# "Methodist" and "Baptist" hospitals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568 "2022-06-02T13:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/41 "2022-06-03T13:35:08Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Even the Christian Scientists? BYSTANDER (seeing man on ground suffering from a heart attack): “Quick! Get this man to a hospital!” MAN ON GROUND: “No, I’m a Christian Scientist!” BYSTANDER: “Quick! Get this man to a reading room!” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/42 "2022-06-03T16:04:50Z")
I go to St John’s just down the road from my house. I spent a night there a few weeks ago and a woman comes on the PA twice a day and sings a prayer. The chaplain visited me and although I assured him I wasn’t religious we had a nice talk about a lot of things. Turns out he was a Southern Baptist! I guess they farm out the chaplain duties. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/43 "2022-06-03T17:56:06Z")
As I recall, the theory is that most protestant sects were formed in reaction against the hierarchy and doctrine of the Catholic church; one of the things they railed against was that Catholics verged on treating saints as minor deities, praying to them (to intercede on your behalf, etc.), celebrating their feast days. So the protestant sects specifically downplayed the excessive role of saints in Christianity. hence while Catholic organizations will celebrate a particular saint by naming some institution after him or her, protestants tend not to, especially the more reactionary or puritan sects opposed to the excessive ceremonial aspects. IIRC Anglican and Episcopalian to some extent mirror the ambiguity of the Church of England which sometimes can’t decide if it’s faux Catholic or outright protestant. I believe the same process applies in the naming of churches, as mentioned upthread - you may see “First Methodist” or such for protestants, rather than “St. Peters”. The University of Toronto has a theological Knox College, and I’ve heard of several “Knox United” churches, but I’ve never heard anyone refer to “Saint Knox”. (Just the school of hard Knox). Many Catholic hospitals were intended to use nuns as the nurses to perform the duty that fell to churches in those days, to tend to the sick. Sometimes you will see a hospital named after the order of nuns that ran it. But it would be rather un-Churchly and kind of go against the basic principles (not to mention Hippocrates) to refuse to treat someone simply because they are not your religion. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/44 "2022-06-03T18:03:59Z")
In fact, i vaguely recall that in the early days of the Christian church, when Rome was hit with several waves of infectious diseases, the Christians gained a lot of converts because they cared for the sick (anyone who came to them) whereas most of the pagans avoided sick people. Turns out the reduction of mortality from caring for the ill outweighed the increase in mortality from exposing more of the population. Or so this book i read as a kid argued. I don’t think anyone is certain which diseases were pandemic in the Roman empire. And some of them may now be extinct. But i think it’s widely believed that that’s when several of our current “childhood diseases” (measles, mumps, etc.) first spread through the European population. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/45 "2022-06-03T18:14:06Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > The University of Toronto has a theological Knox College, and I’ve heard of several “Knox United” churches, but I’ve never heard anyone refer to “Saint Knox”. (Just the school of hard Knox). Those are presumably named after John Knox, the founder of what became Presbyterianism. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/46 "2022-06-03T18:20:32Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Those are presumably named after John Knox, the founder of what became Presbyterianism. Similarly, hospitals and other institutions which are named “Wesley” or “Wesleyan” are likely named after John Wesley, the founder of what become Methodism and the Methodist churches. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/47 "2022-06-03T18:23:29Z")
But the interesting thing is that these “modern day” religious types are not referred to as saints by their denominations, although there are plenty of Catholic saints from the same era or later. basically, the protestant churches tend not to emphasize the concept of sainthood. Nobody refers to St. Martin Luther AFAIK. (Certainly not the Catholics 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/48 "2022-06-03T18:38:40Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > But the interesting thing is that these “modern day” religious types are not referred to as saints by their denominations, although there are plenty of Catholic saints from the same era or later. basically, the protestant churches tend not to emphasize the concept of sainthood. Nobody refers to St. Martin Luther AFAIK. My understanding is that most Protestant denominations, if they use the term “saint” at all, is in the context of a term which encompasses all believers, and the word isn’t used to describe only specific, particularly virtuous (and deceased) people. So, there’s no “St. Martin Luther” or “St. John Wesley.” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/49 "2022-06-03T18:54:33Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Many Catholic hospitals were intended to use nuns as the nurses to perform the duty that fell to churches in those days, to tend to the sick. **Sometimes you will see a hospital named after the order of nuns that ran it.