I had a similar though not nearly as threatening situation. I was about to perform an improvisational show with my class in college. We did a group warm up beforehand as one often does in a college for actors, but it was before an actual performance so it was just the performers deciding what to do for a warm up. Right before the show starts they all decide to pray and start gathering in a circle to do so. I certainly didn't mind if they wished to do that but of course, I naturally didn't go to join them. Additionally, they all knew that I was an atheist. They had been in all of my classes for the past two years and it was common knowledge, so I don't know why they expected me to join them.

However, sure enough as the circle formed they left a gap for me and were waiting for me to join them. I didn't even notice until they called me over and I politely replied, "No, thank you," and was rather bewildered that they'd even ask me. I thought that would be enough but they insisted and one of them even came over to me to argue that I should join them. I again politely replied, "Please, go ahead. I'm just an atheist." Eventually she gave up but they spent a good minute trying to convince me that I should pray with them 'for the group'. I have no idea why they even wanted me to join them, let alone carry an expectation that I would.

Similarly I once went to a black church with a friend of mine from the college because they were having a Sunday evening performance and they had a van that would bring students there from the college and he and I happened to be sitting there drinking when someone suggested we should come with them. I've always liked the music at black churches so I said sure. As it turned out, Elmer Gantry was performing that night and it was the most corrupt thing I had ever seen occur in person. He told people that he needed donations to get a private 747 so that he could preach in multiple places around the world, and then had them line up in order of how much they were going to donate to this cause. He didn't even preach about anything. He then asked if anyone wanted to come up and be 'saved', and the friend I came with asked if I wanted to go up. I was still polite, but I couldn't even remotely imagine why he would have asked me. Do people not grasp the 'atheist' thing? Is it difficult to understand?

Ah, oh well.