Religions generally provide rules and guidance for life to their believers, but too many people of faith try to impose those requirements on the world around them.
From the day of the week all banks are closed to religious-based holidays added to the secular calendar, religion has imposed on the lives of others since the inception of religion.
A young college student turned to the "Am I The A**Hole" (AITAH) subReddit for feedback after their roommate tried to impose their religious practices on them.
Similar to AITA, the AITAH subReddit allows posters to ask for advice and post about ending romantic relationships—both things that are banned on AITA. However, there are no required voting acronyms—only suggested ones—and no official final judgment declared.
Baxail asked:
"AITAH for still cooking chicken when my Hindu roommate asked me not to?"
The original poster (OP) explained:
"I (18, female, atheist, spiritualist) and my roommate (21, female, pure vegan, Hindu, Rajput) have been roommates since April 2025. We live in a hostel provided by our medical university. The hostels also supply a common kitchen for the entire floor."
"Now recently, I bought an induction for myself to use, using my own money, because the hassle of carrying utensils and my cooking material was too much for me to bear. I also suffer from an eating disorder, so cooking for myself was already a difficult task, and buying an induction made it much easier and approachable for me."
"I've also had experiences of my material being stolen in our common kitchen and, once, the stoves in the kitchen short circuited while I was cooking food."
"After buying the induction, things were fine. She and I and our other roommate used the induction for cooking actual meals, and I'd also quickly make meals while studying, and I'd finish them in such a short amount of time."
"I've never cooked beef in our room out of respect for her religion, might I add."
"She also has placed a statue of one of her Gods near my bed and demands I sleep in a certain way—my legs not pointed towards it—out of respect. It's still manageable, so I do it."
"But recently, she had a nightmare and immediately called her mom about it, and then her mom asked what we had cooked in our room, and I replied with chicken biryani, and her mother got upset and scolded her for allowing this to happen."
"I'll also add, she never had an issue with us eating chicken until this. But she did nag a bit about keeping chicken and egg away from her temple and utensils and items. It's her stuff, so we do it."
"She then brought it up with me, and I downright refused to do so because, after all, I bought the induction for myself and for me to cook, so she has no right to dictate what I eat and what I shouldn't eat."
"Then she got upset and told me to cook in the kitchen, and I countered it by saying I only bought it so I wouldn't have to go to the kitchen."
"She now refuses to talk to me until I apologise and there's no way I'll do it because I bought it for myself and I don't want to walk on glass shards around her."
"I told her it's her religion, it's about her controlling herself, not about me—so if she has an issue, she needs to deal with it herself and not dictate to me."
"I'll also add our third roommate is Christian and eats chicken. Summer break is in two months."
"AITAH for saying this? Should I apologise?"
Some Redditors weighed in by using the AITA voting acronyms:
- NTA - Not The A**hole
- YTA - You're The A**hole
- NAH - No A**holes Here
- ESH - Everyone Sucks Here
- INFO - more information needed
Redditors decided the OP was not wrong about religion being rules for how the religious person lives, not for everyone else (NTA).
"NTA. She can buy her own induction if she wants. Also insane that she put a statue next to your bed and made you sleep a certain way. You should have shut that down the second she did it." ~ icarus_ir
"She can’t dictate her religion or eating or sleeping positions to you." ~ rollinweelz
"Living with other people comes with adjustments. She should have her own place if she can't do it. OP, just carry on with what you're doing. Then maybe she'll move out on her own. NTA." ~ IceSeeker
"Religious rules apply only to the religious person. Nobody else. If she wants to sleep a certain way or eat a certain food because her god tells her to, then you have absolutely no right to tell her not to."
"Just as she has absolutely no right to tell you how to live."
"She's being disrespectful to you, not the other way around. Don't put up with it." ~ AccomplishedLeave506
"NTA. Demanding that you adhere to her religious rules is unacceptable. To be honest, it is already a step too far to build an altar in a shared space. She should keep her religion to herself."
"If she can't, then she isn't fit to live in a shared accommodation with other people and has to live alone." ~ agnesperditanitt
"NTA. I'm also Hindu (not practicing these beliefs) and have had roommates who do."
"Unless there was a prior agreement between you guys on cooking or consuming meat before you became roommates, she can't suddenly enforce this on you."
"Inform her that cooking and eating meat is necessary for you. If it's an issue, then she can take it to the necessary authorities and get her room changed."
"Be pragmatic and clear, that you don't mean to hurt religious sentiments, but this is non-negotiable. Good luck!" ~ coconut_shrimp_curry
"I don’t think you’re the AH in this situation. You’ve already modified parts of your life to accommodate her religion; modifying what you eat is too far."
"Respect is a two-way street, and it doesn’t seem like your roommate is extending you the same courtesy. Her religion restricts her life, not yours." ~ Junipurr7
"No, you’re exactly right. Her beliefs limit her own life, not yours."
"You’re already accommodating her by not cooking beef and sleeping in positions she requests (truly absurd)."
"Stop letting this girl control more aspects of your life. If she wants to pout, let her. NTA." ~ BulbasaurRanch
"NTA. Another Hindu here who lives with a Brahmin. I cook, chicken, beef, mutton, everything at my place and my friend never objected. Still out of decency, I bought utensils exclusively for cooking non-veg, but my vegetarian friend keeps on using my non-veg cookware."
"Anyways, coming back to you. Even though you are not the AH, it's not good for your mental health to live with a person who constantly nags about things. Find a middle ground that brings peace for all of you." ~ gardening_reader29
"NTA, she needs to move if she is going to now be 'fanatical' about her religion instead of tolerant of others." ~ THOUGHTCOPS
"You’ve already gone above and beyond out of respect, and it seems that instead of being appreciative of that, she’s taking advantage. You are NOT obligated to cook only vegetarian in your living space, because of her religion, she should be the one apologizing, not you."
"If her religion is going to hinder things to this extent for others around her, then what she should be doing is finding alternative housing where she lives alone, if she can’t, she either has to tolerate this, or go to the university and ask for a reasonable accommodation request for her religious dietary restrictions, so she can be with another roommate who shares her values or provide her with her own accommodations alone."
"I highly suggest that she take this route. You don’t have to do anything, try to suggest this for her to help her out, that you enjoyed living with her, but you cannot curate your diet based on her religious needs, so it might be for the best for her to go and ask for a reasonable accommodation request with the university for alternate housing accommodations." ~ -_MoonCat_-
"NTAH and the fact that she placed a statue at your bed and is expecting you to follow her religious customs is just rude - it’s a shared complex so everyone has the right to exist without encroachment on others."
"You aren’t cooking chicken in her room, so it's too bad for her; she needs to learn how to live in a shared environment or go get her own place." ~ SOSLostOnInternet
"I paused when she demanded that you not point your toes up in deference to HER statue. That's crazy talk."
"I have TONS of Indian friends who are also Hindu, and almost all of them are veg. The only thing they ever asked was to have separate cookware, which was an easy accommodation."
"Beyond that, they would never impose their beliefs on anyone who did not share their faith."
"Basically, this isn't an issue of deferring to someone's legitimate expression of their religion. This is someone pushing their beliefs on you. Don't for a second think of apologizing!" ~ JCannaday3
"NTA. She can’t dictate so much of a shared space. You’re free to do what you want, point your feet where you want."
'If she has so many strict rules, she needs a room or flat of her own. Nice of you to accommodate her beliefs, but be sure not to bend over backward for anyone." ~ umamimaami
As many pointed out, religious guidance is only for members of that religion to follow.
Trying to impose religious rules on others is entitled and rude.
