Diner Prayer Discount: Mary’s Gourmet Diner Drops ‘Praying In Public’ Discount After Secular Backlash

Diner prayer discount offered by Mary’s Gourmet has been annulled, after being threatened with lawsuits. Mary’s Gourmet Diner in North Carolina, which used to offer a 15 percent discount to clients, who said a prayer or meditated before eating has ended the practice. The end of the diner prayer discount has angered many Christian believers and pleased the pro-atheist group that was planning to drag the eatery to court.

For more than four years Mary’s Gourmet Diner located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina has been offering religious clients a special discount called the “Pray Discount.”

Those who were seen praying over their meals before eating would get 15% off their bill.

The discount was not automatic, the restaurant’s staff picked who they wanted to offer the religious based promotion to.

Waiters are also permitted to let clients know about the existence of the discount before they ordered.

Not many people knew about the practice, that is until a Christian music radio station host from Orlando, Florida ate at Mary’s Gourmet Diner and proceeded to post his receipt on Facebook that showed the deduction was placed under “praying in public” .

The post went viral and the owner of the diner Mary Haglund, received praises from church goers all over the country for her brave gesture to let people say a grace in public.

Haglund also received a very menacing letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular organization, which was founded in 1978 by mother/daughter duo Anne Nicol Gaylor and Annie Laurie Gaylor (see picture below).

FFRF, which has over 20,000 members, main’s goal is to make sure that State/Church separation is respected.

In the letter written by Annie Laurie Gaylor and her husband Dan Barker, they explained to the owner of the diner that her action was in violation of the Civil Rights Act and she should therefore stop.

The author of compelling books such as “Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children” and “Woe to the Women–the Bible Tells Me So: The Bible, Female Sexuality & the Law” went on to explain that from here on, all of the restaurant’s promos must be offered to all people regardless of their religious or atheist background.

Fearing a lawsuit, Haglund has ended her favoritism towards believers.

In a note plastered in the restaurant, the business owner explained that seeing that her practice was illegal, she has decided to end it.

Many religious folks blasted Mrs Gaylor saying that people like her will end up in hell.

Others asked what happened to religious freedom, why can’t the business do what ever they want.

Few applauded FFRF saying that they are certain that the restaurant would be less welcoming to a Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist person.