On dating a Christian

I was a Christian when I was a kid and during my early teenage years, baptised and educated in a catholic school. But, as many of my classmates noted, our school actually produced atheists. And I resulted to be one of them. After a bunch of years of not knowing what to do, I became a teacher of the English language and, while working, I met Andrea: a blonde, tall and shy Evangelistic Christian woman, who claims that she chose her religion when she was 18 years old.

I’ve never met someone with such a background, and she picked my interest immediately. We chatted on two occasions while travelling back home on bus after work, and I asked her out on the second ride. To my surprise, she accepted. I then asked for her cellular number, and she gave it to me, no problem. I honestly wasn’t prepared for that openness, as I am used to be rejected, but it seems that this is not the case.

As I am unfamiliar with her religion and background, I did some research. I learnt that Christian women (no matter the denomination, it seems) have to date with the prospect of get married. And they are, apparently, strongly advised to not date a non-Christian, let alone an atheist. While I’m not opposed to the idea of marriage in the secular sense (I want to marry and have kids, eventually), I have serious doubts that she is thinking of me that way. And I have absolutely no idea if she is the one, either.  I also reflected a bit in her case and concluded that she did not chose to be religious; she merely chose how to profess her faith. Moreover, I speculate that she didn’t choose between religions, but between Christian denominations.

We have our first date tomorrow. I asked her to a very good ice cream parlour that I know. I honestly don’t know if she considers it a date. I certainly do. My objective for this first date is just to converse a little more, to know her better. We already chatted a bit via Whatsapp since we shared our cell phone numbers. I don’t think she would try to convert me, because I made clear (I think) to her that I’m an atheist. I just don’t have faith, for any god. And I wouldn’t try to change her mind, either.