I think Kevan was talking about the people who go to different countries and guilt or try to indoctrinate people into following their religion.
I went to university with a guy who early after graduating from engineering, left to become a missionary in Indonesia. I get newsletters every quarter or so about what's going on. The last one actually struck me as harsh as it talked about somebody who recently died and they felt bad because he was a muslim who would probably be suffering in hell now because he rejected being saved and is going to face god as a sinner. This was a rare time when I wrote back and asked him if he had gone off the deep end because the comments were so mean-spirited, I thought. This is in complete constrast to another friend (also weird divergence from engineering) became a Catholic priest. Whenever I see him, I hear nothing about religion, takes offense to nothing, though he might cringe, he is the most easy-going person I know.
The thing here is, you're going to another country with their own cultures and habits and bothering people who are ordinarily going about their lives without the need for these distractions. And there is nothing really noble about this. Worst case is they're going to get people murdered because they changed religions, best case is what? Free English lessons, Jesus swag, and candy.
I am polite to everybody, mostly just out of general shyness and a desire to get out of an awkward situation. My exposure is probably once a year when the neighbourhood JW will spot us at the bus stop and say "hi, can I give you this" and give us a copy of some pamphlet that I politely accept, and then toss into recycling when I get the chance.
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