating to talk to as a believer because he had good arguments and yet could respect my position and challenge it. The other was a high school friend and we eventually agreed to disagree so we could stay friends, and she really did shut up.

All the other atheists I know simply couldn't be bothered with religion themselves. They just don't believe and they don't think about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd prefer not to associate with them at all, yes. IME they cant shut up or stop trying to convert everyone. Very annoying.

Every time you speak with a non-religious person, about anything, they can’t stop trying to “convert everyone”? Bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd prefer not to associate with them at all, yes. IME they cant shut up or stop trying to convert everyone. Very annoying.

Every time you speak with a non-religious person, about anything, they can’t stop trying to “convert everyone”? Bullshit.

Theory: first PP is a one of the angry exvangelicals trolling to try and make Christians look bad.

[Anonymous]

Yes, there is a regular troll on this forum who religiously posts in bad faith. So to speak.

[Anonymous]

I'm married to an atheist and my kids don't seem to be leaning toward belief either, so no, I certainly don't avoid conversations with them. Including religious conversations.

I do, however, avoid getting into religious arguments with strangers on the internet. Why bother?

[Anonymous]

Is the hypothetical conversation in your title changing any minds?

Then yes, avoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A religious believer posting here has said that they would avoid a conversation with an atheist if they knew the person was not religious. It can be easy to pick out a Christian or other religious believer (e.g., wearing a cross pendant, offhandedly mentioning religious services) but hard to spot a non-believer.

What would you do if you realized you were talking to an atheist? e.g., would you end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their lack of religious belief? try to convert them? Something else?

Not at all - some of my closest friends are atheists/ agnostics and they are wonderful people.