While I completely agree with the above, the discussion originally centered around religion in rituals. No amount of research into a GLO is going to give you that information. Potential members should keep in mind that MANY GLOs have religious references in their ritual, particularly those groups that were founded in the 1800's and early 1900's. If it is a deal breaker for a potential member to participate in a ritual where God, Jesus or the Bible are referenced then the member should discuss these concerns with someone in their group prior to being initiated. Don't assume that your new member educator or someone else in your group is going to tell you anything about ritual beforehand "just in case".

religion in ritual
 

I can say that I have similarly felt uncomfortable regarding the religious ties to ritual. Obviously no one is going to lay initiation out before you go through it, so I was a bit surprised.

While I have since picked up on the subtle hints that occur during non-ritual activities, it is really QUITE subtle.

I have figured out how to make myself more comfortable with the situation. I feel very lucky to have gone through this, as I was able to help my little feel more comfortable before her initiation. She and I have similar beliefs, but she was lucky/unlucky enough to have heard a few more rumors before initiation. The week before initiation she almost quit because she was worried about this topic. I couldn't explain exactly what she was going to experience (or my tricks to feel more comfortable), but I was able to calm her fears of being the only one that wasn't Christian.

Historical viewing of these parts of ritual is truly the way to go. They may not be my beliefs, but understanding the context of our founders gives me perspective and respect for these components of ritual.

ETA: Btw - I DID research before even attending recruitment activities. However, I was not able to find information that informed me of the religious ties of my organization. I am a research GURU, which is part of the reason that I was so surprised during initiation.

While the webmaster for my chapter's site, I made sure to include our open motto. This does have very specific references to Christianity, and had previously been omitted from the information.