Are there any religious or political topics that you specifically avoid with your SO? I once dated a guy that was a complete and total bleeding-heart liberal, and I believe that affirmative action and welfare are the two worst programs ever conceived. So we stayed away from all political discussion.
Are there other places where a couple’s views could be so divisive that they avoid it completely for the life of the relationship?
LemonVibe 
[Agree to disagree! That’s my motto for topics that don’t effect me and a suitor directly or personally. Obviously, this doesn’t apply across the board. If there’s a value or belief that you absolutely must require in a partner, than you should feel safe and comfortable to bring it up with him.
[I always used to wonder how Schwarzenegger and Schriver worked out their political differences.
But then, I realized that they had other issues to deal with….
[If a guy disagreed with me on topics I felt strong enough about that I would have to avoid conversation with him about them, we wouldn’t be dating seriously. As for someone I’m casually seeing, or even friends, things like abortion, same-sex marriage, gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, and condiments. Seriously, I’ve gotten into half-hour arguments about mayonnaise before. And don’t even get me STARTED on maple syrup.
[I don’t really shy away from any topics with my current, um, date (for lack of a better descriptive) – with a past BF I’ve had to not talk about religion, because we just had completely incompatible views and I really hurt his feelings the first time it came up so that was like a big minefield…another boyfriend I basically couldn’t talk politics or anything substantive at all, really, with because it’d end up in a big fight.
Personally, at this point I feel like if there are big areas that we can’t at least talk about, it’s kind of a red flag for me.
[While the occasional small disagreements can be fun, dating someone with different views on major issues is always going to be a bad idea. If your conservative you will always view your liberal mate as a good for nothing hippie who wants to steal all your money and give it to lazy good for nothings. If your a liberal dating a conservative, you will always see them as a heartless monster who wants too take money away from poor widowed mothers. As such, i don’t think any important topics should ever be avoided. For example when I realize that a girl ive been talking is becoming a potential partner, I immediately list everything about me that might cause others to strongly disagree “Im an athiest, im a huge gay rights advocate, hate the idea of capital punishment, etc etc” There is no point wasting your time getting into a relationship only to find that your partner is your personal version of Hitler.
[That seems… harsh. And rather insinuating to assume that others will judge their partners with similar harshness.
Plus, no one you’re ever in a relationship is ever going to be as bad as Hitler. I don’t care if it’s Ted Bundy. Ted didn’t kill millions of people. That’s not a fair thing to say about anyone– especially just because your system of beliefs doesn’t match theirs.