# Atheists, would this bother you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 21, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632 "2008-02-21T22:32:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/1 "2008-02-21T22:32:26Z")
The show ended in 2006, but I’m just now watching the final season of [Strong Medicine](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252019/). One of the new principal characters does something I find surprising - before each operation he prays aloud that God will guide him and bring the patient through the procedure and restore them to perfect health. The patients all seem to be under by the time the prayer is said. I’m Christian, and this strikes me as a little odd. A silent prayer I can readily understand, but saying it out loud? That seems to make it a little more official, I guess, and it strikes me as something of a lack of confidence in their skill too that I’d rather they not be vocal about. Given my own reaction, I wonder what an atheist would feel about having a prayer said over them before an operation. Would it rub you the wrong way if you discovered it had been done, or do you see it as mostly harmless? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/2 "2008-02-21T22:37:18Z")
Well, if I were awake at the time I’d be a tad pissed off if for no other reason than I’d already be stressed out and wouldn’t much appreciate further aggravation. If I’m already in LaLa Land I don’t give a flying rat’s ass what the doctor babbles on about as long as the operation goes correctly. If the doctor fucks me up I sure hope his god paid up the malpractice premiums 'cause having prayed for success won’t save him from a tidy lawsuit if it all goes pear shaped! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/3 "2008-02-21T22:41:42Z")
It may not be nice to say this - but it _would_ rub me the wrong way. Just as if someone said “I will pray for you” would rub me the wrong way. I’d be _quite_ concerned if I knew that the _educated professional_ that was assigned to work in me was a believer in God. ---
**Author:** ![Purgatory\_Creek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Purgatory\_Creek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purgatory_Creek)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/4 "2008-02-21T22:43:53Z")
Whatever gives her that feeling of confidence works for me. The surgeon’s really praying for herself, after all. If she wants to shake a turtle shell full of pebbles over me and chant, I’m okay with that, as long as it’s done “in a sterile fashion.” It wouldn’t bother me at all, but I’m a strange kind of atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/5 "2008-02-21T22:44:27Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] It may not be nice to say this - but it _would_ rub me the wrong way. Just as if someone said “I will pray for you” would rub me the wrong way. I’d be _quite_ concerned if I knew that the _educated professional_ that was assigned to work in me was a believer in God. [/QUOTE] I’m an educated professional. I believe in God. These aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, you know… ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/6 "2008-02-21T22:47:43Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] I’m an educated professional. I believe in God. These aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, you know… [/QUOTE] Are you a Doctor or Surgeon? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/7 "2008-02-21T22:48:10Z")
I wouldn’t mind if my doctor believed in god. I’d be a bit squicked out at him/her praying over me on the operating table, just because it’s not my bag and I’ve got my own religion issues. I suppose if I were passed out by that point, I wouldn’t care. I just wouldn’t want to deal with it, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/8 "2008-02-21T22:48:53Z")
I really wouldn’t want to sit through it, but if I’m already out, I don’t find it a big deal. In all, I’d be…taken aback I guess, but not so much that I wouldn’t get over it pretty quickly. There are bigger fish to fry. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/9 "2008-02-21T22:50:00Z")
Actually I take it back. Someone can still _learn_ the craft of Surgery or Doctory and be good at it, while at the same time believing in God. So I shouldn’t be concerned for my safety if a theist is using his skills to fix me. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/10 "2008-02-21T22:52:37Z")
Well, I am not really athiest\*\*, it wouldn’t bother me. It wouldn’t bother me if they prayed to Allah, Shiva, FSM or Elmo, either. I allow other people to believe whatever makes them happy without being offended by it. It makes me “odd” but such is life. \*\*athiest definition – a person who believe there is no god/gods \*\*agnostic – a person who believes there is some great force, but not necessarily god/gods \*\*me – no belief either way, just don’t care, what is, is. \*\*Let’s not get into the whole debate about beliefs, kthxbye ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/11 "2008-02-21T22:53:10Z")
