Many years ago I worked with a Roman catholic guy and one friday I was sitting in the works canteen tucking into my steak and chips (I think it must have been payday) when my Catholic friend joined me with his fish and chips and then started berating me for eating meat at his table on a friday. He was quite a bit older than me and very kind to me so I just laughed it off.
It is always a touchy subject but if your friend is a christian surely she should forgive you . Of course maybe she feels that it is her duty to save your soul from eternal damnation and will nver let up.

Probably leaving out the opening question would have been better, since it made things personal for her. & then saying you don't like the preaching part because, as she knows, you don't share her beliefs. But if she's been insulting your beliefs for years, maybe it needed to happen the way it did.

That drives me crazy. Here they are disrespecting your beliefs and if you respond you are disrespecting theirs.

In this case, who cares about diplomacy...and why should you have to defend yourself and your beliefs? She is the one who tried to push her religion onto you!

Of course you could have. But diplomatic doesn't mean better. Sounds like the softer approach has not worked, and you did what you need to do. This is about you and your feelings. If your acquaintance takes that as an affront, so be it.

She has apparently picked you to try to convert you to her church. No, there's no polite way to say no, because she won't accept no for an answer. She's using the manipulation techniques that the church has taught her. Yes, they actually talk over strategies for converting people. Her snit was part of the act, so don't feel bad about it. You didn't try telling HER what to believe, after all. Not following someone else's religion is not insulting them.

I heard a good comment recently that when Santa Claus lands on my roof I'll believe in him. Well, when god personally appears out of thin air and invites me to a church I'll go.

Speak softly, but carry a big stick, is something I rather enjoy doing.
I get what you mean though.
I have a lot of friends that are believers. but for the most part we never have any issues about what each other believes.
But yes, I have had some so called friends, that absolutely refuse to stop trying to convert me.
It's succinct to say that most of the latter, are not friends of mine any more.

While there is always a more diplomatic way of handling any situation, hindsight is always 20/20. If you had politely declined her invitations repeatedly and she still asked several times more, I think you did what anyone else probably would have done. You are only responsible for your own actions and feelings, not hers. Diplomacy only goes so far sometimes and then you have to be more direct. What I see is her being in the wrong but not being able to accept responsibility for it. I don't see how you insulted her beliefs when she clearly did not respect yours. Given the situation, I think you handled it OK.

It is nice when people want to be in your company and share. I think I would have told her that I was not interested in attending anything with a religious theme and suggested something else.

There's always a 'more diplomatic way' but here you have someone who you've identified as 'an acquaintance' as opposed to a friend, who knows your belief system, but continues to ask you to join her, and when you reach your limit of having to decline, are accused of 'insulting' her belief system. It seems to me that most believers, of whom I was once a member, never once consider how 'insulting' that their repeated solicitations and even proselytizing very often is to the uninterested nonbeliever.

I think you should have been way more honest since the beginning. And not let it go that far. I guarantee you that she was taking you attending those events as her doing “god’s work”, trying to convince you.

But what happened, happened. And as you explained it, you did the right thing given the circumstances.

Good luck in the future.

Perhaps you shouldn't have stewed so long that you lost your patience? I don't know. But I can pretty much guarantee you that your friend is confusing lack of interest with "insult", or, more exactly, personal attack, and that is HER problem, not yours. To most fundamentalists, anyone who doesn't share their enthusiasms constitute an irrational perception of an existential threat.

Not knowing the tone of voice or words used it’s not really possible to say if you could have handled it better but I admire your patience putting up with it for years.

I will also say your rejoinder about her not respecting your beliefs was spot on.

For
Some reason the religious expect to receive the respect that they do not offer

After years of her disrespecting you, you did the right thing. Enough is enough.

Why to be "more diplomatic"...or diplomatic at all with a person who doesn't respect you? I would have told her NO the very first time and keep my distance from her 100%.

They will always attempt to blame you because deep down in their ignorance they know they are wrong....and blaming others is their defense

Perhaps you could have been more diplomatic, but sometimes people don't understand anything unless you are totally blunt. You are entitled to express how you feel

Nope.

This would be so green eggs and ham but with flies. Flies and mold.

Possibly but I like your response =)

NO. I think your reaction was perfect!

nope constant badgering is insulting to a friendship she knew your beliefs and chose to continue to insult it by ignoring it if its a close friendship you should get past it if its just an acqaintance then who knows.

religious freedom merely means that they get to pound you with theirs instead of vice versa.

You probably could have but she would not get it and she would continue. They do not deserve to have the high ground.

Do it like the comedians do. "You believe what? That's the most stupid fucking thing I have ever heard."

Respect is a 2-way street

You put up with it FAR longer than I ever would have.
You handled it just fine. Actually really damned proud of you for
pointing out her hypocrisy to her when you had the opportunity.
If she wants to be in a snit, fuck her.