Reply #57: That was a hypothetical example to illustrate my point.

[Jim Lane]

Your response blurs the distinction between two governmental actions: banning the wearing of the turban, and allowing an employer to ban it despite the general illegality of workplace religious discrimination.

The first would be a gross violation of the First Amendment, similar to the French ban on the hijab (and I agree with you in condemning that ban). The second is a closer case, but if the employer could show that the nature of the factory work made the turban a safety hazard, then I think the ban would and should be permitted, even though it effectively excludes people of one religion from working on that shop floor.

As for the stickerphobic subject of the OP, I said that it was irrelevant whether or not he was a jerk. His belief, however idiotic we may think it, could have been reasonably accommodate by the employer, so it should have been. I will say that, among various religious tenets, things like the story of the talking snake strike me as improbable, but it's significantly more improbable to think that a loving God would condemn someone to eternal damnation for wearing a workplace safety sticker.