Is proselytizing ethical?

It seems to me that the Crusades started the trend and provided European Christians with a seemingly legitimate reason to spread their their influence, greed and economic power under the guise of evangelizing, by using it as a seemingly legitimate reason for invading and stealing from indigenous populations.

While proselytism is illegal in certain countries, “invasive religions” like most Christians, and Mormons, like to refer the right to convert to another religion as what’s enshrined into Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

This, in fact, isn’t exactly what Article 18 says; instead it speaks about the right of a person to change his/her religion, not being coerced or persuaded to do so.

The fundamental problem that I see with proselytizing is that forcing, or teaching beliefs that are woefully irrational shouldn’t be allowed, especially with group of people that have little critical judgment and no assistance in verifying the veracity of what they’re been told, or with children who are highly impressionable and totally defenseless.

Without question, his is unethical and is a clear form of mental abuse. I must also observe that there are not many religious members outside of Christianity that are engaging in evangelizing others. Unlike Western Christians who broadcast into places too dangerous for missionaries, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and even Muslims do not engage in such wide-scale and shameless proselytizing.

These simple observations are more arguments in favor of simply making proselytizing absolutely out of bounds and illegal.