Tips on handling opinionated discussions re:religion,politics etc at nurse's station?

[Mystery5]

I notice some folks are irrepressably opinionated! They just can't help but loudly proclaim their not very humble views on everything from the hypocisy of John Kerry vs the audacity of George Bush, Bible Prophacy and who will be 'left behind', Mary (Satan) worshipping Catholics in far off lands, the fact that all Christians are violent war mongers, the fact that the only violent Christians have been the Catholic church, etc and so forth.

Actually all my examples were gathered first hand by myself at my very own nurses station. Today someone started in on religion, the conversation got loud and I finally said that, really we ought not be discussing religion at work!

Has anyone had any luck in quelling this sort of loud controversy? Really, a family member can approach the nurse's station at any time, plus people tend to say provocative things that are hard to leave unanswered, esp when they seem to be attacking one's religion or candidate.

Any thoughts?

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I haven't had this problem with family memeber, just co-workers.

What i say is "There are a few subjects that i feel should not be discussed at work, due to the fact that it can make others feel uncomfortable, plus it can create ill feelings. (Insert "topic" here) is one of those subjects. I hope you understand." The typical reply is "Ok, understandable" and a new topic starts.