e because people felt it showed a slow response for a church that is known for its size and resources.
The delay stood out even more because she had a few calls where other places reacted quickly. Monroe said some groups told her they did not have the resources or could only help members.
One Baptist church in South Carolina told her they could not do anything since she was not part of their congregation. Several others sent her to food banks or just said they could not assist.
A few places did help right away, which surprised her. She said a Catholic church in Alcoa offered baby formula with clear instructions on where to pick it up, and an Islamic center in Charlotte stepped in the same way. She described those moments as rare because they were not the type of responses she was hearing from most of the churches she contacted.
As the videos gained traction, some pastors addressed the whole situation in their sermons. A pastor in Baton Rouge called what she did a “dirty deed” and he also called her an “evil witch” while saying that she would be handled quickly if she ever came to his church.
Another pastor talked for more than twenty minutes about the experiment and called her a “woke liberal” and a “woman of folly” as he tried to defend his own position.
Some leaders argued they were not required to help anyone outside their membership and they said their resources were limited. That did not sit well with many viewers who felt that helping someone in an urgent situation should not depend on where they worship.
The argument turned into a bigger conversation online about what people expect from religious institutions.
Monroe reached out to thirty-nine different organizations in her test. She said only nine offered help in any form, and most of them were either Catholic, Islamic, or Buddhist. She said the rest pointed her toward food banks or said no completely.
Her videos left people debating what responsibility religious groups really have when someone says they have a starving baby who needs to eat right away.
