Uncomfortable religious situations you were forced into

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a nurse. Every morning at 0700 during a mandatory morning huddle, I have to listen to a prayer (or pray, that's the other option). The prayer varies by the day and is never a generic "lord, let us do good, amen" sort of affair. Always very long, detailed, and packed with extremely reverent and humble offerings to a specific deity.

I cannot opt out of morning huddle and I cannot just pop in and out for the prayer part because it's sandwiched in between concrete medical information I must have for the day.

This is at a hospital that is VERY loosely affiliated with a particular religion and so my recourse is to quit. If it was a state hospital — say, the Univ. of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore — I'd take a different approach to this uncomfortable situation. But because a particular religion founded this hospital 140 years ago, that's their basis for forcing prayer in 2016 although nothing in their mission statement, etc, has anything to do w. religion at this time.

Don't work at a religous based hospital if you want the world sanitized of religion. This one is quite simple and very different from the other examples.

[Anonymous]

Worst 'religious' experience we were subjected to was for the two years were lived in Atlanta my HS aged DD did a very specialized club team sport (only two in entire sprawling metro area so could not switch/other same dynamic) and before each meet the mothers would have a prayer circle with the girls and pray for things like "dear god please make let Francine not get her period during this competition" and "may you please insure that Darla's cramps are not so bad and allow her to participate in the preliminary exercises...." There was no comfortable way for my DD not to be a part of - I always seems to need to run to get something from car, locker room, whatever. It was beyond that it was for the trivial things - it was just the assumption that this was normal to impose on others. DD and most of the other kids were public school kids though there were a few home-schoolers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a nurse. Every morning at 0700 during a mandatory morning huddle, I have to listen to a prayer (or pray, that's the other option). The prayer varies by the day and is never a generic "lord, let us do good, amen" sort of affair. Always very long, detailed, and packed with extremely reverent and humble offerings to a specific deity.

I cannot opt out of morning huddle and I cannot just pop in and out for the prayer part because it's sandwiched in between concrete medical information I must have for the day.

This is at a hospital that is VERY loosely affiliated with a particular religion and so my recourse is to quit. If it was a state hospital — say, the Univ. of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore — I'd take a different approach to this uncomfortable situation. But because a particular religion founded this hospital 140 years ago, that's their basis for forcing prayer in 2016 although nothing in their mission statement, etc, has anything to do w. religion at this time.

Wow. I am so sorry. Surely there is some rule against even a private hospital enforcing this prayer on everyone?

I'm very sympathetic to some of these. But....

It's a private hospital, they can do what they want. If PP doesn't like it, there are plenty of other hospitals in DC. Some of you are such entitled babies. They aren't going to change 140 years of tradition just because PP doesn't feel like changing her commute, or wants their higher pay without any trade offs, or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a nurse. Every morning at 0700 during a mandatory morning huddle, I have to listen to a prayer (or pray, that's the other option). The prayer varies by the day and is never a generic "lord, let us do good, amen" sort of affair. Always very long, detailed, and packed with extremely reverent and humble offerings to a specific deity.

I cannot opt out of morning huddle and I cannot just pop in and out for the prayer part because it's sandwiched in between concrete medical information I must have for the day.

This is at a hospital that is VERY loosely affiliated with a particular religion and so my recourse is to quit. If it was a state hospital — say, the Univ. of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore — I'd take a different approach to this uncomfortable situation. But because a particular religion founded this hospital 140 years ago, that's their basis for forcing prayer in 2016 although nothing in their mission statement, etc, has anything to do w. religion at this time.

Don't work at a religous based hospital if you want the world sanitized of religion. This one is quite simple and very different from the other examples.

Thanks for repeating what I, PP, already said in my post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a nurse. Every morning at 0700 during a mandatory morning huddle, I have to listen to a prayer (or pray, that's the other option). The prayer varies by the day and is never a generic "lord, let us do good, amen" sort of affair. Always very long, detailed, and packed with extremely reverent and humble offerings to a specific deity.

I cannot opt out of morning huddle and I cannot just pop in and out for the prayer part because it's sandwiched in between concrete medical information I must have for the day.

This is at a hospital that is VERY loosely affiliated with a particular religion and so my recourse is to quit. If it was a state hospital — say, the Univ. of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore — I'd take a different approach to this uncomfortable situation. But because a particular religion founded this hospital 140 years ago, that's their basis for forcing prayer in 2016 although nothing in their mission statement, etc, has anything to do w. religion at this time.

Don't work at a religous based hospital if you want the world sanitized of religion. This one is quite simple and very different from the other examples.

Thanks for repeating what I, PP, already said in my post!

NP. So you treated us to a multiple para whine about the supposed injustice of it all... why, exactly?

[Anonymous]

It's a private hospital, they can do what they want. If PP doesn't like it, there are plenty of other hospitals in DC. Some of you are such entitled babies. They aren't going to change 140 years of tradition just because PP doesn't feel like changing her commute, or wants their higher pay without any trade offs, or something.

Can you point to the exact wording in my post (I'm the nurse) where I say that I'm entitled to a single thing?

I'm answering the OPs question. By dint of switching from the oncology unit, where no forced prayer occurred, to the orthopedic unit in the same hospital, I have been forced after-the-fact into an uncomfortable religious situation. The way out is to leave the unit. Got it. Not difficult to grasp.

[Anonymous]

NP. So you treated us to a multiple para whine about the supposed injustice of it all... why, exactly?

Are you familiar with the question / response nature of an online forum, where an OP asks a question and people … respond to the question?

