Problem with my mom

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So, I've come to realize that I probably inherited AS from my mother. This explains some of her behavior. I'm trying to deal with a particularly difficult aspect of her behavior, that I can make sense of for the most part - but I don't know what to do about it.

The problem is that her special interest is a particular religious belief that I find strange and offensive. She talks about this constantly, cannot make sense of the fact that I don't share her enthusiasm (and ignores that), and says out-right offensive things believing that they are perfectly acceptable and on top of that, she believes that she is doing a good thing by saying them. Here's an example: My one year old son was making baby noises, and she "joked" that he sounds like he's possessed by the devil. My mother cannot be wrong, and she cannot fathom how it is possible that there are people who do not share her religious beliefs (special interest). She rationalizes this by concluding that anyone who does not accept her beliefs are under the influence of the devil.

Anyway, I feel that I need to protect my son from this behavior. Ideally I would like my mother to learn to respect our viewpoints on the subject, but if I attempt to talk to her about it, she just get's frustrated, and if I push the issue she'll have a melt down and verbally abuse me. After that she'll shut down, and than ignore me for weeks or months while she tries to make sense of my behavior. She'll always conclude in the end that she did nothing wrong, and continue in her pattern.

I don't know what to do. As my son grows and begins to understand more, my mothers obsession intensifies, and I withdraw further. I really just don't know what to do. I understand her behavior (I think) because I do the same thing to a lesser extent with my special interests. While I want my family to have a relationship with my mother, and I hate to watch her suffer (and attempt to control the situation with verbal abuse and manipulation), I need to protect my family from this.

Is there a different way that I can approach the situation? Thanks...