Thank you.

If people question my interpretation of these events, then I ask you to consider how the Roman Catholic Church wants to deny President Biden communion because he won't use the office of the President of the United States to further an anti-abortion, pro-life agenda.

Thank you. I actually agree with that, so this gives me an "out" to dodge the claim that I'm a hypocrite.

Thank you again.

Thank you very much for responding.

Religious hospitals are a source of a lot of non-emergency transports (and a lot of money) to the ambulace companies, so these transport agencies often side with the hospital over their own employees when it comes to these kind of conflicts. I put a link below where a congressman named Bob Barr (not to be confused with Attorney General Bill Barr) was trying to push legislation to make it illegal for Wiccans in the military to practice their religion. In fact, he's called for all Christian people to refuse to enlist in the armed services--and leave the country defenseless--until Wiccanism is made illegal. See below:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-06-16-9906160031-story.html

I also ran into very similar conflicts involving gay people, as religious hospitals got bent out of shape when I treated the gay life partner like a spouse. Below, see how a hospital refused to allow a lesbian to visit her dying partner (of 18 years) because Florida is an "anti-gay state" , and only a spouse and family member should be allowed to connect with a dying person, and a lesbian partner isn't the same thing. See below:

https://www.workers.org/2009/us/lisa_pond_1015/

So, I was suspended and turned down for promotions because I treated gay people by the same standards as straight people, because I "lack common sense" when it comes to working with religious hospitals.

While these kind of conflicts may seen stupid on the surface . . . I should point out that reasonable people can become super religious when they're having severe health problems ("No Atheists in foxholes."), so these issues can become very important very suddenly.

A part of these issues may be my fault, as I have Asperger's, and am very inept and clumsy when it comes to relating with people socially, as I have "social blindness". I often commit social blunders because of this.

I have had to deal with the real-world consequences of this question while working as a paramedic . . . and in some instances, I've been sanctioned over issues of cults vs. religion.

As an example, a paramedic should be nonjudgmental when doing his or her job, so similar patients in similar circumstances should be treated with a similar standard of care . . . and I think every reasonable person would agree with this.

So, I was transporting a Wiccan to the hospital, and her priestess (a member of the "Sacred Well Coven" . . . whatever that is) asked to ride along.

We have protocols that allow for clergy, so I said "No problem, welcome to my ambulance," as I showed her where to sit, and belted her in.

Well, this didn't sit well with the clergy at the religious hospital (a Baptist hospital dedicated to extending the healing ministry of Christ), and I was excoriated for treating the Wiccan priestess like a "real" clergy person. I was written up and sanctioned for my "lack of common sense" in not recognizing that a "Satanic cult" is different from a "real" clergy person, like a minister or a rabbi.

It was suggested that I endangered other people in the emergency room, because if patients saw the pentagram on the Wiccan's religious materials, then some patients might leave before treatment--out of fear for their spiritual well-being--which could cost lives.

I told my boss that he was being stupid, when he then asked me how I would feel if I needed the services of the emergency room, and arrived to see Nazi swastikas mounted on the wall.

I didn't have an answer to this, as I would be uncomfortable receiving medical treatment from a neo-Nazi, and would probably go somewhere else--and, perhaps, die from lack of treatment--so what's the difference between my Jewish distaste and discomfort with the Nazi swastika, and the Baptist's discomfort with the pentagram and other Wiccan religious materials?

How do I--in a practical sense--resolve this hypocrasy within myself, yet still adhere to my principle of being nonjudgmental when I work as a medic?

Any input would be deeply appreciated.

Thank you for reading my lengthy post.

P.S. I do have Asperger's Syndrome (a kind of high-functioning autism), so I have very little social insight. So, please help if you can give me any ideas. I don't like thinking of myself as a two-faced hypocrite.

I used to be a paramedic, and this question seems very similar to certain issues that we EMS workers see every day.

If I run across an unconscious or an irrational patient (perhaps from drugs, or a head injury), I can treat that person under the doctrine of "implied consent," which means that we do what a majority of reasonable people would want under similar circummstances.

This even applies if they refuse, as an incompetent person is not able to legally refuse treatment.

I don't believe that the ends justify the means, but we are expected to be practical and pragmatic in a medical emergency.