(July 18, 2010 at 11:45 pm)qwerty Wrote: Hi all, am somewhat new to atheistic views and as a result am somewhat unsure of the way to go about discussing the topic of atheism and my opinions with others who have a strong belief in god, creation etc.
An example of this is that i have a couple of good friends whose familys are religious christians despite the facth they are quite educated and knowledgeable people (one's father is an engineer and the other is a medical doctor). If I have dinner with their family they always give thanks/pray before they eat, which in my eyes is pointless, despite this I still sit there and go along with it because I don't want to be rude or seem insensitive.
What advice can people give on how to deal with situations like this? Is it better to just sit back and say nothing to avoid conflict or to stand up for my views?
I think your first instinct was spot on.
Remember, others are perfectly welcome to their own views on things and are perfectly happy believing what they want to believe just as you are able to. It really just common courtesy to let them do their thing. I'm not saying you should lie to them at any point, but it's rude to provoke them after inviting them into their home for a decent evening of dinner and polite company.
If things end up coming to a discussion of religion and specifically your views on matters of faith, you should be up front about it, but don't go there just to push your ideas on others - it wouldn't matter what faith or idea you have, but putting them out when they're not welcome is rude.
If you really don't want to engage in prayer, then don't, but don't make a scene and absolutely let them undertake whatever traditions they're accustomed to.
The point is to not be confrontational.
The time to discuss your views on religion is only when they want to engage you on religion - either directly or perhaps in a group discussion. Remember, these people are friends and family and friends of family, and forcing your beliefs others, regardless of your faith or lack of faith, is never welcome out of context.
This, at least, is how I approach dinners with my family, extended family, and friends... so forth.