Yeah, just like it apparently annoys some Christians when someone practices witchcraft on their behalf. Also, I want a surgeon who isn’t relying on divine intervention to keep me alive. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/12 "2008-02-21T22:53:46Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] Are you a Doctor or Surgeon? [/QUOTE] Does it matter? Whether he believes that your body was designed by an intelligent designer or whether he believes it evolved from a lower primate shouldn’t affect his ability to be a good mechanic for that body. On edit: you see my point, then. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/13 "2008-02-21T22:55:06Z")
Asleep, it wouldn’t bother me at all. Awake wouldn’t bother me either, provided the prayer went as described in the OP, where the doctor is essentially praying for himself that things go well and leaves me out of it. If he tried to involve me in the prayer or prayed for me (beyond the success of the surgery), I’d probably find that a little intrusive. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/14 "2008-02-21T22:56:03Z")
I wonder if they have him saying it out loud _because_ it’s on TV, so that you know what’s going through his mind. Agnostic sorta-pagan here, I don’t think I’d mind. If it helps the doc who is about to cut me open, then they can do whatever they want. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/15 "2008-02-21T22:58:04Z")
My doctor’s office has a bunch of christian crap around. Books, magazines, wall hangings and shit. It kinda bothers me - I would prefer not to see evidence that my health professional enjoys irrational beliefs. But my doc never mentions it and I like him, so it doesn’t keep me from going there. And they have never mentioned anything even faintly “religious” when we discussed our kids and matters such as contraception. I don’t care if my surgeon chooses to pray before, during, or after surgery. Same reason I wouldn’t care if he/she voted for Bush, fucks sheep, worships satan, or enjoys rap music. So long as he plies his craft proficiently. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/16 "2008-02-21T23:00:18Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Given my own reaction, I wonder what an atheist would feel about having a prayer said over them before an operation. Would it rub you the wrong way if you discovered it had been done, or do you see it as mostly harmless? [/QUOTE] If it helps the surgeon operate I’ll dress in a clown suit. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/17 "2008-02-21T23:03:06Z")
If I was concious when he said the prayer, I’d be a little disturbed. Why is this guy asking for guidance right before he slices into me? He has done this operation before, right? :dubious: If I was under already, meh. Whatever helps him concentrate and keeps me alive. If his God is listening and gives him the power/mojo/whatever to perform the operation successfully and keep me alive, then all the more power to his prayer. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/18 "2008-02-21T23:05:46Z")
If they feel it will help them perform my surgery correctly I don’t mind if they sacrifice a goat, so long as I don’t have to participate or clean up the mess. The doctor’s not my friend but a highly trained professional I’m wanting to do a job, same as the mechanic working on my car or builder working on my house [just with a whole lot more knowledge and insurance [hopefully]) so his religion is a complete non-matter to me. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/19 "2008-02-21T23:06:26Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] \*\*athiest definition – a person who believe there is no god/gods \*\*agnostic – a person who believes there is some great force, but not necessarily god/gods \*\*me – no belief either way, just don’t care, what is, is. \*\*Let’s not get into the whole debate about beliefs, kthxbye [/QUOTE] I thought the definition of agnostic _was_ how you describe yourself. That there may be or there may not, but it doesn’t matter either way. Is that incorrect? That’s how I’ve always used the term. And I am not trying to debate you, I just want to know if I’ve been using the wrong definition. ---
**Author:** ![Lugubrious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@Lugubrious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lugubrious)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632/20 "2008-02-21T23:06:48Z")
Nope. What someone does in regards to their religion is their business. I used to be very bothered by individuals praying for my soul. (Being an atheist, I’m going to hell) But really, how does praying harm me? It makes the prayer feel better about themselves, and since I don’t believe in that stuff, it doesn’t affect me in the slightest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-would-this-bother-you/438632.md?page=2)