Nikalie Monroe, an internet creator, has gone viral for her social experiment that has people shocked at the results. This experiment aims at Houses of worship to see how willing they would be to help someone in need. Monroe starts each video by putting the sound of a baby crying in the background while calling various Houses of worship. She then tells them that she ran out of baby formula the night before and cannot feed her two-month-old baby, and asks if the church would be able to help her.
According to The Barded Wire, out of the 42 churches, 33 refused her aid, while 10 agreed to help support her, including a Buddhist temple, a mosque, and even a satanic temple.
The churches have now either received gracious donations for their service or have been criticized by the internet for refusing a mother in need. Some churches, like the Baton Rouge’s Living Faith Christian Church, have released statements attempting to redeem themselves, claiming that they do not offer services to non-members, and others, like Dr. Matt Brown of the Germantown Baptist Churc,h claimed they could not help the baby because they didn’t know if the baby was baptized and an advant believer of their church.
While some of the churches made a point to mention that they do not know if the hypothetical baby would have believed in their Lord, it is noteworthy that these churches actively went against the word of their Lord and their own beliefs by refusing a person in need.
Some churches have released statements calling Monroe a “witch” for trying to deceive the churches, however Monroe has made it clear that she doesn’t want anything from the churches, only their reaction for the sake of the social experiment.
In the official IRS publication 1828, 501 (c)(3), it is stated that churches who receive tax breaks from the IRS must serve a religiously beneficial or charitable purpose. And while many churches would refuse in case of a scammer, it does raise concern if these churches are not fulfilling their necessary aid to their believers.
Scarlet Weiner, the editor-in-chief for the Paw, believes that the churches are separating from their purpose and should refocus on helping their own community. “I think the church as a whole has differed from preaching the Lord’s word and then now deferred into getting money,” Weinstein said.
While not all churches or religious groups are corrupt, the overwhelming amount of evidence from this social experiment cannot be ignored. It may be taken into consideration that these churches, especially mega churches that receive funding, may need to reorganize their needs to better benefit their believers.
