<p>Don Quixote - maybe my wording wasn’t too great. I don’t think they’re freakish or anything. It’s just that the act of trying to convert someone else to your own religion annoys me. And if someone really was my best friend, I would hope that they know me well enough to understand that I would be interested in learning about his religion, but not so much that I would be willing to be subjected to him lecturing me about how I should change my ways. </p>
<p>I guess what I said doesn’t make much sense, if you apply it to people who believe that one of the principles of their religion is to convert others, and that this is how one can help others to achieve happiness. It really is a good thing that they want others to be happy, and how can one fault them for it? I think I draw the line when people go from simply wanting others to lead a good life (and letting them go if they do not want to change their lifestyle), to disrespecting (it is disrespectful to me, at least) how other people live by pushing that if they do not live according to some religion, they will go to hell. Isn’t that what causes many of the problems in the world? A group of people believe that they have the right answer and the right opinion, and they go upon the world trying to do “good”, but end up causing more harm than good. With imperialism, religion (among other things) was a major excuse to go into unexplored land. Hitler believe that his race was superior. In Congress, a lot of times, it is the moderates who push for compromise in order to get anything done. </p>
<p>I’m wonder what will happen to my own beliefs during college. In high school, I have had many religious friends - all different denominations of Christianity, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist - and no one has ever questioned my own atheism. We have been conversations on theology, and some light debate on the purpose of religion, but no one has used religion to try to change others. I hope that my college experience - and everyone other person’s - is one that involves encountering, and having to deal with, people from backgrounds that are completely different than theirs.</p>