NC Restaurant Ends 'Praying In Public' Discount After Atheist Lawsuit Threat
A North Carolina restaurant has stopped its "Praying in Public" discounts after being threatened with a lawsuit by a national atheist organization.
Mary's Gourmet Diner in Salem, North Carolina gained national attention last week when a discounted receipt was posted on social media, showing the restaurant had given a customer a 15 percent discount because they were seen "praying in public," or visibly praying over their food before they ate.
Although the diner received a lot of positive feedback, it also drew criticism from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which sent a letter to the restaurant's owner, Mary Haglund, imploring her to end the "Praying in Public" discount or face a lawsuit. The letter argued that the discount violated the Civil Rights Act by denying "customers who do not pray and nonbelievers the right to 'full and equal' enjoyment of Mary's Gourmet Diner."
The restaurant immediately ended the discount practice, reportedly posting a sign on its front door that read, in part: "We are no longer issuing the 15% praying in public discount. It is illegal and we are being threatened by lawsuit. We apologize to our community for any offense this discount has incurred."
Although Haglund agreed to the Freedom From Religion Foundation's demands, she told Fox8 last week that the purpose of the prayer discount was not to promote one religion over another, but rather to highlight the importance of gratitude.
"This is not a religious thing, this is a thankful thing," the restaurant owner said. "It's just an attitude of gratitude."
