Religion in Social Conversation
It is unfortunate that religion has come to be tabooed in ordinary social conversation. We can talk about politics, business, literature, music, art, our homes, our friends, the weather, but we seem to regard the religious life as too sacred to be brought into common conversation. This may be partly because of reserve, partly because we fear the suspicion of ostentation, partly because we have reacted against the Phariseeism which delights in exhibitory piety. But, whatever the cause, the result is unfortunate. There is no more reason why religious convictions should be excluded from common conversation than political convictions; no more reason why we should tacitly forbid all reference to our religious life than why we should put a similar prohibition on our art, literature, or domestic life.
— Lyman Abbott (1835-1922)