How should one interact with unbelievers in a group setting (at school, university, or work)? #

It might be best to say that unbelievers should be treated as one would treat seriously ill relatives. For instance, having a gravely ill family member nearby can be difficult to bear: such individuals often behave aggressively, are demanding, overly sensitive, unjust, and fail to understand your care for them. They may refuse necessary medicine and ignore the advice of doctors. Sometimes, gravely ill people fail to recognize and even push away those closest to them. The hardest part is when such a person forgets all the good you’ve done for them and, at the same time, insults, curses, or drives you away. Maintaining patience and a compassionate attitude in such circumstances is extremely challenging, but true Christians understand that their dying, afflicted loved one is also a victim of their illness and in need of compassion.

To treat unbelievers or adherents of other faiths any differently would be harmful for a Christian. A hostile attitude contradicts the very essence of Christianity. For the Lord says:

“If ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?”

And in his Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul writes:

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

We must also remember that unbelieving colleagues or fellow students are still our distant relatives, as we all descend from the same ancestors. We are all brothers in Adam and Noah. How can one harbor hostility toward their own relatives?

To treat unbelievers or those of other faiths with contempt is even more dangerous. St. Paul writes to the Romans about unbelieving Jews:

“They were broken off because of unbelief, but thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”

Therefore, if we view unbelievers and those of other faiths as unfortunate, sick, and misguided rather than as enemies, it will be easier for us to show them patience and compassion. Such an attitude will not be burdensome for us. Just as a brother cares for his sick sibling—pitying them, forgiving their offenses, and desiring their recovery—so we must treat those who are afflicted with unbelief or false belief.

—Priest Mikhail Rodin