British community nurse, Caroline Petrie, has been suspended without pay and faces sacking and possibly being struck off after she offered to say a prayer for an elderly patient.
Ms Petrie, a devout Christian, has already been suspended for an alleged breach of her code of conduct on equality and diversity, the UK Daily Mail reports.
She now faces disciplinary action, even though the patient involved did not make a formal complaint.
The case has outraged the Christian community, which warns its members are becoming "the most discriminated against people in society."
They cited previous instances including that of Heathrow check-in worker Nadia Eweida, who in 2006 was banned from wearing a cross around her neck at work.
Last night Mrs Petrie, 45, insisted she was not trying to force her beliefs on others.
She said: "I have trouble understanding how offering to pray for someone could be upsetting. I feel it's a nice thing to ask and a way to give hope that circumstances can change."
She made the prayer offer to May Phippen, 79, in December, at the end of a home visit.
Mrs Phippen, a widow who lives with relatives, mentioned the offer in passing to another nurse the next day.
Ms Petrie denies forcing her faith on anyone and said she was only trying to help by politely offering to pray for a patient.
The great grandmother told the Mail: "It didn't worry me, it just struck me as a strange thing for a nurse to do. She finished dressing my legs and before she left the last thing she asked was would you like me to say a prayer for you? I said 'no thank you' and then she went.
"I have Christian beliefs myself and maybe she meant well. But it could perhaps be upsetting for some other people if they have different beliefs or thought that she meant they looked in such a bad way that they needed praying for."
The next day Ms Petrie received a message on her home phone from her coordinator telling her that disciplinary action would be taken. She was then suspended.
Yesterday she said that she tried to ask every patient if they would like her to pray for them, except if it seemed they may be of a different faith.
Mrs Petrie has been a committed Christian since the age of ten, when her mother died of breast cancer. She switched from the Church of England to the Baptist faith nine years ago.
She admits she received a previous warning about promoting her faith at work. Last October she offered to give a prayer card to an elderly male patient in Clevedon, Somerset. He accepted it but his carer raised concerns with the Primary Care Trust.
Alison Withers, Ms Petrie's boss at the time, wrote to her at the end of November saying: "As a nurse you are required to uphold the reputation of your profession.
"Your NMC (Nursing Midwifery Council) code states that 'you must demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity' and 'you must not use your professional status to promote causes that are not related to health'."
As a result Mrs Petrie, who qualified as a nurse in 1985 and has worked part time for the North Somerset Authority since February 2008, was ordered to attend an equality course.
Speaking on Sunday, Ms Petrie said: "I'll keep fighting whatever happens and take them to court if I need to. I don't think I've done anything wrong.
"I was just trying to let a patient know that I was thinking of them. It's just my way of saying get well soon,"she told This is Somerset.
SOURCE
Persecuted for praying: Nurse who faces the sack after offering to pray for sick patient (Daily Mail)
West nurse suspended for offering to pray for patient (ThisisSomerset)