Dear Avani,
I am a Hindu, and I absolutely love it. As you may know, [Hindus] are born into religion, whereas others are given the choice to be whatever they wish to be. The majority of my friends are Christian; and in their religion it is their job to try to convert and guide people to Jesus. Also, their religion believes that only the followers and believers of Jesus go to heaven, so they are trying their best to convert me so that I don’t “go to hell.” They have tried to get me to convert many times but, being a Hindu, it isn’t possible to convert as we aren’t given the choice; and I also don’t want to convert since I am proud of being Hindu. They want me to come to church with them just to get an experience, which is fine with me, but I don’t want them getting the impression that I wish to convert —I can’t do so. What should I do? I really want to get a different experience by going with them, but I don’t want to disappoint my own religion. Please help me.
-Religiously Wrecked
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I’d like to start by saying that religion is based on faith, and faith is a personal choice. If you choose to be Hindu, Christian, Atheist or Agnostic — it is a CHOICE. Keeping that in mind, choosing a religion to follow links it directly to your identity. Your friends should be sensitive to that choice, just as you are to theirs. They choose to follow Christianity and you do not try to convert them with threats from the afterlife — neither should they. Make that clear to them. At the same time, stress that you are in no way belittling their religious choices and that they have every right to believe as they wish; and by the same token, so do you.
Neither them, nor you, can know or control where the afterlife lies or whether it even exists. Worry about the now, and leave the rest to the big guy upstairs.
If you want the experience, go to church with them after clarifying where you stand religiously. Let them know that you appreciate their efforts, but you are happy with your beliefs — and support their beliefs — but do not plan on converting. If you are still trying to figure out what sort of religious path you want to take, let them know that as well. Tell them you are open to their views, but not their compulsion.
Personally, I was born Hindu and raised Hindu, and like to believe that I’m a relatively religious person. However, I attended a Seventh-day Adventist elementary school, a Baha’i middle school and predominantly Catholic high school. In every setting, I was able to take some lesson and apply it to my already set religious beliefs, and have been able to maintain healthy relationships with friends from all sorts of religious backgrounds, even Atheists. Your personal religious values should never be enforced on the people around you; and if you are one of those people who walks around trying to save people from eternal damnation, save that job for the campus preacher.
My advice: keep your religious beliefs in their place, and your friendships in theirs. Being a good Hindu or good Christian does not lie in the number of people you recruit for the religion, but rather in the number of good deeds you do and the morals you follow. Strive more towards being a good person and doing the right thing rather than attempting to enforce your beliefs on your friends. Feel free to experience any and all religious backgrounds; in fact, I strongly recommend it. It reinforces the beliefs you have and points out the crucial truth that all religions strive to teach you not who to believe in, or where you will end up, but rather where you stand as a human being today and how to improve your moral pallet.