So like … do people in India sit down their friends or family for a “come to Ganesh” talk?
It doesn’t have to invoke a deity, of course … I wonder though that most languages probably have some kind of expression that denotes a very serious conversation, almost on the level of an intervention?
facepalm Should be “do” other languages, sheesh. I’m really tired 
In German, you have jemandem die Leviten lesen, which translates literally as reading Leviticus to someone, but is often translated as reading someone the riot act. Closest I know of. Can’t think of a Spanish equiivalent offhand.
I know of the German phrase, “Das Wort zum Sonntag” (The Sunday Sermon)which was aired every late Saturday night, going into Sunday, with a different preacher/priest/religious leader of some group who would give a televised sermon. I believe this ran for decades on German TV.
This became a kind of slang, so if you wanted to have a heart-to-heart sit-down talk with someone, you would say I am going to have my Wort zum Sonntag with so-and-so.
I’m not sure if French has a direct equivalent, but there’s the expression dire à quelqu’un ses quatre vérités, (to tell someone their four truths) which means to tell someone exactly what one thinks about them with brutal frankness. As far as I can tell, the origin was originally simply dire à quelqu’un ses vérités (to tell someone their truths) and the quatre was added more or less arbitrarily, or by analogy with expressions such as couper des cheveux en quatre.
Spanish also has both sermones and decirle a alguien cuatro verdades (to tell someone four truths), although at least in NE Spain this one has more of a meaning of “completely losing your patience with someone and telling them what’s what”, it doesn’t involve taking them someplace private or trying to keep your cool: your cool has gone on vacation by the time you start on the first truth, but unlike una bronca it doesn’t involve yelling, just, uhm, growling.
If the party on the receiving end of the talk is supposed to respond it’s una conversación seria (a serious conversation); preceded by the universally-dreaded tenemos que hablar (we need to talk), while una charla or una conversación wouldn’t be. I’ve heard people refer to those as una de esas charlas que empiezan con un ‘tenemos que hablar’, “one of those conversations which begin by ‘we need to talk’”.
In English English we don’t have such a phrase. We’d usually ‘read the riot act’.
Yeah, this is the first time this 37 year old Brit has heard of a “Come to Jesus” talk.
Ditto for this 51 year old Aussie. It just ain’t the done thing here.
I continue to be fascinated (and dismayed) by the prominence of religiosity in the US. It’s not a topic of conversation here for the most part: folks don’t tend to share their religious beliefs unless there is an actual reason for doing so. Evangalists are few and far between (apart from my mad uncles who died a few years back who were forever trying to get me to join their mad pentecostal cult) but they’re easy enough to ignore too!
IOW, we don’t have Come to Jesus talks. We have Do you Want to Play Aussie Rules or Soccer talks.
I’m sure Jesus would approve. 
Reading this makes me wonder if the Klingons would have a “Come to Kahless” talk.
In American English, that means you’re really angry at the person or otherwise “laying down the law” with them.
“Come to Jesus talk” typically refers to a heart-to-heart talk about how the other person needs to get their life/work in order. It’s not necessarily about religion. It’s a gentler version of reading the riot act.
In my world, a “come to Jesus” talk is much more than a heart to heart talk, it’s telling the other person what will be done, what he must change etc . It’s very upfront and frank. Other phrases for it might be laying down the law or reading the riot act.
New Zealander dropping in with another datapoint. I’ve never heard anyone outside the US use that phrase.
Obviously every culture has the equivalent phenomenon both to the heart-to-heart “you gotta get help” talk and the “you’d better shape up” talk (not exactly the same thing). Not all of them, though, have to give each a specific name.
Here in PR there is “leer la cartilla”, literally “read him the booklet”, very much similar to the “riot act” language.
Read the riot act = “You’re in trouble / have screwed up big time.”
Come to Jesus talk = “I see you heading down a dangerous path and want you to choose a different way - or there may be consequences.”
So a come to Jesus talk is basically an intervention? I’m American, Southwest most of my life, Midwest for the first 8 years and I’ve never heard the term before. Would have assumed it was an evangelist thing without explanation.
+1. Weird.
In a work setting, you may be telling a colleague to support a project or end up on the wrong side of the political situation.
In a family situation, you may be telling a kid to get with the program or face punishment.
etc…so a non-religious, non-addiction checkpoint talk…
How is this broached? Do you actually use the words “Me and you need a come to Jesus talk!”
Or is it referred in passing conversation such as " X is making an effort after the come to Jesus talk with his dad"
Is it used to refer to an adult speaking to a juvenile? It has patronising tones to me.
Horrible phrase, it seems a spin off from ‘let me read you your horoscope’
The latter - “yeah, X needs a Come to Jesus talk.” It is a “bad” nickname for this type of discussion, and, imho, does include a bit of condescension…
It’s not religious at all- not more than saying “Jesus Christ” when I stub my toe, or saying someone will “meet their maker” out of irritation.
To me it’s the same as “get with the program” and usually said about someone else. “If Bob doesn’t get with the program we’re going to have to have a come to Jesus talk”. It’s short hand slang and not religious at all.