I think that makes people take their faith even more seriously. I absolutely believe that misconceptions about people's beliefs are common. Protestants believe Catholics worship idols; Christians believe pagans worship demons and dance naked in the woods; believers think atheists are horrible, immoral people. From what I remember in history, part of the reason the Catholic Church was able to pull off the Crusades was by painting the non-Christians as evildoers who ate babies. Why does it happen? Because as human beings, we want to believe that we have a good deal on the afterlife. And I also think people often just want to think of themselves as "better" than others.

To fix this, I think people should be more willing to discuss their faith with others. Of course, the problem that a lot of people run into is that believers want to proselytize, not discuss. That attitude definitely needs to change. A lot of folks would be more willing to be part of someone's faith when that person can describe what they believe clearly (which can also be a problem), and show how it's made their lives better. Browbeating someone over the head with the sacred text du jour rarely, if ever, works.

The other side of talking about faith is being willing to listen....

A lot of people simply shut down when someone's beliefs are mentioned, especially when it's Christianity. It's never right to ignore someone just because their opinion doesn't match your own. This probably happens because the listener is afraid of being proselytized. Once people learn how to talk to others instead of at them, listeners will be more willing to stick around and hear what they have to say.
Works Cited

A Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology - Part 2 -- Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. (n.d.).

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved August 29, 2011, from http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith9152

No Author, Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, National Council of Churches, 2000.

No Author. (1914). About Ascension Cathedral: Ascension Cathedral. Ascension Cathedral. Retrieved August 29, 2011, from http://www.groca.org/?page_id=334

History of the Orthodox Church. (n.d.). greekorthodoxchurch.org Greek Orthodox Church Main Page.

Retrieved August 29, 2011, from http://www.greekorthodoxchurch.org/history.html zantine. (n.d.). CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Greek Church. NEW ADVENT: Home. Retrieved August 29, 2011, from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06752a.htm