How can you convince your Christian neighbors to respect your right to be an atheist?

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I have devoutly religious neighbors. We have made peace, and greater than that, we have made a wonderful friendship. Our trick? They don't try to convert me, and I don't try to convert them. They put out their Nativity scene at Xmas, and I hang my lights. They say "God bless you", and I say "Take care".

I can completely see how this could fall apart. A main tenet of Christian belief is 'witnessing', that is, finding a non-believer and trying to convert them. If you have fanatical evangelicals as neighbors, then you are best off just smiling politely.

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In some instances, you can't. In most instances, you can. Usually by correcting misunderstandings about atheism. If they try to "convert" you, logically arguing back (if that's your cup of tea) will usually scare them off, lol. If they just seem to not think it's right then genuinely ask them why. Reassure them that you're a caring decent human being just like anyone else, you don't think life is meaningless, you care about the future of humanity, you think and feel much like they do.

I know it can be disheartening to have to reassure people constantly that you're a human being, but for atheists right now that's just sort of our lot in life. Hey, at least nobody's tryin' to set you on fire, ya know?

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Fanatics (Christian or otherwise) tend not to respect anyone's rights.

The best way to avoid unwanted topics is to change the subject. Stop all "religious" talk by remarking on the weather or time constraints.

Often the way to gain respect is to give it and this can be achieved by avoiding conversations where objectivity is not an existing quality in oneself or one's contacts.

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I was an active and vocal atheist until the age of 35; I shared your views of Christians who attempted, with too much zeal, to convert me. To be clear, I'm now a devout Catholic; my initial conversion was 11 years ago.

Having stood on both sides of this issue, I feel I can say with certainty that both sides would benefit from understanding the limits under which the other person is laboring.

For the Christian, love of their fellow men and the command to spread the Gospel often combine to overrule reason in talking with unbelievers. This is what we as Christians must strive against. The temptation we face is that of being proud. We want to see conversion for the sake of those saved, of course; but we would be most satisfied to see their conversion come about as the result of God using us to affect it. When we succomb to this temptation, the results are not the will of God, as the posts here show. Pride cannot serve God.

First answer by Mima. Last edit by The Nerd. Contributor trust: 5 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 21 [recommend question]