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I live in NYC and have seen this. If you're not religious, why would you want to work for a religious organization anyway?
I work on and off with a few local churches playing the 'organ' (glorified electric piano...) during their contemporary services. They pay me money, I move on. They are very familiar with the fact that I'm an Atheist but for the most part they don't care. They didn't hire me for my belief, they hired me for the way I play the piano.
It all depends on what type of organization or business it is, and who pays for their funding. A private religious school, for example, has every right to require staff to follow certain beliefs... a public school or government-funded organization does NOT. I mentioned this once before, but recently I was reading a job posting for a librarian at a (private) Christian college - required application materials included a "testimonial to your belief in Christ." As a semi-lapsed Jewish woman, I obviously had to pass on applying for that one.
On the other hand, there are also jobs AT religious-based organizations that don't require any particular faith... I guarantee you don't have to be Jewish to cashier or lifeguard at a JCC, but it might help if they're looking for a religious day-school instructor. As long as there's a logical reason, I don't mind certain jobs looking for people of certain religions.
I live in NYC and have seen this. If you're not religious, why would you want to work for a religious organization anyway?
Hey - it's a paycheck, like any other! And as I just wrote above, there are many non-religious positions at religious organizations. I've actually worked for the YMCA (in an education/rec position), and they never even asked about my religion. I will admit, though, it came up more than once during our winter retreat... not in a negative way, just felt a bit uncomfortable whenever Jesus came up during our "bonding activities."
I can see why some work places discriminate based on religion. Yes, it is highly illegal, but as someone else mentioned it is pretty difficult to prove it. At the same time, religion should not matter unless it's something like clergy. I know an Agnostic who works for Christian media and he does a great job at what he does. They never ask him about his religion and not being a Christian does not cause him to work less harder to make the channel run smoothly.
Then, there are some employers who take it way too far. Like the story of a Wiccan who got fired from Bath and Bodyworks. She was approved for time off to celebrate Samhain (or Halloween) when the company brought in a new boss. The new boss told her, “Well, you will need a new career in your new year. … I will be damned if I have a devil-worshipper on my team.” The girl worked there for six years and was fired because of this! It's not like her being Wiccan made her a less efficient worker than a Christian.
I know some Christians who face discrimination as well b/c some employers do not want to hire people who request Sunday's off. My sister had to change her application to say she would work all days in order to get the job. Later on, they actually allowed her to have Sundays off. However, I think discriminating against religion--with a few exceptions such as clergy--is utterly ridiculous. What should matter is the person and their skills, not who they pray/don't pray to at night.
In employment law, a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) (US) or bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR) (Canada) is a quality or an attribute that employers are allowed to consider when making decisions on the hiring and retention of employees – qualities that when considered in other contexts would constitute Discrimination and thus in violation of civil rightsemployment law. Such qualifications must be listed in the employment offering.
Bona fide occupational qualifications generally only apply to occupations where the BFOQ is considered necessary to that profession. For example a Catholic college may lawfully require such positions as president, chaplain, and teaching faculty to be Catholics but membership in the Catholic Church would generally not be considered a BFOQ for occupations such as secretarial and janitorial positions.
But conservative Christians cause problems if someone at work happens to be gay. Christians are famous for their "witch hunts" or "get em' boys" mentality.
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Originally Posted by gizmo980
It all depends on what type of organization or business it is, and who pays for their funding. A private religious school, for example, has every right to require staff to follow certain beliefs... a public school or government-funded organization does NOT. I mentioned this once before, but recently I was reading a job posting for a librarian at a (private) Christian college - required application materials included a "testimonial to your belief in Christ." As a semi-lapsed Jewish woman, I obviously had to pass on applying for that one.
On the other hand, there are also jobs AT religious-based organizations that don't require any particular faith... I guarantee you don't have to be Jewish to cashier or lifeguard at a JCC, but it might help if they're looking for a religious day-school instructor. As long as there's a logical reason, I don't mind certain jobs looking for people of certain religions.
Exactly ... I feel that it is reasonable for an employer to expect their employees to agree with their mission statement. How can they further their cause if they have a staff full of people who do not believe in the cause?
How many blacks and whites do you see working in a Chinese resturaunt?
Tons, depending on the neighborhood/city. We actually see more Hispanics working in Chinese restaurants around here... they also work in Indian, Thai, Italian, and Middle-Eastern restaurants. Imagine that!!
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