How do American companies regard religious proselytizing during work time?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

Brazilian companies, I've learned, frown upon it. At least bus companies.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x3776894

I'm curious as to what the results would be were that a _______ (insert area of business of choice here) company in _______ (insert US city of choice here).

[Zuni]

1. not too fondly

I have never encountered it in a workplace

[Modem Butterfly]

2. Proselytizing is unacceptable

It's considered religious discrimination/harassment. However, employees can use break time/lunch time for volunteer prayer groups/scripture studies, so long as the company isn't endorsing a religion or requiring involvement. In other words, if a few employees want to use the lunch room on Wednesdays for a voluntary Bible study, an employer can allow it, but can't deny a Koran study on Thursdays and must protect employees who do not wish to participate.

Employers are required to make reasonable accomodations for religion. I worked for one company that had foot washing facilities for Muslim employees. Other companies I've worked for have allowed Jewish employees to work flexible schedules on Fridays so that the employees can be home before sundown.

[LeftyMom]

3. We don't put up with it in Sacramento

Some jackass kept leaving Chick tracts in the break room. Between talking to management about it and a well-placed complaints to the store gossips, it stopped.

Of course two factors were in my favor:
1. I live in the least religious region of the country.
2. The manager I spoke to about the issue was Catholic. Not a big Jack T. Chick fan, needless to say.

[Maat]

4. Going to have to do some research.

Who is "Jack T. Chick?"

On edit:
As you guys know, I'm 47. I've never had someone try and convert me; and, I never heard anyone discussing religion at work. Perhaps they might have mentioned going to church or something in passing, but I have never had anyone attempt to "bring me to the Lord." Maybe it's my attitude.

If it did happen, I shut it down quickly, but I just don't remember. I don't think that I would have had a boss that permitted it.

[Bridget Burke]

8. Let me introduce you to Jack Chick.

Here's his tract on "Are Roman Catholics Christians"

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp

You can read lots more at the site.

[Maat]

13. Ewwww...now I have to take a shower.

Wow. Virulently anti-Catholic and very hateful.

[Modem Butterfly]

14. You ain't seen nothing yet!

http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp

[Bridget Burke]

30. He's not just anti-Catholic.

He's anti-Just-About-Anything!

Where did I put that Brain Bleach?

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. That is horrid

I haven't been a practicing Catholic for a couple decades now but that still sent me over the edge. :grr:

[Modem Butterfly]

5. That would be a big deal

Jack Chick tracts are often very bigoted.

[ChickMagic]

29. I started leaving these on top of the tracts

http://www.ffrf.org/shop/nontracts/

I carry some with me in case I'm accosted while outside.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

6. Here's a true story for you.

...and I wouldn't exactly put it in the category of hardcore "religious proselytizing," but it IS a "religion at work" story.

There was a manager in my department who was a Christian. Not a "fundie," just a Christian, and he was liked and respected by all. If you CHOSE to speak with him about religion, he'd engage himself. Otherwise, he pretty much kept his beliefs to himself and tried to walk the walk.

He started to come into contact with other Christians and decided it might be nice to get together, to give each other support and fellowship.

Then he made the big mistake.

He used company e-mail to communicate with these folks and organize them. He used the company photocopier to run off materials for their meetings. He used company conference rooms to hold the meetings.

My boss was the director of the department. She wrote a warning letter, made him sign it, sent a copy to H.R., and put one in his personnel file.

It basically said "Do anything like this again and you will be fired on the spot with no discussion."

It was a full page long. She had him in her office as she read it to him and gave it to him for signature.

He quit the company within the year.

So there is a way to do it and a way not to do it, just like inter-company dating ("Don't dip your pen in the company inkwell")...

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. Here in Tulsa JOklahoma, the armpit of the Bible Belt

There are alot of fundies that have their own businesses. Many of these small fundy business owners have company Bible studies and such. Some of them do this on paid company time. I've known more than one person who felt compelled to attend in order to either play the office politics or to protect their job. I've also known several folks who would swear that the best job placement service in the area is a well placed word from a local church staffer.

And, of course, there are churches here that make a concerted effort to start Bibe study groups that meet in the offices of our cities largest employers.

Of, course this is crazy red f*cking JOklahoma where the fundies are a more dominate element of the community than in some of the other parts of the country.

[Maat]

15. Hi, Coyote_Bandit!

I have some fundie relatives who live near Enid, OK.

[Coyote_Bandit]

16. Hi, Maat

May I offer my condolences?

[Maat]

20. We all lived out here in California.

Then they lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, and we got along fine.

Then they all moved to Oklahoma, and became rabid Southern Baptists of the Hardright Conservative Christian variety.

It's been an interesting change ...

[Coyote_Bandit]

24. It is a good old boy state

and all too often religion is tied to economic opportunity here.

Once you are in the fundie circle here it is hard to leave. It really has as much to do with culture and connections as it has to do with faith.