** New Orleans is a city with a rich Catholic tradition. However, it never had any major hospitals named after Catholic saints. There were two major Catholic-order hospitals in the city until the early 1990s – **Mercy Hospital** run by the Sisters of Mercy and **Hôtel Dieu** run by the Daughters of Charity. There is still a large Catholic-order hospital system based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with satellite clinics throughout the southern part of the state: **Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center** run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/50 "2022-06-03T18:57:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > a few miles the other way is SSM Health, which is really Sisters of Saint Mary Hospital under the hood. You sure that’s not Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother? Yes, that’s a real group; owned/ran hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/51 "2022-06-03T19:03:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I know of a [Chinese hospital in San Francisco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Chinese_Hospital) and that Wikipedia article mentions ones in Toronto and Montreal. The Toronto one mentioned in that Wikipedia article (Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care) is a nursing home. Similarly, there’s also Mon Sheong Home for the Aged. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/52 "2022-06-03T19:16:54Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Mary is of course a dead giveaway. Mary is kind of an odd case, because so far as I know, every Christian denomination recognizes her as a saint, but anything named after Mary is almost guaranteed to be Catholic. I think it’s a deliberate distancing move from the especially high esteem the Catholic Church has for her. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/53 "2022-06-03T19:19:51Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > The one non-Roman Catholic denomination hospital I know of named for a saint names the denomination - St John’s Episcopal. Not sure if that was specifically to avoid confusion with a Roman Catholic St John’s that also existed or more generally to avoid assumptions that St X must be a RC hospital Episcopalian/Anglican organizations often use the names of saints, as do Catholics, because Episcopalians never repudiated the concept of saints. Episcopalianism is mostly a political reform of Catholicism (the way the church as a body is structured and managed) rather than a theological one, as is Protestantism. Lutherans are another denomination which prominently honors saints, although, like Episcopalians, they carefully stipulate that saints are to be honored but not venerated. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/54 "2022-06-03T19:33:06Z")
I might not have been clear - I know that Episcopalian/Anglican churches/schools/hospitals etc. use at least certain saint’s names and Lutherans do as well. I’m just not 100% sure why this hospital is St John’s _Episcopal_ Hospital rather than simply St. John’s Hospital ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/55 "2022-06-03T19:46:40Z")
Probably because, even though they still recognize saints, they don’t want to be mistaken for Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/56 "2022-06-03T19:47:26Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m just not 100% sure why this hospital is St John’s _Episcopal_ Hospital rather than simply St. John’s Hospital I imagine that it’s to make it clear that it’s specifically affiliated with the Episcopal Church, as (has been discussed already) many people will see “St.” and assume that it’s a Catholic organization. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/57 "2022-06-03T19:58:31Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m just not 100% sure why this hospital is St John’s _Episcopal_ Hospital rather than simply St. John’s Hospital The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem aka the Knights Hospitaller aka the Knights of Rhodes aka the Knights of Malta aka the Sovereign Military Order of Malta have a long history in Catholicism. When northern Germany became Protestant, many “Orders of Saint John” split off in the Lutheran countries. There is even one splinter group in the U.K. They generally support hospitals and ambulance services. This particular hospital may or may not be associated with the British version of the Order of St. John, but they want you to know that they are associated with the Episcopal Church, rather than one of the myriad Catholic or Lutheran St. John hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/58 "2022-06-03T20:27:19Z")
I can’t figure out who would name a hospital after St Eligius. Well, besides TV producers. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/59 "2022-06-03T20:31:23Z")
He was the patron saint of goldsmiths and veterinarians. Perhaps if the hospital were founded by a wealthy jeweler, like Tiffany or Faberge? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568/60 "2022-06-03T20:42:28Z")
I really don’t think that Episcopalians and Lutherans have a fear of their hospital being mistaken for a Catholic hospital. In fact I don’t believe they ever think about it. They all three have a tradition of sometimes naming their affiliate hospitals after saints. If there is “Episcopalian” or “Lutheran” in the name, it’s simply because that’s what they are. I used to go to Holy Cross Catholic Church. Now I go to St.John’s Episcopal. It isn’t called Episcopal because they want to distinguish it from St. John’s Catholic, but because that is its name. I do not understand this discussion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methodist-and-baptist-hospitals/965568.md?page=4)