P.S. Newish fad it certainly is not. Christians have been putting unbelievers or “heretics “ to death since early times and likewise Muslims doing the same to infidels!

@Marionville Yes, Xtians have been persecuting Non-Believers since the early years of the inception of Xtianity just as the Jews persecuted the Gentiles and those Jews who followed the ' teachings' of those ' so-called' Disciples.
And now the Radical Fundamentalist Muslims are, in my opinion, doing a belated ' copycat' version of the Xtians, a kind of Tit for Tat in my opinion considering the outright and wholesale SLAUGHTER inflicted upon them during the Crusades by the Xtians.
As to the ' running to Xtianity' think about the ones in prisons who suddenly find/turn to Jesus/God, are they not simply ' running' to one thing in hope/s of escaping something else or hoping that their sudden 'conversion' may give them a chance of the ' Get out of Gaol ' card?

@Triphid Don’t think we disagree ....except the difference between real belief and expediency in the case of criminals who would jump on any bandwagon if it served their purpose.....but in most of these cases they don’t really believe so can’t be included here.

@Marionville Precisely, and I often ponder upon just how many of these ' Evangelist' Churches and their so-called Founders have see the potential sources for Personal Gain/s, etc, in doing a bit of ' bandwagon' jumping, tuning up their 'special' style of stage acting and pretence, etc, so that they can draw in the gullible, the frightened and the insecure and fleece them as have those like the Billy Graham Dynasty, etc.
For instance, When I was aged 16, I became quite interested in joining the High Drama Group and found that Amateur Acting was a bit of a forte for me, I received quite a bit of acclaim for my talent of being able to "fit myself into any role I was selected for on stage,' this became a kind of thing I would asked to do impromptu in the school grounds to entertain fellow students as well.
Hence, one teacher ' dared' me to ' put on a show' on a street corner, dressed as an itinerant ' Preacher' and see how many people I could ' convince' that I was 'speaking' the words of God.
I accepted, worked up my own script, role and persona for a few weeks, got a ' costume' and the Teacher then took me and a group of others to a town some 300 Kilometres away for the weekend where I'd would not be recognized and I did my ' Preacher act.'
It totally surprised me, and everyone else btw, just how many people gathered around once I got started and how many were offering various amounts of money for me to set up a Church so that they could hear me preach to them every Sunday.
That was Easter Weekend, 1969 and had we not had scruples we could have walked away quite a few hundreds of dollars richer. I was an Atheist then as I still am today and ever since I have viewed the ' Evangelist' types, and ALL Churches btw, as being little more than a very well organized Confidence Trickster Scheme, to say the very least, preying upon the vulnerability of others, raking in the money gained from false promises, etc, etc,.

@Triphid Yes you have just confirmed what I have always believed that TV evangelists and their ilk who drum up support by hellfire preaching on street corners are just a bunch of conmen and out and out cynical bastards who are out to exploit people’s weaknesses and stupidly.

@Marionville Precisely my friend and that is how religions first got started way way back in the earliest times of human history if one truly sits and thinks about it.
E.g. the tribe/clan has a poor week where hunting has been a fairly dismal failure, one tribe member sees an opportunity to ' exploit' the others for his/her own personal gain, probably by utilizing the knowledge gained from observing very closely the habits, etc, of the ' game' animals, he/she then tells the others that he/she can hear and speak to the animal spirits and the ancestors of the tribe members BUT the other must sacrifice the best and choicest parts of the meats to those spirits via him or her, and, BINGO, religion is BORN, one person gains a free ride while the rest do all the work, etc.

When I posited " Newish Fashion type Fad" in relation to Evangelism ( which, btw, is somewhat relatively ' new' in the context of the last 2,000+ years since Xtianity, etc, has been around) that what was part of the studies of Theology and Comparative MODERN Religions comprised of considering that it only reared its head, so to speak, some 250+ years ago.
Prior to the formation of the C. of E. under Henry VIII of England and the ideas of Martin Luther ( the Founder of Lutheranism) in Germany there was only the Holy Roman Empire ( Catholic Church) ruling the majority of Europe and the R.C.C. was striving and determined to eradicate ALL 'perceived ' opposition to their domination.

Perhaps I wasn't quite clear and concise enough too, for that I apologize, however I meant it to read as referring to those who were NOT religious previously BEFORE suddenly changing tack, so to speak, i.e. my Born-Again Evangelist neighbor who admits to numerous societal ' no-nos' prior to his 'conversion.'

@Triphid No need to apologize ... I must apologize, as I was the one who misunderstood. In the grand scheme of things, the term 'new' may be rather ancient, as in "New Testament." When it comes to your neighbor, there is often an overwhelming urge to 'share' one's 'testimony,' following an emotional vector change brought about by a religious experience. Your neighbor's sense of guilt may have played a role here. Personally, having lived through all of this crap, I wish these people would just keep it to themselves. Their experiences should be viewed as being unique to them, and not meant for mass distribution.

@p-nullifidian No worries mate, let's just call it as it should be ,i.e. a wee small hiccup, nothing more, nothing less.