Are you sick of apologising for your faith?

[SongBiird]

At first I was thinking only as a Muslim but when discussing it with my friend who's Catholic she said she felt the same.

Instead of discussing the benefits of our chosen religions, our chosen paths in life (or right now, when discussing it with those who are not of the same faith or any faith we end up getting into debates about some of the things either a) people don't understand and thus take the wrong (often negative) way, b)other fanatics/fundamentalists/crazed nutters have done in "the name" of our faith c)how as a female we are oppressed in our faith.

There are countless other things that I feel I end up apologising for, or trying to justify; and I say justify because often, explaining isn't good enough!

Does anybody else find themselves in the same position?

To answer the OP, I'm not sick of apologising for my (Catholic) faith, and I've never felt the need to apologise for it, nor been in a situation where anyone has expected an apology for what I believe.

Certainly I've been embarrassed and disgusted by the actions of some individuals within the organisation of the Church, in terms of their child sex abuse and subsequent cover ups, but that's a reflection on those people as individuals, not on the teachings of the Church itself.

I wouldn't expect others to apologise for their faith in their God(s), nor for atheists to apologise for their faith in the belief that God definitely doesn't exist, and I don't see why I should have anything to apologise for in holding mine.

'Each to their own' is generally the way I see it in everyday life. Some of my friends are theists, some are not. We all know each other's views and basically agree to differ - a belief in gods in a nice, sensible, lovable, humane individual is no more bothersome than them being passionate about football or Eastenders (two other things that some people like and I don't). I don't expect anyone to apologise for their silly beliefs - if you're ashamed of the nonsense you believe in you could always just stop believing it . My main problem has always been that people confuse respecting their right to believe bullshit - a right which should be respected up until the point where what a person believes is damaging to others - with wanting other people to respect the bullshit itself.
It's because some representatives/advocates/folowers of some myth systems are actively harmful and dangerous to their fellow human beings that it's a bad idea to demand respect for 'faith' no matter how ridiculous or unpleasant.

That's pretty much my own view, in general, not just in respect of religion: you're entitled to hold an opinion, but you're not entitled to insist that that opinion be respected.

If some people choose to hold the opinion that football is stupid/a waste of time and energy/etc. then they are as entitled to hold that view as I am to laugh at it!