# How often do people try to convert you to their religion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 25, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176 "2023-04-25T19:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/101 "2023-04-27T19:51:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It is the term “militant atheists” that trips my trigger. As far as I can tell, a militant atheist is one who has the nerve to not hide their atheism, and even _gasp_ publish books about it. Reviews of atheist books in the NY Times, even, attack so-called militancy and never, ever, address the arguments. Very much like the accusation of any gay person coming out is pushing the “gay agenda.” ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/102 "2023-04-27T20:15:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > > > But when Christians say outrageous and hateful things, it doesn’t seem to be standard practice for journalists reporting about it to get a quote from the Episcopalians. > > > > I think if you travel in liberal Christian circles you’ll hear a whole lot of people unequivocally condemning the Religious Right. The problem is that few people outside those circles are listening. > > How often do these liberal Christians issue press releases, buy air time on television and/or radio, or hold highly publicized rallies? If you wait for the press to contact you to get your message out, then you have already lost. Well I can’t speak for the Episcopalians, but my denomination (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) issues press releases all the time. Here is a recent one: [Bishop Eaton Issues Statement on Anti-Transgender Legislation - ELCA](https://elca.org/News-and-Events/8191) Though buying time on television and radio seems to be a waste of resources (and something that mainline Christians get on conservative Christians about). We also don’t tend to be the rallying type… but we do show up to protests or Pride parades… ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/103 "2023-04-27T20:26:17Z")
Pluralism is a liberal value, so even religious folk who feel that their liberalism derived from Biblical values are unlikely to explicitly draw that connection, because they know it would make some people feel uncomfortable. Also, of course liberals, unlike conservatives, CAN defend their policies rationally rather than resort to claiming divine fiat for their own prejudices. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/104 "2023-04-27T20:30:21Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Well I can’t speak for the Episcopalians, but my denomination (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) issues press releases all the time. > > Here is a recent one: > > [Bishop Eaton Issues Statement on Anti-Transgender Legislation - ELCA](https://elca.org/News-and-Events/8191) Was this statement sent out to various media outlets, or was it just published in an in-house publication? This statement leads me to believe this was in-house only: "I urge us, as people of faith, to love our neighbors, care for the vulnerable and marginalized, and work for justice and equality. We may have differing opinions on “matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity,” but we must always uphold the dignity and humanity of everyone. These disagreements do not allow us to accept actions that dehumanize, discriminate against or objectify any individual or group. We must stand together, dear church, faithfully advocating for the full humanity and dignity of all people. Let us recognize and affirm the humanity of our transgender and nonbinary siblings. Let us advocate for their dignity. Let us continue to be guided by God’s love and compassion as we seek justice and equality for everyone." ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/105 "2023-04-27T20:34:03Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > divine fiat I refuse to believe any company that makes minivans is divine. What does God need with a minivan?? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/106 "2023-04-27T20:36:38Z")
I’m not sure it really matters from a non-Christian POV, though. If liberal Christians are voting Democrat, going to Pride parades, and otherwise fighting the good fight, why does it matter if they’re doing so AS Christians or not? Their impact on the body politic is the same. I can see why they would want to be more outspoken in order to prevent their religion from getting a bad name, but that’s not my concern. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/107 "2023-04-27T20:43:51Z")
Now I’m sad that my profile pic cropped out the fedora… ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/108 "2023-04-27T21:15:30Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Well I can’t speak for the Episcopalians, but my denomination (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) issues press releases all the time. Ah, the ELCA, probably the most liberal of the main Christian denominations. It’s the church I grew up with, and the church my parents left because it was too liberal. They still blame the ELCA’s lax standards for my atheism. Well, my mother does, my father now knows the answer, whichever way it may be. So, when Pastor Long is saying that others are making decisions based on their demonic possession, and that is why they are supporting trans rights, would pulling that press release out, reading it, and asking him if he also thinks that Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton is possessed would have any affect? Personally, I would hope it would cause Long to attack the ELCA, which would demonstrate the differences between Christian beliefs, and hopefully get some of the pew sitters to join the cause. But, while it’s great that the ELCA supports many liberal causes, it still doesn’t call out those who work against those causes while still claiming to act in Jesus’s name. That’s what is needed to stop Christian Nationalism. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > why does it matter if they’re doing so AS Christians or not? Their impact on the body politic is the same. To show that those espousing hatred do _not_ represent all Christians. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I can see why they would want to be more outspoken in order to prevent their religion from getting a bad name, but that’s not my concern. It’s more than just getting a bad name, it’s having bad things done in its name. I’m not worried about the “good” Christians being identified with the “bad” Christians. I’m worried about the “good” Christians letting the “bad” Christians do bad things out of a concern of not creating a fuss. Earlier you seemed to take issue that I didn’t do enough to differentiate liberal denominations from far right ones. If they aren’t going to differentiate themselves, then how can anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/109 "2023-04-27T21:46:36Z")
