Scenario #1: An atheist family lives in a small town in the middle of the Bible belt. Christian holidays are openly celebrated in the town, from the court house lawn to the sheriff’s office. Prayer (Christian prayers only) is said before every sporting event at the local high school. Several times each month, members of various local Christian churches knock on the door of this family, knowing that they are not Christian, to “share the Good News of Jesus Christ”. The Christians genuinely believe that what they are doing is in the best interest of the atheist family. There is no ill intent.
Is the behavior of these Christians appropriate or is it harassment/trolling?
Scenario #2: An atheist, who believes that it is his humanistic duty to share the good news of non-supernaturalism (the good news that capricious, self-absorbed, vindictive ghosts, devils, and gods do not exist) with everyone he speaks with, goes onto the websites of supernaturalists (religious people) in an attempt to “evangelize them”. Like the Christians above, there is no ill intent.
Is the behavior of this atheist appropriate or harassment/trolling?
Free speech protects persuasion; it does not nullify property rights. A “No Soliciting” sign is a boundary. Ignoring it is trespass.
Likewise, BioLogos is not obligated to provide an unrestricted platform for anti-theistic evangelism. Hospitality is not the same thing as mission drift.
I agree with your property rights position. A “no soliciting” sign applies to sellers of merchandise and ideologies.
What about Christian prayers said over the broadcast system at public high school sporting events? Should atheist athletes and their parents in the stands be asked to stand, remove their hats, and bow their heads during this religious observance?
Once a homeowner provides clear notice — whether via a sign or direct instruction — continued entry onto the property can constitute trespass.
The key issue is not whether the speech concerns merchandise or ideology; it is whether the property owner’s boundary has been honored.
If someone believes their property rights are being violated — whether by commercial solicitors, political canvassers, or religious advocates — the appropriate remedy is civil: clarify boundaries, and if those boundaries are ignored, consult local ordinances or, if necessary, civil authorities.
That moves the issue from rhetoric to law.
The school prayer question is a separate constitutional matter.
When a public high school uses its broadcast system for prayer, the issue becomes state action under the Establishment Clause. Courts have generally held that school-sponsored prayer is constitutionally problematic.
As for compelling attendees to stand, remove hats, or bow their heads — no. Participation in a religious observance cannot be coerced in a public institution.
Respect in a pluralistic society includes the freedom not to participate.
The differences between the two scenarios - in person vs on-line, persistent vs non-persistent, involuntary vs voluntary participation - are enough to sow suspicion that this isn’t a genuine question, but an attempt to garner responses that can be mined for a blog.
So I’ll just say that scenario #1 is illegal, and scenario #2 is not.
In either situation, the activities could be done in a friendly manner that conveys genuine interest in the well-being of others, or in a way that conveys a goal of earning higher status through gaining converts or self-righteous attacks.
Of course, reactions can also be self-righteous defensive whining or serious responses.
Once, as a teen, I expressed frustration about the visitation our family received from Jehovah’s witnesses. The coworker that I talked to said, “I’m honored that they would talk to me about things that are important to them.”
It is a possibility to start a discussion about important matters if you have enough of interest and time. I have usually said ‘no thanks’ to JW because the moment has not been correct for me.
Local JWs used to keep records of all door visits, including information about who had said ‘don’t come here’. That practice was stopped after the register laws were changed. Such keeping of records was classified as a personal data register and the local JWs would have needed to follow all the laws about such registers, including asking all the people to give a written permission to enter their information to the register.
The challence in deciding to discuss with the JWs is that they like to arrange the meetings so that there are several JWs present against one ‘outsider’, including persons who have been trained to interpret the scriptures through their ‘spectacles’ and have some knowledge of Koine Greek and possibly even Hebrew. A person who does not know the scriptures and theology may become an underdog in such a situation if the talk turns to what the scriptures tell. Those who know the scriptures and some theology have a stronger position if they can stop the continuous jumping from one verse to another. For some reason, the few JWs I have discussed with tend to jump rapidly to some other part of the scriptures when they note that they cannot answer to knowing questions about a passage in the scriptures.
