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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP.  My MIL is a devout Catholic.  My DH is pretty much disinterested in religion at this point; he joined my (Protestant) church at one point but hasn't attended in years.  He might want to investigate Buddhism if he ever gets the urge to revisit religion.  We never discuss/debate religion with my in-laws.

But it hurts my daughter when her grandmother says thoughtless things or when my daughter attends her grandparents' church to be respectful (when we visit them) and then the priest preaches something that seems very exclusionary, implying that Catholicism is the only route to salvation and [b]anyone not Catholic is headed for hell.  [/b]

I'm just mentioning this because even if you take the nod-and-smile approach or even if the MIL never says something blatantly judgmental, such as questioning the morals of a non-believer, you could still run into some tense times in the future.

I pretty much agree with the PP who said that being a non-believer is one thing, but keeping one's atheism a secret is another thing that is more distancing and would contribute to a loss of trust.  I also agree with those who suggest that it might be best for your fiance to have a frank talk with his mother about his and your positions.  If in general he is an avoider and you are a speak-upper, that in itself could cause problems in your future, and it might be good to discuss that now too or see if you can agree on an approach that is somewhere in the middle.[/quote]

I'm a lifelong Catholic and have belonged to parishes throughout the U.S. and in multiple foreign countries (both industrialized and "third world"). Never in four decades have I ever heard any priest preach along the lines that anyone not Catholic is going to hell. I must just be lucky because I keep reading about these hateful homilies on DCUM even though I never encounter them in real life.[/quote]

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