Reply #11: ok, it's pretty

[pop goes the weasel]

But how do you make secular prayer beads? Do you just leave off the cross and call them "worry beads"?

I do know some people who would be quite offended if they were given prayer beads. They are people who are constantly being pressured to convert by family members, and they don't welcome any added stress in that department, especially when they are sick. But if you always check first to make sure whether a religious or a secular item is more appropriate, I don't think you'd end up upsetting anyone.