Vacation to Colorado alone ,smoke or eat as much hashish as possible and do a lot of mindful meditation ...at least that's what I'm about to do ,I live smack dab in mid Missouri and it gets lonely for free thinkers like us .....good luck ,I hope you find a resolve to your plight

I work in a catholic organization. There are many conflicts of interest. But a church or a hospital is a company first. If not, it wouldn't survive. If it serves a purpose and it does good, let it be.

It would be an untruth to say that I don't try to make a point from time to time though. Change comes from within.

Only at funerals there's nothing worse than grieving for someone while you're being preached at

It depends on the circumstance. If it's a function directly involved in their beliefs, I have a problem. If it's a general social function, I don't care.

You seem to have a bit of an obssession going on here. Don't you know who you are?

I couldn't care less. I remember when I was a Christian in a Japanese American church, a lot of our members used to volunteer at Buddhist temples during Obon (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2286.html). They would help with the raffle, cook the food, participate in the odori (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOzdJoHOPm4), and support the local community. They may be Christian, but everyone put aside the creed to support fellow Japanese Americans during this season.

In my current congregation, last August 6, we had a Buddhist monk and a Jewish Rabbi do the August 6, Hiroshima memorial service. We made our senbazuru (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_thousand_origami_cranes) and prayed for the dead...not Dear Jesus pray, but remembered them. Here in Los Angeles, I guess no one really cares if you do or do not go to a service.

I look at it like... "It's an event first..." put on by a group of people. If these people are genuine, and do good things for others, then I'm happy to support them.

If they break out in prayer in the middle and try to convert me... then I'm likely to walk away.

I'm not and anti-theist. If you had two choices, one was let a religious person save you from drowning, the other was to drown which one would you choose? A good deed it's a good deed in my opinion. If religious people use their to perform good for others I have no problem with it. Supporting a friend is, in my opinion, more important than showing your disrespect to an imaginary thing.

Several years ago, I was asked to play the part of Jesus at the last supper. (I have long hair and a beard.) I said 'Hell yeah!'

I don't cut off my nose to spite my face, no. Nor do I labor under the misconception that churches are 100% harmful. If I were to go to an event that happened to be held at or even sponsored by a church, it's an event that's worth going to in my view, so that a church is behind it in some way doesn't change that it's worthwhile.

Some (though, overall, far from most) church activities are genuinely charitable. For example, a local church where I live runs an excellent food kitchen, another one, a food pantry, another one, a clothing bank for the indigent. I have supported all of these in some way or other at times. Especially the food kitchen, which is, as it should be, run as a separate non-profit. My wife has even volunteered there.

I'm of the view that these kinds of activities, when they have concrete social benefits and come without strings attached like proselytizing or indoctrination, should be tax exempt. It's the non-charitable stuff -- the meetings, classes, rituals, and infrastructure to support them -- the "member benefit" activities in IRS parlance -- that should NOT be tax-exempt. Many, MANY churches consist almost entirely of member-benefit activities, and so the general tax exemption for those churches is harmful in my view.

I quit attending my grand-nephew's Cub Scout meetings. I really have a problem
with the religious indoctrination aspect of the organization.
It makes me incredibly uncomfortable to witness how these kids are encouraged
to participate in christian dogma, and to have it linked with love of country and family. All I want to do is scream "stop!".

If necessary to see a friend

I just do what I can to avoid supporting them. It depends sometimes on whether they have something to offer that benefits me enough to outweigh the unpleasant feeling. I'm not particularly bothered going to a church for someone's wedding, but I won't go to the restaurant or bowling alley run by the Jesus Christ Megaplex nearby.

I don't take it personally. The key, respecting others differences and choices. Respect those that invited you despite your belief or lack there of. They wanted you there or they wouldn't have invited you to begin with.

You don't need to miss out on having a good time just because you disagree with a principe. Whatever you do you will compromise a principle somewhere. Either that or you review and research everything you want to do before you act and that sounds like a waste of life. Just because you go to see a top sports team doesn't mean you have to support them, you just like to watch them . I go to church sometimes because I love the experience. It doesn't mean I'm a christian.

Yes I'm uncomfortable, but yes I would have paid the 5 bucks in your situation. Relatedly, I used to go to all church wedding ceremonies out of respect for my friends/loved ones, but I've become so uncomfortable in churches I can't bring myself to do it anymore. Among other discomforts, I was getting angry at the thought of my friends and loved ones being manipulated by this nonsense.

That would be a very sticky position to be in! I would need to get clear in my own mind, just what internal motive I have for going to each event! Only then would I attend these functions. Because, most of our life is lived from within and to comprise our ‘inner being,’ is to create psychological discontent at the very least!

I have no issues using a church or religious organization's facilities for whatever reason. I would resist it if the purpose is to proselytize and especially to raise money for the religious organization.

If it's a non religious activity I don't mind at all. Churches have long been the center of community and I could care less if they profit from it as long as they don't force prayer during the event.