errr, yes
i have heard the same from several ppl I know personally.
Curves: Great for some but not all - Curves For Women - Epinions.com
I’m very happy with my Curves and would never have questioned Curves as a company had I not visited four other Curves. This will be my chief criticism of Curves:
Three of the four Curves that I visited while on vacation subtly but effectively discriminated against non-Christians. It was very clear that non-Christians were not welcome there. This was done in one or both of two ways: first, Christian (“Jesus saved me!”) type music was played, and/or Bible quotes and religious pictures were displayed. The music was in the same tempo as the other music and was played either as an all-Christian CD or put in occasionally in a mix with non-religious music. I must say, I was shocked! Our Curves never plays religious music, so this came as a complete surprise. I really feel for any non-Christians who signed up for a one-year contract only to find that they would have to quit or be subjected to music that went against their religious beliefs.
I have read comments that Curves is a religious institution and everyone should know this, but it is not, and this is absolutely not made clear to people who sign up for Curves. And I suppose there are some women who are surprised that one would object to a barrage of Christian music while they’re trying to exercise. But I would hope they could picture themselves having just signed a one-year contract, doing their exercises, then finding themselves listening to a steady or intermittent diet of, for example, “Allah Akbar and all praise to his prophet Mohammed” and various written messages from the Qran as well as pictures of Mohammed adorning the walls (only an example). These women might feel betrayed and tricked into their memberships, not knowing that Curves was an (in this example) Islamic-based exercise gym.
And, for the life of me, I can’t understand why some Curves franchises would drive away customers by putting out a “non-Christians need not attend” signal. This could be construed by some as being very anti-Semitic, for example. Why drive away customers? Why offend? There is a world of difference between the religious persuasion of the founders and the religiosity of an exercise gym. I can only attribute this to either bigots or, more likely, to people who either assume we’re all Christian (at least in their area) or who’ve never given the effect of forcefeeding Christian music to non-Christians a thought.
When I returned from my vacation, I shared with the owner of my local Curves my concerns. She had purchased this franchise a year ago and had moved it to a lighter, bigger, and airier place since then. She told me that the prior owner had played some Christian music, but she had decided when she bought it that she would not play religious music because she felt it was inappropriate and exclusionary. I was delighted by our conversation and by her wisdom. Our little town has not only Christians but also Jews, Buddhists, Baha’is, and others as well as those who are not religious. Now I know I’ll never be subjected to music that is contrary to my religion ever in my local Curves as long as she owns it.
I love my home Curves, and I’d recommend it for anyone who is older, overweight, or not fit. (They now also have advanced training for those who need an additional challenge.) But I certainly hope those franchises who discriminated against non-Christians will reevaluate their decision to do so.