If I can't walk away, it is damned near impossible to hide my true feelings.

It is second hand at this point. I try not to step on anyone else's toes unless they step on mine. Then the steel toed boots come out but appropriate for the situation.

I live in Kansas. If I couldn't politely navigate overwhelmingly religious people I would lose my mind. I never hide what I believe when asked.

As soon as they start directing questions to me, I usually tell them that I am not into religion and for the most part they have left me alone. Sometimes they will insist on converting me but I only take so much and then tell them that they need to stop.

I don't know if it's me getting older, or if THEY are getting more obnoxious...

I FEEL it's the latter. I was just in a fast food joint grabbing my breakfast goodies, and when the customer behind me walked in and the cashier said "Good morning! How are you today?" The customer, for everyone in the room loudly stated...

"I AM BLESSED!"

Collective groan...

Not displeasure at all. Not my enemies.

Or just horrible people in general. It just makes me fatigued.

I’ll often ask a subtle yet provocative question to set the tone.

“The speed of light is just over 300,000 kilometres per second and did you know it takes 8 minutes for the light of our sun to hit earth? I wonder how long it takes the light from other stars to reach us?”

Thousand yard stare, complete silence, and walk away. If they persist, it depends on what they do, but they'll almost certainly regret it.

I simply can't contain my 'displeasure' - though I do try. Every Saturday morning, camped outside our local branch of Tesco, there are a gang/herd/flock of Jehovah's Witnesses (what's the collective noun for a group of religious zealots? I've no idea. I hope it's something appropriate like; A Misery of Dogmatists) and as we enter the wonderful temple of commerce, my wife asks/pleads with me not to say anything offensive to the JW's as they hand leaflets out or proffer me a copy of 'The Watchtower' (are they all Hendrix fans?). TBH, she finds it embarrassing when I swear at them about their views on dinosaurs. So to compromise, as I pass, I fix them with my hardest 'Paddington Bear hard stare' to show my disapproval. Not likely to rock the world of religion, but it makes me feel a little bit better.

It's not difficult recognizing why they chose to walk that path but what’s more interesting is why your own displeasure.

If anyone brings up religion to me in writing posts, I simply reply "you're being #religulous (the hashtag allows FB references to be grouped, here I think it stops Spell check)...but do watch the movie; it's awesome; and explains a lot about why our society is so "religulous"....

Religulous, Trailer

I try to avoid them and if they are on Facebook, I defriend them.

It is extremely difficult. Otherwise rational and pleasant people start spouting nonsense with no basis in reality that is destructive. While I do contain my annoyance, I don't pretend to agree. So, they usually stop because somewhere... deep down... they know that they are full of shit. My silence usually gets the smarter ones back in touch with that fact, I think.

Enough to actively avoid being around them. But I wouldn't vocalize it as long as they don't attempt to 'enlighten' me with their beliefs.

I don't have to spend time around those people, so I don't.

I find it odd that the overly religious, that I know, defend their faith with logic and reason.

I don't feel any displeasure therefore cannot find difficult to contain something I don't have

I usually don't say anything, if they approach me, i tell them sorry, i don't believe any god, please do not try. if they do, then i get upset or take there little bible or what ever they handing out and right in front of them roll a smoke. lol but i still believe they have a right to believe what they want. just not to bother me about it.

I don't put much effort at all into containing my displeasure. Not showign displeasure only encourages them.

Oh the stupidty of them to be so ingrossed into religion! Like the person who hurts them selves gets sick, or a disabilty it gods will or gods plan! How stupid are they are! Then they talk about free will FUCK! They will nt listen to reason. The doctors with scince cures someone they thank god really who in their book gave them disease, disabilty or what ever ailment they have! Again its gods plan he don't give you any more than you can handle!Really that is why so many people commit suicide? Then the god willing shit!

I'm too old for that shit. I don't want to be angry and frustrated all the time. I accept that religion exists, that it's still a source of great human suffering in the world. I work with that as it is. Sure, I have a flash of annoyance and weariness here and there but for the most part I just accept the world as it is. I no more lay awake nights over that than I do over any of the other things I wish were different than they are. Those concerns aren't actionable. It is what it is, no more and no less.

I try to just keep on a vacuous smile. But I know I probably look surprised.

Having dated a woman who became charismatic over the course of our relationship for reasons unrelated to our dynamic, I can tell you that what rankles me more than anything is the way they deploy scripture instead of expressing their own views, opinions, & feelings. I've seen more than one person who proselytizes to hide themselves from the world. Never much of a believer to begin with, this is what sealed the coffin for me.