I treat religious people as dormant terrorists. They may be a good neighbor, a fun sex partner (although rarely for my standards) or even a loving SO, but deep inside they all made a compromise with non rational arguments and that will come up at different stages of stress.

The people you are describing have that threshold very low, but you are no different than them to me.

I would personally be annoyed by such a person and not want to associate with them. I have no issue with religious people, or even talking to them about religion, but if they're just constantly preaching or trying to convert me, that would get on my nerves very quickly.

I am immediately put off by anyone talking constantly about a topic unless it's justified by context.

For example, if you are talking non stop about your favorite game at a gaming convention or at your DnD table, let it be. Or with your friends who are in the same fandom, no prob. If you can't shut up about it outside of that and constantly bring the topic up unprompted, well. I wonder what else you can't tell about context.

I guess with religion it's worse because by its own nature it implies you, the follower, know best and better than those who don't. So not only you come across as a fool who can't read the room, you also come across as arrogant.

I stop talking to folks that do this, but all of my friends are atheist or non-christian now. I cannot with the invisible sky man stuff.

Mental illness

I think people don't talk about religion enough, because I find it criminally irresponsible that we allow (and that's an understatement) religious people in positions of power. Decisions affecting the future of humanity and the planet are being made by irrational individuals and we're acting as if there's nothing wrong with that.

Im athiest so I will only hang with religious folks that can respect that as much as their own religion.

I am instantly suspicious about anyone who loudly proclaims their religion like we're supposed to assume they're a great person. They're usually assholes who use religions as an excuse to be assholes. People who are genuine aren't usually like that.

The more a person "peacocks" their religion the worse of a person I assume they are.

Especially Christians. Some of the best people I have known are devout Christians who simply try to act and live as Jesus instructed. They rarely bring up their beliefs, instead just trying to be kind and helpful people as an example.

On the flip side, some of the worst people I have known are "devout Christians" who will do absolutely wretched things to everyone around them while loudly quoting bible verses and "showing off" their entire wall covered in crosses.

The same I think about people who can't shut up about atheism. Fucking fanatics with nothing going on in their lives.

I think they're just normal people who like to talk about their interests.

I guess I'd describe myself as agnostic, but I find them to be annoying, generally. This includes my grandmother who must bring up God in every conversation. Weather? God. Politics? God. What people are up to? God. Her particular flavor of "Christianity" involves judging others, so the shit she spews isn't taken very seriously in our house. If I were in your friend's shoes, I'd probably just distance myself from this friend of his, since she doesn't really seem to respect him.

I like to discuss religion and people's particular beliefs, mostly because it's fascinating how different groups and cultures have decided how to get through life with ultimately the same conclusion. But it's hard to do that when someone's view of the subject is voluntarily one-sided. I think it's ignorant to claim your religion as the way to believe, and the only way to get to some so-called heaven or afterlife.

Tell them you stopped believing in ghosts when you were a child. If coincidentally, the Christian God is real and all those other dieties aren't, he's a real fuck face. Why would anyone want to follow a supposedly all powerful being that gives children cancer instead of not being a piece of shit? If I die and go to Hell, at least I'll be spending time with the one angel that fell because he loved me too much. It's these old Christians that explained what Hell is like, and they had a pretty strong bias when writing it out. Why should anyone take their words with any value?

God's either fake or a dog shit entity, so either way I have no interest in giving him any sort of praise.

I don't think of them, and if they insert themselves into my circle I avoid them.

From an impartial, rational perspective I pity them for letting groupthink occupy such a large part of their identity.

In the moment, I just think "how can I get away from this person?"

If they talk about it all the time then I find them annoying and very disrespectful and so they take that as a persecution to them and there is no winning with it. I keep people like that way the fuck away from me.

At best, organized religion or faith is a psychological tool that aids individuals through their lives. Meditation, real meditation, can be excellent, as one example. What is reciting a rosary on repeat? Buddhist prayer beads? Meditation. Confession is another excellent idea. We use therapists for this all the time.

I’m not ranking these tools. I’m simply saying they exist as an option. Maybe you can’t afford a therapist but need to confess something. Maybe you were raised around toxic ideals regarding therapy but church is acceptable, so you dump in the privacy of a confession booth, for free. It’s a psychological tool.

