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The Bible used to be as much a part of a sleepover in a hotel as the nightstand they were tucked into.
There was one in every room.
The Gideon Bible was the version often provided. They have been supplied free of charge to guest rooms by Gideon International since 1908.
These days, according to a new study by hospitality analytics group STR, under half American hotel rooms include a Bible.
At the same time, STR point out only 2,600 of the more than 8,000 hotels surveyed answered the question about religious materials.
The results they collected show hotel rooms with religious materials dropped from 95 per cent in 2006 to 48 per cent this year.
There are a number of reasons industry experts give for the change.
“Secularism and independence” were reasons offered by Jeff Pack, the Director of Communications for Gideon International.
“This has resulted in an erosion of spiritual awareness,” he said.
Travelodge hotels in Britain say they removed Bibles from their rooms in 2014 “in order not to discriminate against any religion.”
They advise guests they can borrow them from front desks on request.
Marriott International hotel chain spokeswoman Felicia Farrar McLemore said Marriott doesn’t provide Bibles “because the religious books don’t fit the personality of the brands.”
Other industry commentators say hotels are trying to appeal to younger American travelers who tend to be less religious than their parents.
Another suggets Bibles have been removed “to avoid offending guests of other faiths”.
Some people do not want any religious material at all.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote to 15 major hotel companies last year, asking them to keep Bibles out of hotel rooms.
However, Donald Trump, America’s President Elect, has Bibles in the Trump International Hotel Rooms in Washington, D.C.
The hotel also keeps several other religious texts on hand available upon request.
Source
- Fox News
- Society
- Image: Daily Mail
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News category: World.