[Anonymous]

Our neighbors took my brother and I to her church when were around 7 and 9 I'm guessing. Had one of the church adults come and "convert" us by asking us if we would be faithful to x religion. We said yes because we had no clue what was going on. They taught us the "now I lay me down to sleep" prayer and told us to say it every night or we would go to hell. I did it for a year and hid it from my mom. It's so bizarre to look back on that experience and imagine that the adult at the church thought it was okay to convert children without parents around, and to do it in one 15 minute session.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to this day in your grown up skin you still feel uncomfortable about the situation ?

You need a hobby. It's not like you were tortured.

+1

This family was doing you, and/or your mom, a FAVOR, OP. Are you so ungracious for their hospitality that this is what you remember?

Wow. Just Wow. I was a teenager. There were no diapers to change and we went to the same school and soccer practice (so its not like they had to go out of their way). So because they were doing me a "favor" its ok that they forced me to go to their church and bible study even after I said I was uncomfortable?

So you were fine accepting their hospitality in the form of meals, lodging and security for 3 days but when they tried to "treat you like family," you decide that you prefer the motel method? Yes, op, they had every right to expect that you would participate in family activities, I assume with their daughter who was your friend. If you or your mother had a problem with it, you should have made other arrangements. The fact that you still remember every detail so many years later says something about you, not them. And it's not positive.

[Anonymous]

Who is the asshole in this thread who is responding to everyone's story by telling them how awful and unaccepting they are. This is not the kind of thread where you do that. Nobody is looking for advice or a response.

Back to the original thread, I find these stories very interesting. Please keep them going. The asshole can start her own thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents weren't regular church goers when I was growing up, so a lot of my friend's parents would invite me over on Saturday night, and remind me to bring a nice outfit because "maybe we'll go out for pancakes in the morning!" or some garbage like that. Never got the pancakes, always got taken to various churches where I didn't know the traditions and had no idea what to do. But over time I got better at faking it, so I do think it helped me to be very aware of social cues. In high school, even kids who didn't like me would invite me to their "youth festivals" or whatever their new member recruitment event was. Baptists were the most aggressive; Jewish kids mercifully didn't pull these stunts.

I'm an atheist now, but I still like pancakes.

Yeah, we were NEVER talked to about recruiting fresh meat. Honestly, if anyone ever invited you to temple, it was because they had to go and wanted someone who was a friend there, to make it more fun. I spent many a Friday night huddled in the coat closet petting fur coats rich ladies had had their husbands hang for them, and giggling with other kids who'd also escaped the service.

PP here, and yes! The Jewish kids were the best because if they did invite me to anything unless it was just to eat food or have fun! And unfortunately they got picked on at my high school (southern, so a lot of evangelicals). One person went up to one of my friends and asked, "do you ever feel empty in the pit of your stomach, knowing that your people killed Jesus?" We laughed about it, but it was awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a nurse. Every morning at 0700 during a mandatory morning huddle, I have to listen to a prayer (or pray, that's the other option). The prayer varies by the day and is never a generic "lord, let us do good, amen" sort of affair. Always very long, detailed, and packed with extremely reverent and humble offerings to a specific deity.

I cannot opt out of morning huddle and I cannot just pop in and out for the prayer part because it's sandwiched in between concrete medical information I must have for the day.

This is at a hospital that is VERY loosely affiliated with a particular religion and so my recourse is to quit. If it was a state hospital — say, the Univ. of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore — I'd take a different approach to this uncomfortable situation. But because a particular religion founded this hospital 140 years ago, that's their basis for forcing prayer in 2016 although nothing in their mission statement, etc, has anything to do w. religion at this time.

Don't work at a religous based hospital if you want the world sanitized of religion. This one is quite simple and very different from the other examples.

Thanks for repeating what I, PP, already said in my post!

Yeah, why not ask the nurse to quit her salaried position with benefits in a bad economy when she has rent to pay and possibly kids to feed? In no way should her civil rights be respected.

Getting sexually harassed at work? Well don't work at that place if you want to make a stand against sexual harassment. Starve on the streets for your principles!

Getting racially discriminated against at work? Well don't work at that place if you want to make a stand against racism. Starve on the streets for your principles!

Getting religiously discriminated against at work? ...oh wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to this day in your grown up skin you still feel uncomfortable about the situation ?

You need a hobby. It's not like you were tortured.

+1

This family was doing you, and/or your mom, a FAVOR, OP. Are you so ungracious for their hospitality that this is what you remember?

Wow. Just Wow. I was a teenager. There were no diapers to change and we went to the same school and soccer practice (so its not like they had to go out of their way). So because they were doing me a "favor" its ok that they forced me to go to their church and bible study even after I said I was uncomfortable?

So you were fine accepting their hospitality in the form of meals, lodging and security for 3 days but when they tried to "treat you like family," you decide that you prefer the motel method? Yes, op, they had every right to expect that you would participate in family activities, I assume with their daughter who was your friend. If you or your mother had a problem with it, you should have made other arrangements. The fact that you still remember every detail so many years later says something about you, not them. And it's not positive.

Which part of "respecting personal boundaries" is such an alien language to crazy evangelical Christians?

[Anonymous]

I don't know that going to church twice while you were being hosted by another family counts as a truly uncomfortable religious situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know that going to church twice while you were being hosted by another family counts as a truly uncomfortable religious situation.

protip: "uncomfortable religious situation" isn't limited to acts of religious violence. Just like racism isn't limited to overt slurs or lynching.