Just don't pull a Bobby Hill and you should be fine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TELoJik1RQ&t=14m40s

Coming from a VERY Orthodox Jewish town, I many times have to change my show to be religion appropriate. As you may or may not know, on the sabbath Jews are not allowed to use electricity or create anything. This creation includes creating marks on paper with a pen or pencil. Therefore, something seemingly as innocent at the magic coloring box with disappearing crayons cannot be performed. Despite the fact that plastic crayons are used, and they cannot even draw anything if I tried, you have to assume that the audience really believes what is happening.

Therefore, when I know I am performing for a religious group, I always make an announcement, that the magic I will be performing for today is not real and is for entertainment purposes anyway. I have had Rabbis come to me afterwards and thank me for this simple statement. yes, the kids might disregard this sentence entirely, but I tried everything i could to keep the religion and my magic show separate. If it was really an issue to begin with, than I would not have been hired (which I have also had occur).

Ben Winter

I can't believe this is 2012 and people still have middle age beliefs.You Christians have all been brain washed.

Start thinking for yourself.....http://www.atheists.org/

We Christians could also argue that you have been brainwashed by the athiests. Let's not turn this into an argument on the existance of God. I'm happy to enter a debate with you, if that's what you want, but I feel that it should be confined to its own thread so as not to derail this one.

Well, that's my humble opinion; the mods may not mind.

Just pointing out some problems within you post. A) I'm Jewish B) Middle ages is around 700 CE, Judaism goes back 5700 years well before the middle ages.

But nonetheless, it does not really matter what we specifically think, religion is opinion based. While performing, Religion should be acknowledged or you risk losing gigs, ie money, the religion of today.

Don, Ben is right about this. No one cares about my beliefs as a performer. However, I better care about their beliefs as an entertainer. Kent, another magi has a youtube video of an act he does at the magic castle bar. He drops a LOT of "word" bombs and everyone thinks it hilarious. However, he better change his patter in any other setting. Ben is saying the same thing, we have to make sure that our act does not offend in any religious way if we perform for kids.

Paddy,My post didn't have anything to do with offending kids or their parents with anti religious jokes etc.Its about people that are still thinking like we are living in the middle ages.How anybody with any intelligence can still believe in an invisible being in the sky they talk to in 2012 is beyond me.

Oh wait..."with any intelligence" ok I get it now.

C'mon Don. I did think that last line was funny, but atheists are in a minority even today. I don't want to get into any explanation or discussion of religionism over atheism but still we do have to respect the views and beliefs of others

I promise I do Paddy,maybe more than you think but I do have a sense of humor about the entire thing.(smile)

But what you find humor in another may find offensive.

As for religion, you have no 100% proof that God doesn't exist and in the "same" way, I have no 100% proof God does exist. With that, we need to co-exist and work with respect to all.

And thanks all for your posts in this thread. They have given me some insight into things.

That's why it's called "Faith"

anyway...I checked out the website Don submitted...looks like the "church of the atheism" to me...I'm surprised there is an organization based around it. I find it funny that they also have to go around and "Spread the Atheism" much like a ministry...heck..they even have a national convention...a gathering for what? To show your belief in that which you don't believe in? I thought one of the things that atheists were strongly apposed to is the "pushing" of ones own personal religious ideas onto others? ...

sorry...it's a bit off topic, it just confused me a bit there...