This exchange happened a few days ago on Faceboook.  A well known former Pentecostal minister, now a professional atheist posted about his travels.

Discussion went on a little bit further after I got this screen capture, but the general consensus remains:  It IS disrespectful to announce “I’m praying for you” when you know full well the other person does not need it, does not want it, and does not appreciate it.   and I just checked — the discussion continues!

The thing is, most of us KNOW the message and we have actually thought about it and we reject it.  Continuously repeating your delusions will not convince us to re-think it (again), but will ensure we distance ourselves from you instead because you are just poking and jabbing your self-righteous ignorance.   it is just as rude as constantly commenting on someone’s weight every time you go out to dinner and they select something you don’t approve of.

Constantly harping on your delusions, making a point to inject it into any and every conversation just makes you look foolish.  Telling someone “i’m praying for you”, when you KNOW they reject your delusions, is just another way to dismiss the other person’s feelings while self-righteously and arrogantly pretending you’re doing something nice.  It’s not nice.  Constantly harping on your religion to someone who doesn’t believe that way is like insisting on bringing peanut brittle to someone you know is highly allergic.