I’m more likely to convert them.
When it happens, if they persist past my ‘no, I’m not a Christian’ I usually just flatly say ‘I’m an atheist’ and they shut up. Not worth getting mad about but I do consider it rude. Low miff.
I used to be religious, of a very proselyting variety. And even as I was becoming an apostate, I enjoyed being hospitable to young missionaries working full-time to do what they believe to be the most important work ever, however misguided they may be. So even now, I tend to be pretty forgiving of door-to-door proselytizers. They annoy me less than the door-to-door utilities salesmen.
I’d be much more annoyed if co-workers tried to teach me the good news. I have to be patient with in-laws who remind us that they’re praying that we’ll come to our senses and rejoin their Eternal Family[sup]TM[/sup]. I’m pretty annoyed with my friends who tried to educate my wife about the evils of atheism. I’ll be livid if anyone tries to recruit my kids.
My own religion forbids proselytizing (we don’t have that non believers go to the Bad Place thing, either, but I don’t want to get sidetracked) and trying to coerce someone’s beliefs is about as close to “sin” as we come so I find proselytizing to be extremely offensive.
Note that’s proselytizing, not mere discussion of religion. Discussing and debating is one thing, trying to force a change someone’s relationship with the divine is what is objectionable.
Of course, half the Bible-beaters are convinced I’m a spawn of the Devil anyway, not being Christian.
It only really happened to me once, but I got fairly pissed that one time. There was this one tourist-looking guy on the subway, looking at the stations’ map with a confused look about him. So, good Samaritan that I am, I ask him where he’s going, and he’s going my way so I tell him I’ll just show him the way when we get there.
Then it turns out that, while he indeed is American as I’d guessed from his looks, he speaks perfect French. Well, OK, surprising but whatevs. Oh, and he wants to talk to me about the Book of Mormon. I told him I wasn’t interested, but he kept on prodding till we reached our stop, at which point I beat a hasty albeit polite retreat. Dude shrugged, put the book back in his suitcase, then picked the right exit without hesitation or even looking at the signage.
Motherfucker, I thinks.
To clarify, I didn’t really care about the proselytizing per se, because a god botherer’s gonna do what a god botherer’s gonna do. But the pretending to be needing help the better to fish out the naive helpfuls, that I did mind a lot. I did feel insulted or taken advantage of. Plus, if you’re supposed to be selling The Truth, a bait-and-switch isn’t exactly good advertising, is it ?
It depends if they’re nice about it and leave then mildly annoyed – more or less so depending on what the interrupted. If they continue I get more annoyed and respond.
Being the evil creature I am, I get less annoyed if I happen to be wearing my “Born Again Atheist” or “Evolve” or “667: Evil and then Some” shirt and they visibly react. (Even better if I didn’t realize I was wearing it until after they react) Or if I get to answer “Have you found Jesus” with “Have you lost him AGAIN?”
Someone at work is trying to get me to go to church with him. Wrote “Jesus loves you, River Hippie” on the dry erase board in our department…kind of annoying but I’ve been dealing with people like that since I moved to Indiana back in '68.
Great, gotta love that.
I don’t get mad, I give them a thanks but no thanks. I explain that I attend church regularly and am confident and comfortable in my faith. I don’t try to convert them. I wish them luck in their efforts. They’re usually gone in a minute or two.
Level 1 for infidels and heretics.
Also as a Christian I haven’t really witnessed/proselytized directly and I am uncertain of the Biblical commands regarding it-whether the Great Commission applied specifically to the NT apostles and later ministers of the Gospel or to all Christians.
Peru, like most other Latin American countries has a large and growing Evangelical movement.
I almost got into a fistfight with someone who thought my stopping at a gas station and buying gas was the perfect occasion to get me to go to his church. I wasn’t gonna hit him, but something I said sure riled him up. To the best of my recollection, we exchanged pleasantries, which is more than I generally do when I’m pumping gas. He then asked if I had a church. I said yes. He asked which one. I told him it was none of his business. He said, “What?” and I told him that he’d heard me, just keep on moving. He looked pretty steamed at that and started moving closer to me, which was not the direction I meant for him to move. His buddy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.
Wonder how many people he’s converted with that approach. Maybe if he’d actually struck me I’d have seen the light. In my experience, I generally see darkness, then I wake up in a crowd. Maybe I’d be at the church. . .
I REALLY don’t like strangers approaching me at gas stations or in parking lots. Usually it’s a con*, or a prelude to violence.
On the other hand, a couple months back a nice elderly man and some of his congregation was spreading the “good word” in my neighborhood. I don’t much care for that either, but we got on much better.
*My car broke down/ran out of gas. Need money to get my family (who isn’t in evidence) home.
I voted 2 but it would depend.
generally it would be only mild annoyance, I’d treat them like someone who was trying to sell me anything I didn’t want and try to brush them off politely.
The more they persisted after the initial polite brush off, the more up the scale I’d go. Just take the hint, I’m not interested in what you’re selling, piss off.
It only really happens to me when I’m walking through a busy area in the city - never in my quiet home area - and they’re holding out God pamphlets for passersby to grab. Same as the people holding out mobile phone deals!!! pamphlets, cheap calls!!! pamphlets, and New Bar Opening!!! pamphlets. I just ignore them all and keep walking, so no different to the low-level background annoyance of people trying to persuade me to buy something. Not worth getting angry over, even though it is distasteful
If someone walks up to me and tries selling their god to me (rare), I just say “no thanks” or “not interested thanks” and don’t break stride. Again, exactly the same as if someone tries to sell any product to me. I don’t like solicitation when I’m just minding my own business, but I also see no need to be rude. Once or twice I genuinely thought it was someone needing help and stopped to assist. As soon as I figured out the real situation, I’d just say “Ohhhh” and just turn around and walk away. In those cases I would be very annoyed, since they’d just lied and been deceitful to try to trick me into listening to their sales pitch, so I feel no need to be polite. But again - that is so rare. Mostly people mind their own business I find.
No. 5. In fact I might go hunt down that lorry so I can drive it over them.
By all means, practice your religion as you see fit, but don’t you dare presume you can take up my valuable time with your sales pitch.
I ain’t even mad, bro.
But that is assuming the conversion attempt is not aggressive; in other words, if they take my ‘not interested’ and that’s that, then that’s completely cool with me. If they start to argue with me repeatedly, even though I have expressed my lack of interest, then it will get irritating.
Mad as a Lorry.
I’ve always been atheist, and I grew up in an extremely Christian right-wing village. I’d hear people tell me I’m going to hell about once a week.
Sorry, I refuse to believe in your imaginary male in the sky.
I’m a little hurt if they don’t try. If someone doesn’t care whether you are going to burn in hell for all eternity or whatever, do they actually care about you at all?
I don’t talk to strangers.
If I answer the front door on a Sunday morning in my bathrobe, to find a couple of church loons who announce they’re there to save my soul, I’m bound to be kind of miffed.
Sometimes my reaction is just confusion - like when the local Hospital Proselytizer leaves tracts on the urinals in the public restroom. Really, how many people find Jesus while peeing?
Doesn’t anyone realize that aggressive atheists are just as irritating? Never had one knock on my door, but the snarky comments on Straight Dope and in responses to news articles having to do with religion don’t really have that live-and-let-live feeling.