Take some comfort in the fact that they are baptist and not word of faith, prosperity teaching, tongue talking pentecostals. Those fundies are even more extreme. And they believe that God speaks to them and they have God's latest revelation - and the obligation to speak on his behalf.

[Maat]

26. Thanks.

I'm laughing.

See that's the thing. I think that my sister-in-law, well, to her, the most important thing is the social aspect.

I think that, deep in her heart, she must disagree with some of the rhetoric. But they still are supporting that odious Southern Baptist Convention and its representaives, when they put money in the basket each week.

Your words ring true. They are in the middle of the fundie circle, and it is a social thing.

[Modem Butterfly]

9. Hey! I just noticed that you oppressed a Xian!

:grr:

You evil, evil Brazilian you!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. What do you expect from a country that gives 65% of presidential votes

to a Leftist, doesn't use the God-mandated Electoral College, and whose government hands out condoms for free?

We're EVIL, I tells ya!

[Modem Butterfly]

11. Our president was appointed by Jesus

[noonwitch]

12. I work in Detroit, they have their own rules

They used to have a lunch hour Bible study/prayer group in our building. Most of the people who attended it retired a couple of years ago. I used to have a problem with it, but got over it. They used to have a prayer list that you could add names to. It always bothered me that a gay coworker who was dying of AIDS was never listed on it, so I added his name and from then on they kept his name on the list, so I warmed up to them a bit. They were good people, even if I disagreed with them about religion.

A lot of places in Detroit have employees who are very up front about their religion. The city government, local charities, probably even teachers and human services workers. It's hard for seriously spiritual people to put it aside for 8 hours. It's the hypocrites that bother me, not the genuinely spiritual, like my so-called born again christian coworker who is a racist and had a child out of wedlock (after she was "born again"), who's father she is always trying to screw over about visitation and money. This same coworker told me I wasn't a christian because I don't believe in hell. Now she's on a medical leave when she isn't really sick, which is dishonest and some may say, fraudulent. She truly thinks being born again is enough, and she doesn't have to change her poor ethics or anything.

[LisaLynne]

17. I work for a Catholic university, so ...

I have to put up with a little more religon in the work place than most, but I've never really been proselytized. People will out and out ask you if you're Catholic, however. I so far have pretty much dodged the question since any day now, I expect them to be able to start firing people for their personal beliefs.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. Advice: lie through your teeth.

It's a matter of survival in the face of the thought police. No need to "play nice" with them.

[LisaLynne]

21. I agree.

Sometimes I say "non-practicing", because that's acceptable here. And it's sort of the truth ... I've NEVER practiced. :evilgrin:

[Goldmund]

19. A guy I worked with was fired for sending religious emails...

...to his coworkers.

It was ridiculous, actually. I'm a vocal atheist and he was a Christian, not a fundie type but a smart guy who had his beliefs, like I do. We always had debates and discussions during lunch. We had a long-standing friendly piss-match going, back and forth.

But then he started sending mass emails with Bible quotes and such to co-workers he barely knew, and he was fired.

I tried to stick up for him to no avail.

[Maat]

22. I'm proud of you (no sarcasm here).

At least you had friendly debates.

As to what he did later, could it have been handled by a warning?

[Goldmund]

23. They had actually "warned" him over our friendly arguments

because we'd still be debating on the way back from lunch, to our desks. We're both naturally loud guys... So one of the bosses came up to him and said "maybe you want to consider keeping your religious views to yourself.". He didn't take that very seriously, I remember discussing it with him and we both agreed that the boss was out of line.

I think they considered that a warning.

[Maat]

25. That really wasn't a fair warning.

That's a shame.

Heck, I volunteer for, and donate monthly to, Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

So, you know where I stand; however, I think that two co-workers should be able to debate (the real issue there was the way you were debating). I tend to think these things can be worked out.

[Goldmund]

27. I couldn't agree more

:thumbsup:

[ChickMagic]

28. We have a guy in IT

who is JW. Instead of doing his work, he reads his bible aloud to his employees. He and his employee are exact duplicates of "Nick Burns - Your Company's Computer GUy" from Saturday Night Live. The best employee he had, and the most personable (a Christian) quit because of the oppressive religious atmosphere. Proselytizing galore. And, we all work for the state, so Rick Perry approves.

[Rabrrrrrr]

31. Mostly it's unacceptable

Certainly unacceptable at any major corporation.

Individual small companies, though (small stores, small manufacturers, etc.), can very definitely be fully accepting of it - and then it's usually the boss who wants all his people to be good Christians.

[Holly_Hobby]

33. My former boss was guilty of sending mass religious emails

She also left bible tracts in the lunch room. I didn't complain because I was part-time, and I didn't want to give them a reason to not call me back to work when things got slow.

What I did do was to put all of the bible tracts into my purse and dispose of them in my home trash. The boss really thought people were reading them. She was so happy!