We want your money, but only if you believe

Something rather strange happened to me yesterday. I was on the way to my room with a large package under my arm, when two sixty(ish) year old people approached me--one man and one woman. They were wearing the kind of clothing that one usually sees on psychologists or, perhaps, painters. The man had on a sort of poncho and some very loose pants (that looked as if they were made of canvas), and the woman had on a purple dress that came straight out of the sixties.

They handed me a small booklet with the title of Yoga (and some subtitle I can't recall), and explained that they were trying to raise awareness of the "true" spirit of Yoga. Then, while the woman still had her hand on the book, she asked me if I would be willing to contribute a small amount of money for their cause, and added, as a sort of passing question, "You do believe in God, don't you?"

This question struck me as rather uncalled for and out of place. The way it was interjected into the conversation, one sided as it was, seemed to imply that they didn't want to be asking for money from a person who did not believe in God. What convinced me more of the fact that they thought this way was how much more persistent in their asking they were after I answered "yes" to their question. I didn't have any money, nor would I have given it to them if I did. It just felt really strange and uncomfortable talking to two human beings who only wanted money from a believer. All of the atheists out there, it seems, are going to have a hard time purchasing things with money. Maybe clam shells still count as currency.