Telling Classmates about Religious Views?

[Xiao Rong]

[part of this post was originally on another forum, but I moved it here so it can get the attention it deserves.]

Also, on another note, I was wondering what to say in class. Because basically in history we are doing about King Henry VIII and about the Catholic and Protestant churches. Some boys on our table (there's 4 of us, me, this girl, and 2 boys) were kind of being rude about the religions.

I said to the girl I am not a Christian so I'm not offended, and the girl said yeah, religion is a pile of poo, so I just agreed with her, seeing as we're not so close. Some of my friends are really ok with me being a Witch, but some others thought it was just a joke and called me a wizard.

The only way to get them off my back was to tell them I wasn't anymore. Ok sorry I'm just rambling, I just wanted to know whether I should tell people about my religious views, just as a bonus question added to the original question. Blessed be!

[Heartsong]

It's just my two cents, but I really think that it depends on your comfort level, both with yourself and with the people around you. If you're comfortable with what you believe, and it doesn't bother you that there will be people (and there will be!) who are going to roll their eyes at you or say something unpleasant, then by all means, be open about your religion, whatever it may be.

[Vesca]

There's a fair few variables to look at before a real solution can come about. For instance, how open and comfortable are you about your beliefs with others? Are there certain people you don't tell? Or do you tell everyone and let the pieces fall as they may? How important is it to you for others to be aware of your beliefs? To understand them? To respect them?

The dirty truth is that not everyone is going to want to understand your path, let alone respect it. Just like I don't particularly care about the philosophical reasons why my sibling chose to wear a red shirt the other day. To some people, it's not even going to be something they'll think twice about. For others, it may be something they hold in their sights at all times when they're around you and jade the way they perceive you as a person (for better or for worse).

Those are questions that really ought to be answered before the tactical portion of the question is addressed.

Personally, my beliefs aren't something that seem to be of mainstream understanding (or even awareness, yet) and it tends to take more time, effort and energy to explain the basics than it's really worth. Particularly because I take people at face and personality value rather than worrying about which god(s), or lack thereof, they pray to.

Another tactic I've recently started doing is working on a blog that summarizes the basics of my beliefs and just referring people to that if they really seem genuinely interested.

[TheGirlOfSecrets]

Thankyou, I told my family (mum, dad, brother - they actually helped me, specifically my mum, she's pagan, my brother and dad are atheist) and two friends, one is my bestest friend ever, and the other I'm not really close with but I still told her. I freely 'like' witchcraft posts and music on YouTube so I might just let the pieces fall in place. And my mum is making me go to school now so bye!