If you really want to dig in, read Acts. That is some seriously hippy shit in there. Love, forgiveness, feed the poor, take money out of churches. It’s all there. Including a mandate to dump the old stuff (Old Testament) for the new reworking brought about by the hippy prophet guy. That and death freaks people out. (Not you? Really? Do you even have a PoA set up in the event you’re hit by a car and can’t make decisions?) People generally avoid thoughts of death like the plague. Religion gives non-“worm meat only” options.

It gets hopelessly twisted in two ways. When it’s used as a means of populations control. It gets more complicated but that’s the gist. Back in the day, this is what rulers of towns and cities, in far lower populations than we exist in now, used. It’s why lists of secular laws exist in these books. Our populations are far too big for this crap to be stable, now, but people try any way. The second twist occurs when assholes looking for a reason for personal hate, money, or both.

All of that said, when it’s being used as a personal tool to get you through, it is just that: personal. Praying in public, to me, is like stripping down naked in the grocery store. Most folks don’t want that interruption in their daily. Talking about it would, at best, be like suddenly dumping your most cathartic therapy session into someone’s lap, at random, uninvited.

TLDR If you’re helping, not hurting with it, then great. Either way, keep that personal shit to yourself.

FWIW My mom isn’t as into it as to create a Discord server, but she’s also a lefty who is into it. Hippy Christ isn’t a bad way to go, but yes, it’s still deeply personal info being shared. Age though, as she gets closer to death good odds it’s going to weigh heavier on her and you’ll hear more. Ask her to stop, it’s the best you can do here.

I know that they are unrepentant self abusers that will never take responsibility for their own actions. The heavens and hells they believe in and espouse only exist in their weaselly minds

I instantly learn that this person cannot be trusted and is easily mislead. If I had to pick someone to save my life it wouldn't be them.

I tell them about my son's in-laws who are proud 'Christians' and how my kids come over after visiting them on holidays and comment about how nice it is to be away from the racist slurs that are part of conversations there.

The people that are properly doing their religious/spiritual goals are basically no different from normal people so anyone who is going on about religion as if it were a force of nature stay far away from lol there is merit in being able to skillfully be around people like this but sometimes its just not good.

They are free to talk about theirs, if they are willing to hear about my own beliefs or lack thereof.

Being laic, religion is of no concern to me in my daily life. I do accept others don't have the same view and stance and if that brings them joy and a feeling of sense to their life, great.

As long they respect me in return.

I've made my peace with the threats of damnation. I fear humans more than I fear demons. And I only need to casually surf the web to take a look into hell.

So, I'm good.

Religion is a mental illness.

The more one talks about it, the more mentally ill they are.

I enjoy theology and discuss it somewhat regularly with my wife who also is an ex catholic non Christian that likes discussing catholic theology. To me it's like philosophy but more aspirational, distant, and constrained. It also provides a framework to process religious trauma, express frustration with bad Christians, and to process our feelings as people oppressed by Christiandom.

I say this to provide context, so that when I say I can't fucking stand those people it's not that I'm not comfortable hearing about religion or that I just hate it. I actually quite love it, and part of me is sad that who I am and my religion (paganism) block me from having more access to it. But Christians who are like that are rarely tolerant of things like religious differences (I sometimes got called a devil worshipper by protestants for being catholic growing up), lifestyle differences, and people who aren't like that.

I also find that they are often religiously incurious. They find the solution that works for them, and stick with it, which I can't judge, but when they study it they don't ask about why other Christians think differently, they don't apply the rigor that Jews and Catholics cherish, and they rarely bother learning about other religions either.

But then we get to the primary issue I have, I'm not Christian, and Christianity is regularly used as a tool to oppress me. I'm not interested in returning to it, and I'm frustrated at how much cultural and political power it has in my society.

