Do you believe that knowledge of someone's particular religion

[Occam Bandage]

(or lack thereof) is ever sufficient to discount them as less worthwhile to engage in a conversation?

[Vincardog]

1. Are you talking about funDUHAmentalists too?

[Occam Bandage]

4. yes. nt

[annabanana]

2. Depends on the subject of the conversation. . . n/t

[Occam Bandage]

5. "ever."

[BlooInBloo]

3. It's likely a first strike... But it also depends on the topic of convo....

But then again, I have somewhat high standards of what counts as "worthwhile to engage in a conversation".


EDIT: Note that the *particular* religion doesn't matter to me. Just whether or not they're religious *at all*.

[MrModerate]

6. Particular religion, no . . .

Deism vs atheism? Absolutely.

It's not a matter of "worthwhile conversation," though, but there are some topics (e.g., religion) that I just don't find worthwhile to discuss with deists.

[progdonkey]

7. Don't you mean "theism"?

Deism's a specific subset of theistic belief, so I don't see why you'd single them out. :shrug:

[MrModerate]

17. Quite so. Strictly speaking, deism is too restrictive a term.

I'd amend my comment to use "theism" instead.

[Muttocracy]

8. yes, I'm less interested in discussion with people who take things on faith over rational thought.

[Divine Discontent]

12. so you wouldn't wish to talk to President Obama, Carter, Clinton? and on and on and on etc...

just b/c you don't share the same views on where we came from, doesn't mean you should be so quick to cast a negative view on others for believing something you do not.

[Muttocracy]

15. I didn't say never, I said less, and it's not just about origins, it's about thought process. nt

[Divine Discontent]

19. I know you said less, but you are right to restate that, and yes, it's about thought process. peace

[MrModerate]

18. Just stepping in here . . .

I'd love to speak to any one or all of those people. I sure as heck wouldn't discuss relgion, though.

[rd_kent]

27. They cast their own negative view

when they choose to ignore fact, figures, numbers and data that conflicts with their belief in something that has NO BASIS IN REALITY OR HAS DATA TO SUPPORT IT. NONE!

Sorry for the yelling:)

[CLANG]

9. If they want to talk about religion, then hell yeah!

[Warren Stupidity]

10. No, but it sure can be a major hurdle.

[MindMatter]

11. Yes, of course.

If a person believes the earth is 6000 years old, I am not going to waste a minute on anything they have to say because they are clearly a moron.

[rug]

13. No, even if you discount his beliefs it is always interesting to find out how he got there.

[Adsos Letter]

20. I agree, that is where the interest lies...

It's like studying intellectual history...it's the age-old question "What on earth were you thinking?" that makes intellectual history so appealing...and that includes religious thought.

[dweller]

14. You may as well discount them for their hair color

or eye color. Pick a color. Very few individuals follow a faith to the point of reality.

And the ones that do will not be concerned with your question(s).
dp

[ellenfl]

16. yes . . . if they identify themselves as fundamentalists or

southern baptists i would be less likely to engage in anything but small talk . . . and i'm terrible at small talk. especially if they make some religious reference in the opening to the conversation. i did all of the religious debating i care to in high school. i don't debate religion or people who base their responses on religion any more.

ellen fl

[TZ]

21. For the most part, no

I've known and gotten along with several fundies in my life and had some REALLY interesting conversations with them even about religion! Now, if a person wants to spend their time lecturing me on my lack of beliefs or trying to convert me or tell me I'm going to hell, then the conversations gonna be really short. But surprisingly, I've had some of my most interesting religious discussions with people whose beliefs I share the least...:)

[salvorhardin]

22. Same here

For myself it all comes down to what they believe, how strongly they believe it, and how they practice their beliefs. In almost all cases religious labels fail to meaningfully convey anything important about a person. In the case of atheists the label tells you nothing about the people who adopt that label other than they have no belief in god. In the case of believers, the label might tell you what their core beliefs are, but very little else. However, the further those beliefs are divorced from reality (for example, Raelians) it becomes harder and harder to have a conversation with them so sometimes a label can tell you enough about a person to know if you can engage in productive dialogue with them.

[struggle4progress]

23. "Engage them in conversation" for what purpose?

One might "engage someone in conservation" to enjoy his/her company, to learn something new, to try to dissuade him/her from anti-social behavior, to foster a friendly neighborhood spirit, and so on ...

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. if the person believe homosexuality is a sin, as a lot of religions do, then yes, i discount them. n

[humblebum]

25. I much less likely to engage in a conversation with someone if

I know they are bigoted against a certain group or opinion.

[BurtWorm]

26. Someone who believes in the literalness of the Bible is not someone to talk science with.

Unless you want to argue or find out how anyone can believe what that person believes. Similarly, you probably wouldn't want to talk sex with someone who believes it's a sin.


Knowledge of someone's personal religious beliefs does have an effect on what can and can't be talked about.

[moobu2]

28. No,,,If they announce they’re Christians at our first meeting

I just don’t trust them. There’s always some ulterior motive for it.

I really don’t mind talking to christians after I’ve had a few meetings and then they want to mention it but I usually know more about it than they do.

[MedleyMisty]

29. I don't engage anyone in conversation

I am a hardcore introvert, and on top of that I have social anxiety.

However, I will read anyone's posts or blogs because reading about other people's experiences helps me learn and I love seeing how other people think. It does have to be honest and heartfelt and open and not defensive, though. But then flame wars help me learn too, just not in a positive manner.

[Why Syzygy]

30. Yes.

It isn't always the only consideration. Their shade of a particular religion might make a difference.

Being primarily introverted, I can pick and choose with whom to converse.

I don't volunteer to listen to hate spew from ANYONE.

[Iggo]

31. "Believe"? Hell, I'm certain.

[rtassi]

32. Conversation no ... discussion yes ... nt

[Deep13]

33. No. We might talk about something else.

In fact I frequently do talk about nonreligious things with very religious people.