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Tags: religion, christianity, muslim, Jewish, pagan 

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Talking to someone who's intolerant

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Have you ever had a conversation with a religiously intolerant person?
  Yes, and I argued against them, but it didn't really work
  Yes, and I just let it go. There's no reasoning with people like that.
  Yes, and I was able to convince them to be more tolerant.
  Yes, and I had no idea what to do.
  Uh, no, not really.
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Julri

PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 3:39 pm


So, basic question, how do you guys handle it when you're talking to somebody who's completely intolerant to your religion? Example, I used to have a friend who thought that Paganism and evil were pretty much synonymous, so one day we got in a huge argument about it and, since I tend to argue things to the death, the argument lasted forever and in the end she started crying and saying that I was just trying to make her feel bad. So, then I ended up feeling horrible, even though she was the one who was being intolerant. For future reference, how should I handle intolerant people, aside from the extremes of either acting intolerant myself or tolerating intolerance? I'm at a complete loss...
PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:44 pm


Uhm, I sat through a sermon a few weeks ago that was teaching Christians how to teach Jews about Jesus because they need to be 'saved'. Yeah, I got into my car, blasted Israeli music, and made sure everyone heard it.

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rmcdra
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:42 pm


Intolerance is a type of bigotry for the most part. The best solution is to be knowledgeable about your religion and being secure in your religion. Address your religion when asked about it in a non-confrontational matter and remember that questions are not attacks against you. Recognizing that one's beliefs is not synonymous with who someone is can be helpful in such situations. When the questions become attacks against your person-hood, it would be advisable to just stop discussion and confront that they are no longer discussing your beliefs and actually attacking you as a person. Where it goes from there will be based on how much you and the other person value what ever type of relationship you have with each other. Some relationships are not worth the effort, some people are just set in their ways.
PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:50 pm


rmcdra
Intolerance is a type of bigotry for the most part. The best solution is to be knowledgeable about your religion and being secure in your religion. Address your religion when asked about it in a non-confrontational matter and remember that questions are not attacks against you. Recognizing that one's beliefs is not synonymous with who someone is can be helpful in such situations. When the questions become attacks against your person-hood, it would be advisable to just stop discussion and confront that they are no longer discussing your beliefs and actually attacking you as a person. Where it goes from there will be based on how much you and the other person value what ever type of relationship you have with each other. Some relationships are not worth the effort, some people are just set in their ways.


That's pretty good advice. Thanks.

Julri

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Religious Tolerance and Education Guild

 
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