[jim35]

"...There's an appropriate time and place for "religious talk". This flight wasn't it..."

Which time would that be? In church, or in the confines of your home, exclusively? Or are there any public venues in which you would be willing to tolerate religious speech?

[Born Conservative]

Which time would that be? In church, or in the confines of your home, exclusively? Or are there any public venues in which you would be willing to tolerate religious speech?

In church is fine, and it's also fine in one's home. However, given the context in which this happened (captive audience on an airplane 1 1/2 years after 9/11), I don't think this was the time or place. But for some odd reason, I don't think that you are open-minded enough to see this point.

[blau993]

Or are there any public venues in which you would be willing to tolerate religious speech?

Personally, I am OK with it pretty much anywhere so long as I don't have to pay for it, and so long as I am free to walk away if I don't care to participate or listen. I can't walk away from it on an airplane, so my only choice is to listen, whether I want to or not, or tell the talker to shut up. I am quite willing to tell the talker to shut up (I have done it to plenty of loudmouth cell phone users on Amtrak trains back in the days before Amtrak instituted its "quiet cars"), but I don't appreciate being put in a situation where I have to get nasty or confrontational just because somebody else chooses to be rude.

[LizardQueen]

The pilot is free to do any kind of religious recruiting he wants to ON HIS OWN TIME.

As the acting pilot, however, he represents the company and unless he works for Evangelical Airways and promoting religious discussion is part of his job description his behavior was completely unprofessional.

And frankly, the last thing I personally am interested in is playing 20 questions with the airline crew at 20,000 feet while crammed into a flying beer can, and having just been nearly strip-searched just for the privilege of boarding said flying beer can. At that point I want to sit down, shut up, have the crew shut up and fly the damn plane while I work on the crossword puzzle (if someone else hasn't already completed it).

I don't care what the topic is, it would be just as ridiculous for the pilot to ask all Republicans, vegetarians, Democrats, Wiccans, toupee-wearers, Atkins practioners, or what have you to raise their hands and make themselves available for questioning.

His sole responsiblity is to get the plane safely to it's destination, not to play "religious cruise director" to a group of people trapped in flying can for 3 hours.
The guy let his religious zeal overcome his common sense and should be called on the carpet for it.

The only reason you are in favor of what he did is that you agree with his religious views. If he were Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist you'd be screaming against him even louder than the rest.

LQ