I come from a culture where 800 years of opression has pushed religion into the shadows of private life, I find it very difficult to discuss religion, both from my own upbringing and from the fact that while growing up, I had nobody to talk to about religion as they were all in the same "we don't talk about that" place, Religious discussion outside of certain times and areas was definitley taboo.

I also have te added bonus of having a religion now that discourages preaching and there fore I'm not really supposed to talk about it.

The result of this combination is that the only place I can really talk about beliefs and faith is here.

This forum nullifies my first impediment by the simple fact that I can't see any of you and you can't see me, along with the fact that the re is inherent "permission" to discuss religious issues here.

I occasionally find myself in situations where someone is discussing a particular faith (Islam being the current subject du jour) which I have studied thoroughly but because of my religious repression I can't say anything but what I really want to do is put them straight.

Do you ever just want to explain yourself to someone or shoot them down because they are contradicting or misconstrueing your faith or anothers but are afraid to do so?

quite often being of the earth following...and i usually do. however i'm not bound by the same restraints as you seem to be. It's sad there's so much misconstrued information about religions that aren't mainstream american...i don't see how pointing out facts is preaching however...it's not like you're trying to convert them to your belief, just let them know they are wrong in their perceptions. I don't see how education can ever be wrong or prohibited...

i guess that by pointing out a belief that may have been proven to be scientifically wrong, many people feel that you are challenging their beliefs, values, or faith. the whole idea behind religion is faith and just because a belief has been proven wrong before, it isn't going to necessarily stop people from believing in that thing. however, i do like to debate about topic of religion as long as things don't get too vicious feel free to debate things here on df and not be told (hopefully) that you're preaching to a choir.

I myself have never been persecuted for my religion beyond certain expected side effects... a priest who saw my pentacle, and an ex girlfriend thinking I would curse her... so I am able to talk freely in most cases, and in most situations, *shrugs* I have no problem with it. It is an interesting topic.
But I do have restrictions with telling people certain things as well, especially theory involved also... I tend to bend but never break this rule.
Although sometimes I do feel left out for never being persecuted for my religion.

i've never had persecution, but there's always the misunderstanding...

I've been accused of believin in stuff i don't believe in. But generally I'm not a religous person, but happy to dicuss it, and learn about it.

i have found the idea of trying to argue even a mild point in ones faith is rather useless ... since they always feel that it is an attack against them and their faith... so i never bring it up.... even when it is brought up towards myself.... i know what i feel is right that is good enough for me... so why would the same not be true for someone else and what they believe... after all who am i to tell someone they are wrong...i do not know them, have not lived their life or even had the same teachings as them... to each his own... and if that is not good enough for them ... well that is their problem they can not find enough faith on their own with out being validated by someone else then i think they need more that just religion to help them through...

There's one problem with religious discussion that I've noticed. I think this is one of the reasons many people don't like talking about it. There are a lot of people out there who will make a rather sad attempt at appearing to be interested by responding "okay, that's nice. well here's what *I* think." And then they go into their beliefs and completely dismiss what you just said. Now I know some people are actually interested and then want to share their beliefs too, but many do try to hide their close-mindedness.

Religious discussions tends to become very heated, because it's usually a very personal question to most...your beliefs, if you're religious or not, are a large part of who you are, and you will get judged by them... most don't do it on purpose, but they do...

I understand the religous oppression, and confussion. My mom is wiccan and my dad is a baptist, they granted my grandfather's (jewish) wishes and went to a jewish preschool, then my parents decided to stop practicing that on me when I was about five. Then we were raised like the rest of american children, no church and an annual christmas. When I was twelve they decided to send me to a christian school to shelter me from "the horrors of public school." That was were I really got reemed out by the church.

So anyway, religion doesn't have to be in your life, and if it comes up just ignore it. I've found that works best for me, but then again the voices in my head just keep all that crap for me.

Nope. Never a problem for me. The only problem I have is when I want to speak up about something and then don't, because I realize it won't do a damn bit of good except waste my breath. A large majority of people don't want to be educated, or corrected, simply agreed with and surrounded by like-minded people.

i think people with any kind of belief should be more open to the possibility that they might be wrong.

What? Loose that deathgrip on the blind faith that they hold up against all reason? You must be mad...

if you dont believe in somthing youll fall for anything