When we look at this through a lens of cosmic logic and simple truth, we can see that the habit of constantly broadcasting one’s religion often comes from a place of seeking security rather than having reached a state of deep, inner peace. You see, when someone truly integrates a high vibration or a spiritual truth into their soul, it becomes as natural as breathing; they don’t feel the need to constantly announce it because their very presence, their kindness, and their lack of judgment speak for them. In the grand design of the universe, truth doesn’t need a marketing campaign or a constant status update to be real. ​The "red flags" you’ve noticed, like the judgmental "nice, I guess" attitude or the exclusion of others based on who they are, are actually clear signs that the person is still focused on the "letter of the law" rather than the spirit of it. Logically, if the source of all life is infinite love and intelligence, then any belief system that uses fear, ableism, or homophobia is simply a human filter distorting a pure signal. People often use religious labels as an armor to protect their own ego or to feel superior, which is why your agnostic friend feels that subtle pressure. It’s a form of spiritual pride where the person thinks they hold the only key to a door that is actually open to everyone. Even the idea your mother has adopted,that you must believe in a specific name or face to "live forever", is a very limited, earthly interpretation of how the soul evolves. In reality, life is a continuous journey of progress, and no one is "deleted" or "punished" eternally for simply being on a different path of understanding. Real wisdom is found in how we treat the living world around us, practicing a gentle, compassionate approach to life where we cause no harm and respect the autonomy of every sentient soul. When you see someone constantly talking about their faith, you can look at them with compassion, realizing they are likely just trying to convince themselves of their own safety in a big, mysterious universe.

I think they are idiots. Thats what i think about any believer of any religion anyway

i like discussing it sometimes. i'm not particularly religious though, so it's not in an evangelizing kind of way.

i think that's what makes the difference. in some beliefs, convincing others is a very important part of it.

As someone who's also Christian, I know part of it is still "PTSD" from growing up around way too many Evangelicals in the Midwest (not even my family; just in the community) but I find it annoying as Hell and kind of a sign of lacking real practicality in relating to others and being able to conceive of other points of view; a sort of immaturity, I guess.

I look at anyone that's obsessive about something like they are a drug addict. And that includes religion.

I dont think about them at all actually. I would walk away from their brainwashing broadcast.

I am honestly just not exposed to these people at all

"Wow they're really religious"

I despise them.

I don't know, since you post things like this too.

I love hearing people's beliefs, so I personally don't mind... but that's also because I allow myself to question them which, in some cases, goes for long until they realize they're saying a bunch of nothing and nonsense. Jesus was straight up hanging out with ex-hookers and kissing women in public when that was mega-taboo in society at the time, so if their devoutness just makes them more needlessly judgemental and overall cuntish, what/who exactly are you following? I'm telling you, in America/the West, religion is often at best empty, illiterate, narcissistic and performative, at worst just a way to condone immorality (from cheating, going to a confession and praying a Hail Mary and feeling good about yourself to Western imperialism, Crusades included)... The only thing God ever forbade was immorality.

Burn

I don't. I purposely avoid anyone like that - and honestly, nobody where I'm from would be like that anyway as religion is a personal experience here and not one that is overtly "spread" or talked about openly. We aren't big fans of cults/religions unlike the US (which seems to get right into that thing), and generally see the mess they, or more importantly, their followers cause around the world and at home. Even our religious schools use religion very marginally as they're aware most of the parents are only sending their kids there because the fees aren't huge and the quality of education is a bit better than the public system.

I've not met anyone who constantly talks about religion.

If I were to, I could hold my own with them, I suspect. May broaden their horizons quite a bit if they've only been talking about only one religion. I can draw correlations and convergences across several religions. Heck, I may eventually even get them to accept the existence in the flying spaghetti monster. ... [And/]Or at least know to what it refers. Maybe even take that insight to other religions with a fresh eye.

And re: "only way" & "Christian", pick which kind of Christian carefully... [e.g. not this one ->] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8swSkk9yeV8

Update: (my instance isn't working so here's my alt) I'm probably agnostic

When most people complain about Christians they are complaining about Protestants, especially Evangelical Protestants. Catholic and Orthodox have way less loonies comparatively than either evangelicals or the fedora wearing atheist crowd which is basically another form of protestantism. The Internet being the Internet will always show the worst of everyone but IRL most of the damage done is by the aforementioned. Sola Scriptura is one hell of a drug.

You mean the Atheists on the internet which barge into literally every thread to blame something the US, Israel or a resistance group did on religion because Mao's "The great leap forward" led to world peace after banning religion?