A few years ago, I lived in a grand old house in a nice bit of California and we’d occasionally get Mormon missionaries knocking on our door. One time, a couple of them caught me while I was off work and relaxing. It was a boiling hot day, they looked like they were suffering, so I invited them in and offered them some herbal iced tea and homemade fig bars (my wife’s a bit of a hippie, what can I say?). We talked a fair bit about religion, but I’m a non-believer, so that could only go so far. I have a policy of not trying to convince people to become an atheist, but if they ask what I believe, I’ll tell them. These young guys were recruited in Provo, suited up and sent off to Sodom-by-the-Bay to have doors slammed in their faces. They were naive and were very polite, nice guys.

To their credit, when I’d be in town after that, if I saw one ride by on his bike, he’d always wave and say hi, despite the fact that I’m an evil infidel.

Pro tip: don’t try that with Jehova’s Witnesses, they’re paranoid, hyper-aggressive and, in my experience, devoid of manners.