So I'm atheist, my girlfriend is moderately christian (i.e. somewhere between the "I say I'm christian but it has no influence whatsoever on my daily life" and the "World is 6000 years old, dinosaur bones are faked" camps), and we sometimes get onto the discussion of religion. It hasn't gotten ugly yet, but I can see that it could possibly turn into a nasty argument. Other than this we're like any other two madly devoted teenagers who haven't yet seen the grimness and futility of relatships. :)
So what do you people think? Have you experience in this sort of situation? The obvious solution would just be to not discuss religion, but that seems to be skirting the issue, sort of.

So, thoughts?

I'm an atheist and my girlfriend is a Jehova's Witness... yeah.... hasn't actually been a problem.

i dont discuss religion with people because i tend to get pissed at the idiots

Discussing religion is like going out into a minefield; take one wrong step and the results will be disastrous.

I'm a fairly vocal atheist but despite popular belief I tend to hold my tongue more around people like this - espeically if I'm having a personal thing with them. One of my past boyfriends was christain, but didn't really practise although he went to a private school that shoved RE down his throat. We never really talked about the subject, we knew each others beliefs but they never influenced the relationship - I guess at that point in my life although I was still undecided about what I thought.

Last year I started getting into a friends with benefit type relationship with a hard out christain - I'm talking no sex before marriage "but we can do everything else" - apart from the obvious moral flaw right there we got along alright. It was rocky at the start due to me being WTF at a guy aged 21 not wanting to have sex, we fought a fair bit (due to both of us nit picking the other). We decided together, as friends, that we couldn't take our relationship any further due to the huge moral difference we had but we're still good friends now and he has a nice little god lover girlfriend so that suits him down to the ground haha.

Best advice? If you see things heading nasty, take a step back - ask yourself is it really worth getting into a fight about something like this? Remember that you both have opinions, and each should respect the other. Walking away or changing the subject before things go out of control is the best advice I can give you.

Well, I would try and convert her.



I am agnostic (The refined atheist IMO) and I had quite a Christian zealot of a girlfriend. She was really, really nice to me, but a bitch to my mum and I could see no way of her ever being a non believer.

/dumped.

Respect her beliefs and ask her to respect yours. If you both have different beliefs on crucial things involving your relationship then break it off, don't demand her to change her beliefs to yours.

My current GF is a bit like this too, I have no particular beliefe system but know alot about religion generally, I figure if it needs to be addressed it will be, up to that its nothing worth talking about, Mutual respect is all thats needed. Also, dont argue, and if you feel that it must be said, dont get angry or raise your voice, keep a level head, say it without emotion.

I'm an extremely strong atheist and have been known to argue and even get angry over the subject when I think religion crosses lines it shouldn't.

But if I was personally involved with someone religious I would doubt it was really worth it. I'd gain nothing from it and only stand to lose; it's not like you're going to change her views and she isn't going to change yours. All that can happen is that your relationship can be at risk. Just don't go there, it ain't worth it.

I wasn't raised with any particular religion and to this day I'm a self-proclaimed atheist, but my boyfriend was raised with strict muslim Bosnian values, and although he doesn't practice really anything anymore, he still holds true to some of those values. It hasn't really presented that big of a problem, but there are times where I really resent how his father raised him to believe women are second-class citizens.

The only time I can really, honestly remember a confrontation that threatened the relationship is when he, in an incredibly drunk stupor, came right out and said he knew he was better then I was because he's a dominant male, and I'm "just a female"

It shocked me because he had never acted like that was the way he felt and he certainly had never said anything like that before.

Needless to say, I packed a bag and got the fuck out of there, stayed at a friend's for a week or so. We're back together, and trust me I was extremley hesitant, but since he's never acted or talked that way before, and I'm a firm believer in second chances, I took him back and til this day he has never presented a problem with me being inferior simply because I have a vagina.

Anyway, the moral is sometimes it's hard if not damn near impossible to shake the ideals you were introduced to growing up. It's best not to argue about them, I suppose, just respect each others opinions. Religion is incredibly important to some people, and I guess it just depends on the degree of commitment and love you have for the other person to make it work.

Holy shit I'm ranting, sorry everyone.

I think if you like this girl, the best thing you can really do in the situation is to live and let live. Everybodies entitled to their own private beliefs, and as long as she doesnt shove it down your throat on a regular basis, it shouldnt really cause that much of a problem. Having said that, I'm actually a total hypocrite, because I think I'd find it quite hard to be with someone who was hardcore religious. It often kind of affects your whole view on life, I think, and I find that quite frustrating.

I had a scientologist girl (LAWL TOM CROOZ PLACENTA)...I'm agnostic (christian), and it didn't bother me at all. They had some odd ways of dealing with problems sure, but then again it works for some people. It was never really an issue.

Like Mrs. MrKite says, just down shove the beliefs down each others throat and you'll be fine. You don't have to agree about everything.

Hmm..

The wife and I have differing beliefs. We seem to get along fine.

The only thing to do is agree to leave religion out of your relationship. You don't try to convert her, she doesn't try to convert you.

If you can talk about it civily, then it's okay.

If you dont make it an issue, hopefully it wont become one. Once upon a time ago, I feared that something will pop up with religion, but seriously...If you dont let it become a problem, it shouldn't bother anyone.