Protestant friends not respecting my Catholic faith. How should I justly respond to their jokes and disrespect?

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Peace be to you all, and may Mary keep you among her flock.

I’m a recent convert to Catholicism from “non-denominational Christianity” of about a year and a half ago. None of my family members are Catholic, nor are many of my friends. I converted while I was alone on a foreign exchange trip in Norway for about six months, thanks to a great friend of mine whom I met on Instagram. This was my senior year of high school, while in Norway, and I had already committed to a Protestant university. I thought to myself “huh, maybe this won’t work out too well since I’ll be surrounded by Protestants and barely any Catholics.” I’m now well into my second semester of my freshman year, and things went from bad to worse. I live with seven other guys in a dorm, all Protestant. I like to show that I am a Catholic, so I have many icons, including the Blessed Virgin, and crucifixes in my room. I used to talk about Catholicism a lot, but I don’t do so much anymore now, because I’m pretty much the butt end of the joke for being a Catholic. My roommates like to make fun of my faith, and it’s almost like a “pack” mentality against me. I no longer bring up my faith, but they find a way to do so. Would it be a sin to quip back at them whenever they make snarky comments? I try my hardest in my apologetics, but they never wish to listen. I’m planning on transferring anywhere but there this fall, but what should I do now? Sorry for how vague I made my problem out to be. Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Yours in Christ.
 
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Wear your faith more internally. You can be provocative by externalizing your faith when it is not prudent. Emphasize if need be, that the greatest Christian virtue is charity and leave it at that.

As Catholics, we seek an improved interior life and so while this does not negate the need for and use of externals, the interior life is far more important. As a relatively new Catholic, I would work on that, as the rewards are great.
 
Jack.and.hisGuardian said:
Would it be a sin to quip back at them whenever they make snarky comments?
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It would be best to avoid. It lacks charity and seems against Jesus’ “turn the other cheek” command.

If they’re really not open to Catholicism, which seems to be the case, then it might be best to just live faithfully, show charity, and pray for them. Apologetics can only get you so far.
 
Thank you. Yeah I suspected that it was pretty much all my fault for being too external. I’ll definitely start doing this more often though
 
It does sound like you may have been too external at first. I think (with all due respect) sometimes converts can be so enthusiastic in the beginning (natural!) that they turn off other people. That said, young people can be surprisingly cruel and intolerant to each other. I think good humor and a gentle but firm “this is what I chose to do/believe” when challenged will go a long way. Keep it low key and use the time to get closer to God in the silence of your heart, realizing the mockery Jesus also went through (and, no doubt, Our Lady too). And when you can move out–by all means do so if you can. If it helps, it gets easier as an adult away from such stupid peer pressure.
 
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Sniping back at your dormmates will not be productive. What about honestly telling them how you feel. “My faith is important to me. If I knew something was important to you I would respect it. I’d appreciate the same from you.”
 
There re great many funny Catholic jokes. Just tell one. I have always admired Catholics for their self-deprecating humour. I have been trying to remember the famous priest who when told that the Church was like the old British navy - ‘rum, sodomy and the lash’ responded ‘yes, but we’ve been cutting back on the sodomy’. If you really think you’ve joined an organisation that has survived 2,000 years then a few undergraduate jokes should not worry you at all!
 
Until you get out of that situation of being ridiculed, you can imagine that Jesus crucified is right in front of you, and you can suffer, offering it to Him.
 
unfortunately it’s part of being Catholic and you have to just let it go by you. pray for them. have you ever read the book " Imitation of Christ"? besides the Bible it’s been the most helpful book for me.
 
The answer is in the Gospel Reading for this Sunday:

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
 
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Sounds this may not be a “this religion vs. that religion” thing. If you are a freshman in college and are making sure everyone knows about your faith, you are likely going to get teasing regardless of where you are. It doesn’t mean it is OK, but it just means it isn’t unusual and it isn’t isolated to people picking on Catholics.

You will come across this a lot, even after you leave College. Learn to deal with it. I think the best advice is that you have a three sentence conversation about it with the people who are doing it. You may say something like “My faith is important to me, so I hope you can be respectful of that.” Don’t apologize for who you are. Reasonable people will realize they need to stop making fun, and they will. Unreasonable people can be ignored (they usually really hate that, so it may serve as a deterent to them).
 
Be the light that shines!
I became Catholic at age 60. But I give credit in part to a group of Catholic friends I knew in college. They didn’t push their faith on me, but they did live it. They did invite me to mass and I happily went with no pressure. Their friendship and lives stayed with me all these years and played a part in my conversion years later. God Bless!
 
“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words”
St. Francis of Assissi
 
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