Fair point. I’d certainly be happy if they spoke up louder, although really I’m happy when anyone speaks up. One of my best friends is very committed to the ELCA, and his parents also left because it was too liberal! His kids are atheists, so maybe your mom has a point 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/110 "2023-04-28T02:07:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Was this statement sent out to various media outlets, or was it just published in an in-house publication? This statement leads me to believe this was in-house only Note the About the ELCA statement on the bottom. I don’t think it’s every story, but I believe a decent number of them get sent to at least RNS (Religion News Service) and the AP. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Ah, the ELCA, probably the most liberal of the main Christian denominations. Oh, the Episcopalians have us beat on that (and they go really out there, even for me 😃 - like Bishop Spong). > [@k9bfriender](#): > > But, while it’s great that the ELCA supports many liberal causes, it still doesn’t call out those who work against those causes while still claiming to act in Jesus’s name. That’s what is needed to stop Christian Nationalism. There is a statement against Christian Nationalism currently being worked on by Bishop Eaton. And we already get attacked plenty. The LCMS (Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod), which is a fundamentalist variety of the Lutheran tradition, is quite fond of saying we aren’t Evangelical or Lutheran or a Church. I do think we should be more open and loud about our beliefs (we got quite a bit of press when in 2019 we marched down to the ICE office in Milwaukee at the same Churchwide Assembly we declared ourself to be a Sanctuary Church. Though really for the national media to pay any attention to us we have to those sort of big ‘stunts’. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/111 "2023-04-28T14:35:39Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > The LCMS (Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod), which is a fundamentalist variety of the Lutheran tradition Heh, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod considers the LCMS to be too liberal! WELS teaches that all forms of Christian fellowship require a complete unity in matters of doctrine. I’ve had a WELS member try to convert me from my atheistic Unitarian affiliations. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/112 "2023-04-28T14:40:47Z")
WELS is almost beyond fundamentalist! While LCMS and WELS don’t allow female pastors, WELS doesn’t even allow women to VOTE in church matters. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/113 "2023-04-28T22:19:27Z")
ROTFL that didn’t happen, although I’ve had the misfortune of meeting a few people who would probably do that if they could. I unfriended a relative by marriage from Facebook, because he was constantly posting things like “I hope the rapture happens, so all the Christians will be gone” or “If there’s ever a Christian holocaust, sign me up!” Was he unaware that, for instance, employers often look at social media? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/114 "2023-04-28T22:23:21Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I unfriended a relative by marriage from Facebook, because he was constantly posting things like “I hope the rapture happens, so all the Christians will be gone” or “If there’s ever a Christian holocaust, sign me up!” Was he unaware that, for instance, employers often look at social media? And you think behavior like this is _typical_ for atheists? Because I’ve never seen such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/115 "2023-04-28T22:25:19Z")
Not typical, far from it! I was just giving an extreme example, which would also include the guy who not only cut or tore the “In God We Trust” out of his paper money, he would also grind it off his coins. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/116 "2023-04-28T22:30:44Z")
I’m actually thinking about checking out an LCMS near my home; I went to an ELCA before COVID but just haven’t been back, because it wasn’t right for me. I attended this church a few times when I first moved here almost 30 years ago, but stopped because one of the pastors was a little too enthusiastic about his opposition to abortion. He died a couple years ago, and I didn’t see anything about this on their website. Spoilered due to possible trigger warnings: This man’s first degree was in biochemistry, and during his gap year between that and when he planned to enter medical school, he worked as an assistant in a pathology lab, so that’s where his beliefs came from. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/117 "2023-04-29T17:14:36Z")
What on earth do you think you are “warning” against in that spoiler? “He worked in biochemistry” is so upsetting wow. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/118 "2023-04-29T17:22:12Z")
I get the Jehovah’s Witnesses every year, but since Covid, they just leave phone messages or mail a letter. I haven’t gotten a Mormon in a few years, but I see them out and about again. My next-door JW and my evangelical neighbors down the block leave proselytizing literature in my Little Free Library, but that’s not aimed at me specifically. A few months ago I got a Muslim Lyft driver who tried to convert me and convince me that Islam doesn’t discriminate against women. The seatbacks were stuffed full of pamphlets mansplaining how Muslims revere their women. I reported him to Lyft and got a ride credit. At a local mall, there are free weekend evening concerts. A Christian youth group buses in groups of teens to mingle and aggressively try to convert. It did not go well for them the last time they hit me up. Many times I’ve been a guest and was expected to hold hands and say a jesus grace. The last time was a few months ago. I live in a liberal area. The dying church around the corner from me rings its bells LOUDLY every Sunday, despite having a tiny congregation and being in the middle of a residential neighborhood in a residential block nowhere near a main street. Drives my dog crazy, as she thinks it’s the jingling bells on my gates. If a Jewish temple did this in a Christian neighborhood, I don’t think it would be tolerated. But the Christians here think it’s quaint. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/119 "2023-05-01T01:42:01Z")
He processed post-abortion specimens . If I hadn’t spoilered this, some people would probably ask why I didn’t spoiler it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176/120 "2023-05-01T04:21:22Z")
I don’t think so. I agree that the spoiler is just confusing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-people-try-to-convert-you-to-their-religion/983176.md?page=7)