The last time I was visited by JWs they talked at me, not to me. That refusal to listen to my views while proclaiming theirs unsolicited was definitely hypocritical.
(P.S. The Mormon missionaries were much friendlier, helpful and amenable to a two-way conversation)
COVID kept them away for the longest time. They don’t seem to have picked up the pace again.
From the Facebook Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Nonbelievers’ page:
Jehovah’s Witnesses are experiencing a decline in growth rate and membership in some areas. Here’s a breakdown of the current situation:
Growth Rate Decline: The growth rate of Jehovah’s Witnesses has been declining since 1995, with the percentage growth rate decreasing from 5.63% per annum between 1981 and 1995 to 2.09% between 1996 and 2021.
Membership Trends: In 2022, the number of baptisms was the lowest since 1982, and the increase in average publishers was only 0.4%, which is less than the global population growth rate.
Hours Spent in Ministry: The number of hours spent in ministry per publisher has been decreasing since 2017, with a significant drop from 20.68 hours per month per publisher in 2017-2018 to lower numbers in subsequent years.
Leaving the Faith: Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are leaving the faith, with some studies suggesting that up to two-thirds of those raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses no longer identify as such. In the 10 years from 2011 to 2020, there were 2,721,457 baptisms, but the increase in average publishers was only 1,199,255, meaning that over 1.5 million Witnesses stopped preaching.
Regional Variations: The decline is more pronounced in developed countries with high levels of wealth, education, and internet access, while some African and South American countries continue to experience growth.
In response to these trends, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has made changes, such as eliminating the hour reporting requirement for congregation publishers effective November 1, 2023. This shift may be an attempt to address the decline in membership and activity.
For a long time we had a sign posted out front. “Watch for dog on property.” That kept them out of our yard. That and the knowledge that the guy who lives here is quite willing to proselytize at the front gate in his bath robe.
Maybe you should try to understand their viewpoint.
They often see themselves as the only true servants of Jehovah but also as persecuted persons in a ‘war’, trying to win outsiders to their pothole of ‘saved’ people. By being active in this ‘campaigne’/‘war’, they gain merits that may influence their status within the organization and the merits may even affect their salvation or status after the resurrection. It is goal-oriented work, with a somewhat defensive attitude, not so much oriented towards meeting people from an equal level.
They are usually honest people who try to do good to others (by winning them to their goup) but many (including me) see them as mislead victims of a cult-like organization.
I discovered an easy way out of a mormon visit quite accidentally back when I worked graveyard and tried to sleep in the daytime. The persistent knocking stirred me enough to go to the door where I found well dressed people pushing their kids behind them as the withdrew from the front steps. It was summer and I could never sleep with anything on when it is warm.
So it is not wrong for the parents of atheist athletes (along with the rest of the crowd) to be instructed to stand, take off their hats, and bow their heads at every public sporting event they attend to watch their child play sports?
Our Honor Society when I was in high school made this point to the administration rather dramatically: when some Christian students from a small group that objected to standing for the Pledge of Allegiance got in trouble, at the very next mass assembly the entire Honor Society also remained seated. The vice principal argued “We’re all Christians and we say the pledge!” to which the Honor Society members said, “We’re all Christians and we’re not going to say it any more at least until you stop punishing those who don’t.”
BTW, I call that evangelism.
I am a member of a Christian group (Anabaptist/Mennonite) that has traditionally been uncomfortable with pledging allegiance to an earthly nation-state. Fortunately, as a Canadian, I have never been put in that awkward position in public school. I think my American colleagues can get exemptions from saying the public school pledge? I have heard funny stories about when the anthem or pledge is said at American sporting events, that is the time that Mennonites (conveniently) leave the stands for a few minutes because they have to go to the restroom, or else buy a hotdog at the concession…