Christian comes into an Atheists home & begins pray at the dinner table. What do you say to make them stop?

Question

They are not respecting me or my home.

Answer 1

PUNCH THEM IN THE HEAD

Answer 2

~~~ Trev ,,, I came from a catholic/quaker family that didn't hold hands during the same dinner prayer we said Every Night and on Special Occaisions. My side was the catholics who made the Sign of The Cross at the ending of this Quaker Prayer. I wouldn't bow my head either as I stopped making The Sign but I just closed my eyes in Respect to everyone else,,, when at someone elses house who held hands, I would hold the hands but of course not say any prayer. This is not the time to "Make a Statement", especially when you are most likely the only person in the room who is Contrary. I declared my atheism at age 16 in a Respectful Manner at an Appropiate Time, thus Establishing my POV. This minimized many problems as I learned my way into Adulthood. Several years later I became a strict vegetarian which caused me to not eat our Traditional Meals. By then I was the established Black Sheep and/or Kook, so things went rather smoothly. I also have a strong intellect and Study my own Philosophy so that I am Prepared to State My Case. Knowledge is Power, and consequently my relatives cannot challenge my POV intellectually because of their obvious Ignorance on these topics,,, so they leave me alone. Be patient. Respect begets Respect,,, most of the time. ~ Namaste`

Answer 3

I'm an atheist and I wouldn't mind if someone prayed before dinner at my place as long as he keeps it short and sweet, and is praying because he really feels the need and not because he's trying to pass on some message.

If you go to his place you would keep quiet whilst he prays, so in a way you would be 'disrespecting' his religion. And even there he should keep it short.

Tolerance is the key. As long as it comes from both parts.

Answer 4

You're not really respecting them or their ways, so how can you expect them to respect you and yours? Earn respect by giving it - what's so bad about just letting someone pray, if that's their choice?

They're not asking you to pray with them, as far as I can tell from your question, so what's the big deal? I'm not a Christian, but I don't mind in the slightest if a Christian chooses to pray at my dinner table, or if a Muslim chooses to prostrate him/herself on my living room floor at the appointed prayer time - that's their faith and their conviction, I respect their free choice. I like for my guests to be comfortable and happy, and to have the freedom to be themselves. Isn't that what good hospitality is all about?

Answer 5

I'm not a prayer or a bible thumper myself, so it's a little off putting when people do it front of me. But, if I had invited someone to my home, then it would be my job to make them feel comfortable - that includes letting them pray. I might even pray with them if it makes them feel good. It's really just part of being a good host.

Answer 6

A respectful Christian would ask "Can I give thanks for the food?" If you rather him not say grace for the whole table, just say it kind of makes you uncomfortable, and ask him can he just say it silently to himself. This would work if you were just an agnostic. If even silent prayer offends you, identify yourself as an atheist. After he knows this, he probably won't try to pray in front of you.

He is in your home. He should respect you. "Free speech" is not a good excuse, to make your host feel uncomfortable. That is an excuse too often used by jerky people who just want to do what they want.

Answer 7

I don't. It might sound a bit weird hearing this from an atheist, but I feel I have to speak up here as my aunt once made the same arguement, only it was switched around. As in I wasn't respecting her in her home by NOT praying with the rest of the family.

I don't agree with you here, even if I understand where you're coming from. I may be an atheist, but I don't tell Christians or anyone else who has a belief to leave that belief at the door when they come in to visit me. That's a bit Big Brotherish and none of us, absolutely NONE of us, can stop someone from believing, just because they step into our house.

This same nasty aunt who tried to say that I was being disrespectful by not praying, I've allowed her to pray in my home at holiday meals. My rule in my house is that a person may have beliefs, read the Bible, pray before meals, whatever. I don't give a rat's behind one way or another, so long as they keep it to themselves. As long as people aren't trying to convert me or others or make myself or my husband(who is an agnostic) join in a group prayer or make us listen to one, I truly don't care.

A person can pray quietly to themselves and I honestly won't be offended. It's their business and who am I to tell them what they can and cannot believe, even in my home, regardless of what I may think about it myself? I won't stop a person from praying at the dinner table in my home, so long as they don't overstep their bounds as a guest and require that the rest of us join in and be "saved". You wanna pray at the dinner table at my home, hey, knock yourself out, just leave me out of it.

Oh, and for the disrespect, I'm gonna tell you what I told my aunt. There could be WORSE things your guest could be doing than praying. Or in my case, sitting quietly while others prayed. Your guest could be digging in and start eating before everyone else was ready. They could be swearing and cursing you for NOT praying. They could be banging their silverware on the plate yelling for you to hurry up and serve them.

Be grateful that all they were doing was praying to themselves and not forcing you to join in or worse.

Answer 8

I'm a Catholic and I say that you should let the person say graces. After all, s/he is thanking God for the blessings given to him/her even though it was an ATHEIST who gave the food. Be kind enough to even have some respect for the person. At least, it's expressing your freedom of choosing religion.

Answer 9

If it bothers you that much then you can lay down the ground rules before you invite them over for dinner.

I would have thought you invited them into your home because you were friends with them. Friends accept each other for who they are, faults along with the virtues. In the venue of religion, the best option is to agree to disagree. If you are adamant in your faith, be it Muslim, Christan, Hindi, Buddhism, or atheism (yes atheism is a form of religion even if it does not merit a capitol 'A' from spell check), and you would like some respect for your beliefs, then you have to be willing to respect others also.

Answer 10

If you are an Atheist, I don't really see why you have a problem with others praying. How exactly does it "disrespect" your home? They are just different than you. It's called TOLERANCE.

Look, you invited these people over. Suck it up. Realize that their actions are about THEM and their beliefs. They are NOT about YOU. It might be uncomfortable for a minute, but if you don't let them pray, you are disrespecting them.

If really you feel that uncomfortable about it, don't invite them over. You can be alone with your stupidity and intolerance.

Answer 11

You are totally right, it is your home and your beliefs (or lack thereof) should also be respected. If it happens again, just ask them nicely to say the prayer to themselves. But keep in mind that it is also his/her custom to pray before each meal. Just try and keep an open mind about it all.