I really enjoy church. Though some people may not understand, I enjoy picking up a hymnal and listening to the massive organ in the back playing my favorite tunes at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. The tradition of Communion and the Latin readings in my Episcopal faith is what makes me enjoy it, but I don’t mind trying new things, and I’m definitely not opposed to other kinds of religion. In general, I don’t think other people should care what you believe when it comes to faith.

Over winter break, I agreed to attend my cousin’s church for Christmas mass. Walking in, I was greeted by a large number of people exiting from the service before, and was filed into what was essentially an amphitheater.

Waiting for the service to start, the lights dimmed and my ears were blasted with the shredding electric guitar of Trans Siberian Orchestra. I tried to let the Christmas spirit sink in, but most of what I got seemed like an overly-marketed, desperate appeal to my age group.

Despite these feelings, I tried to not get emotional. Most of the service was fine and amusing, until one preacher started talking about his opinions on what church should be.

Standing up in his suit, facing thousands of people in the crowd and through an online stream, he told us that some people have too much ritual in their faith. According to him, the Catholic-esque denominations bog up the “real” Jesus and the “real” Bible. Tears started to fill my eyes, and I held my mom’s hand for support while I let this guy go on and on about how much disrespect he had for something I had grown up with.

The brutal truth is that some people simply feel the obligation to convert others into their own religion, faith or church. There’s nothing wrong with churches marketing, but this blatant attack on a whole group of people was frankly offensive and downright rude.

This experience really got me thinking about how people my own age handle evangelism, or the personal spread of Christianity. I’ve had my fair share of friends pleading for me to come to their youth group or go to their church event, and while it’s not necessarily ignorance or intolerance that brings people to act this way, faith is a little too personal to talk about with people you don’t know that well.

It is important that young people are considerate of each other and realize that we are still developing our views. If you really care about introducing someone to your faith, demonstrate it to them by being a good role model instead of constantly begging for their attendance.

Everyone needs a chance to explore how they feel about religion whether that’s Christianity, Buddhism, Atheism or anything else. Religion can be the greatest experience of a person’s life, or it could end up as a negative memory because someone pushed them too hard.