to wish I could complain to someone about the bloody rude religous callers who keep appearing at my door?

[ThePhantomPlopper]

I'm a practising Buddhist, I don't do religion.

So why in this day and age is it acceptable for people to stand on my door step and tell me I'm going to hell? I even have a sign on my door saying "no religious callers" after I had trouble with another group last year.

I'm not rude to them, I politely tell them I'm not interested, but they just go on and on, I hate the thought of slamming the door in someone's face but I was so tempted earlier, this man didn't just tell me I was going to hell, he went on and on about how I'm responsible for the Planets problems and was starting to yell. I told him he was scaring my daughter, made my apologises (why did I do that?) and closed the door.

I'm raging and I want to complain to someone, but I don't know where, so I'm afraid you lot will have to listen to my rantings.

Bournemouth... hmm... Brethren maybe?

Never thought about it like that. Its not like they could miss the sign.

I had Mormons visiting from america knocking on my door a few months back.

They wouldnt take not interested for an answer and were on my door step for 20mins im to nice to shut the door on them so i agreed to them coming back at a better time the next day and i made sure i was out all day

I don't see that I have any particular obligation for excessive politeness towards someone who's rude enough to knock on my door and then try to lecture me about their religious beliefs.

If they don't respond to a simple and polite "Sorry, but I'm not interested" then they'll very quickly be looking at a door being slammed in their face.

Seven ?dimensions of religion? as per Ninian Smart
The Practical and Ritual Dimension
The Experiential and Emotional Dimension
The Narrative or Mythic Dimension
The Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimension
The Ethical and Legal Dimension
The Social and Institutional Dimension
The Material Dimension

Buddhism can technically be classed as a religion using this taxonomy; however, as there is no 'God' (how can there be if everything is impermanent?), it counts as a philosophy in my book, and that is what I teach it as. My supervisor on teaching practice was a practicing Buddhist and he considered himself an atheist.

My dh dealt with the JWs very firmly one Sunday morning. One large bearded submariner in dressing gown, before having a coffee and a shower, who is an electronic engineer, being told by JWs that 'laws of physics are tosh'. DH suggests practical demonstration of laws of gravity. they all go up to the attic, jump out the window and see what happens as they won't have reached terminal velocity before they hit the ground. They declined for some reason! QED says dh, you do believe in gravity then!

Next time they came round he gave them an hour on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I love that man!

He also had the Mormons round to his flat in Brussels for an hour once to get the DVD and loads of literature and the Book of Mormon as resources. Greater love hath no man.....

It is hard to be rude to them; but I just tell them I'm agnostic, I have my own dialogue with God and it will sort itself out in the end, and that I'll ask for help when I need it.

That's exactly how my teacher thinks of it too Scaryteacher.

Send your DH round here, mine (also a matelow) is as useless as I am with them, he ends up inviting them in a for a coffee.

What I couldn't work out is where they came from. Fair enough when we lived in Peverell, but our house in UK is in the Tamar Valley and I didn't think there was a Kingdom Hall nearer than Plymouth.

We don't seem to get them in Brussels.

Tell them that all things are impermanent so you really must be going

The church that the these came from today was in Bournemouth apparently. I'm on the Isle of Wight! I'd feel even ruder slamming the door in someone's face when they've supposedly travelled so far. .

Just say "not interested" and shut the door. Really isn't that difficult. Just to clarify JW's DO believe in the law of physics, and don't believe in hell.

I always tell religious callers we're Jewish, which completly floors them, as we live in an incredibly WASP-y area. They always back-off as quickly as their little legs can carry them - presumably we're beyond salvation?

yes thanks mumsiebumsie.

Lol the ones I get are really nice!

They offer me the magazines which I take with a gracious smile and a thank you and then promptly throw them in the rubbish in the recycle bin. I see them as no problem at all. One weird thing that sticks out in my mind was I once answered the door at my parents house and it was them and they recognised me and also knew my dads name! Very bizarre, my poor dad must of been kept talking for ages for them to be so familiar.
I understand when people find it annoying though OP and you are not being unreasonable to want to complain especially as they were being rude.

"I'm a practising (insert religion/philosophy/path of choice) and I don't wish to have this discussion thank you." Big smile. Shut door.

Works for me. Or maybe they all think Methodists are beyond the pale and totally not worth wasting time on .

That's what I said today!

The majority are fine, annoying but fine, which is why I hate the thought of being rude to them and just closing the door in their face.

The whole Buddhism / religion thing isso open to debate.... I have a religion degree and my individual study (like an extra dissertation) was in Budhdism, some branches have what are effectively gods if not actually called them.

But I'm definitely with the Buddha taught a Philosophy school of thought

(of course 'i'm not interested but my Wife has a degree in that sort of thing and would like to talk to you is DH's guaranteed to make them run approach

could be worse, a friend's dad used to be a joke writed for Jim Davidson (!!! in fairness friend's lovely Dad passed 20 years back)... he cold shift em well sharpish

DH is an ex-JW so I've been given some tips on how to make sure they don't come back. Firstly, never accept any magazines or leaflets. They will note this down on their list and keep coming back. Secondly, ask to be taken off said list. Be polite but firm, don't be nice!

It's much tougher when all your in-laws are JWs and they keep trying to convert you, it's only taken them 7 years to give up

LOL. He has a good approach.

I'm glad you came on, I was trying to remember who had the religion degree on here, I couldn't remember and it was driving me mad. I've spoken to you about this before in a different name.

(sorry that was to Peachy)

I find it best not to get into any sort of dialogue with doorstep evangelisers. It usually goes as follows.

Doorstepper: Do you think Gordon Brown or Jesus would make a better prime minister? (or other random leading question)

Me: Do you represent a religious group?

Doorstepper: Yes, I'm from the Church of United Botherers. Would you rather dine at the right hand of God or spend eternity in Hell?

Me: I'm sorry, the policy of this family is never to discuss religion on the doorstep.

The JWs who came round did NOT believe in the laws of physics, hence dh's offer.

Do you mean Bodhisattvas Peachy? I've always gone with the philosophy route as it makes more sense to me.

On a similar note to bran, don't take any offered literature. Keep your hands by your sides when pamphlets etc. are held out to you. Subtle, but surprisingly effective way of not engaging.

Yes Bodhisattvas, but also the Taras- I get thew whole 'praying through' instead of 'praying to'approach but I'm not certain all Buddhists do IYSWIM.

From what I read the Buddha very definitely advoctaed a philosophical approach, but some of the tales of Amitabha etc go way beyond the atheist eprspective, and that's where I think the cut off is.

And then there's pure land Buddhism,which from what I was taught (didn't do too much on that specifically, chose different areas) seems to be a Christianity- Buddhist hybrid with notions of grace and the like.

(my stuff was Bodhisattvas, King menander and the prajnaparamita)