Presumptions about your religious affiliation
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 2:24 am
I'd like to know if any of you have funny/outrageous stories about times when people have made false assumptions about your religious affiliation (or lack thereof), or your (a)theistic stance.
I'll start with an experience of mine from Monday last week (5/23/2016). So I work at a plant nursery, and I often assist customers with finding what they want. An old lady walked up to me and asked me where she could find some impatiens. I showed her where we normally keep the impatiens, but there were only a few left (maybe that's why she had trouble finding them?). I told her (and I'm paraphrasing here; I don't remember my exact words):
I've never had someone say something like that to me before, so I didn't know how to reply. I didn't actually answer her question, because I assumed it was a rhetorical question, and a joke. She probably said it half-jokingly.
After a few seconds I felt a little offended (but not much; I'm not so thin-skinned). Why would someone assume that I go to church at all without even knowing my religious affiliation? Doesn't she realize that there are people of many different religious affiliations in the Bay Area? Is California more religious than i thought? Particularly with its Christians?
Then I thought to myself, "Great! Now I have an experience to share on the Vegan Athei... ...oops, sorry... ...I mean, the Philosophical Vegan Forum."

I'll start with an experience of mine from Monday last week (5/23/2016). So I work at a plant nursery, and I often assist customers with finding what they want. An old lady walked up to me and asked me where she could find some impatiens. I showed her where we normally keep the impatiens, but there were only a few left (maybe that's why she had trouble finding them?). I told her (and I'm paraphrasing here; I don't remember my exact words):
I said, not wrote:Yeah, unfortunately we don't have many in stock. We'll get a new shipment in on Thursday. So that's 1... ...no, 2 days from now. I think? Is today Tuesday or Wednesday?

The Customer said, not wrote:Today's Monday! Didn't you go to church yesterday?

I've never had someone say something like that to me before, so I didn't know how to reply. I didn't actually answer her question, because I assumed it was a rhetorical question, and a joke. She probably said it half-jokingly.

After a few seconds I felt a little offended (but not much; I'm not so thin-skinned). Why would someone assume that I go to church at all without even knowing my religious affiliation? Doesn't she realize that there are people of many different religious affiliations in the Bay Area? Is California more religious than i thought? Particularly with its Christians?

Then I thought to myself, "Great! Now I have an experience to share on the Vegan Athei... ...oops, sorry... ...I mean, the Philosophical Vegan Forum."
