Preview

Religion in the workplace

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
703 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Religion in the workplace
Imagine growing up in a home where religion is the basis for everything you do. For instance, your father is a minister which means that you are in church 5 days a week. As you are embossed in this culture, you begin to take on the traits, beliefs and practices associated with it. You are fully immersed into your religion which now becomes second nature to you. You are taught that God helps people in need and looks out for all those who worship him. As you grow older, you believe more and more that your religious practice is what gets you through. You are now an adult and finally have the opportunity to live on your own. You’ve just been hired by a fortune 500 company and you are ecstatic because, it is your belief that God is the reason you were put in that position. As you report in to your first day of work, you realize that it is all you have ever wanted and you pray to thank God for the opportunity that he has provided you. You feel a tap on the shoulder and there is your supervisor telling you that you cannot pray in the office as it is prohibited by company rules. Many of your co-workers see this and they approach you at lunch time. They all feel your pain because they too have been told that due to company policy they also could not practice their religion at work. This is a problem. You realize that growing up in a Utilitarian environment urges you to fix this problem for the greater good of all the people working in this office. Religion should be allowed in the workplace to ensure that all people are afforded the opportunity to worship as they choose, within guidelines. Happier employees make for a better, more productive work environment.
“A Gallup poll states that 90% of American adults say that religion is either very important or fairly important in their lives”(n.d.). 90 percent is a very big majority, who in some form or fashion would appreciate the opportunity to be able to practice their religious beliefs when necessary. Employers cannot

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I work in a residential home for Dementia for the elderly, some of the clients Dementia range from mild to severe. The clients are raised in a very different way to how I was raised and it is important that I must remember this and respect their this as we all have personal beliefs and preferences based on our background and upbringing. I have been brought up in a very mixed society but in a church of England school where religious education was compulsory, however we still studied various other religions and were taught to respect all people and there beliefs. Prayers were a daily thing at the end of each assembly and whether or not I wanted to pat attention to the prayer time again I had to respect the people that did. Religion may affect people in many different ways, mainly because we all come from different backgrounds and are taught differently. However, it is important to respect how people honour their religion. I am an atheist however I still make time to talk to my clients about their religion and sometimes have prayer time with them, and when possible I take the clients to church most Sundays, even though my own beliefs it is not some thing that I choose to do as I know it makes the client happy it makes me happy to do this as I know it is some thing that they feel so strongly in and it is amazing at how much I really now look forward to going to church with them. It is part and parcel of the work that I do and part of showing the clients that we care about what makes them happy and respect their beliefs even if ours are different.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hobby Lobby Case Study

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page

    I've always been baffled when Christian owned companies such as Hobby Lobby, Chick-Fil-A, and 7-11-(Oklahoma locations) allow their opinions to interfere with business. For instance, you may recall Hobby Lobby and their opposition to providing health insurance that covered plan b, Ella, or UID's. It put Hobby Lobby under extreme scrutiny that their case had to appear before the supreme court. But, the strong beliefs of these companies have also worked in their favor as they are known as reputable employers who offer great pay, benefits, and exceptional customer service. It's a classic case of a double edged sword and it may not be ideal but it…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    3. An employer is required by law to provide an employee religious accommodations once the employee request it, assuming it does not place an unreasonable hardship on the employer [ (EEOC, Religious Discrimination) ].…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    unit 302 task ci

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My religion my affect my working practice as some of the service users are Catholics whereas I am a Christian, however to respect the beliefs of them I have to actively encourage them to attend the catholic church that attends the home once a month, I may treat the catholic residents differently or inadvertently say something to offend them and their religion, I may also treat them differently by not actively taking part in activities that have been especially organised for them.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on religion. Religious discrimination is treating a person differently because of their religious believes. In this case Elaine Mobley, a member of the nonsectarian Unitarian Universalist Church, can file a legal sue under religious discrimination or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because she was discriminated by employees and her supervisor. They said that she would be “making efforts repeatedly to “save the soul” of a fellow employee” (Neill, 2014, Web). A proven wrongful dismissal will tend to lead to two main remedies: reinstatement of the dismissed employee, and/or monetary compensation for the wrongfully dismissed. In this case the court should look on how Elaine Mobley told her supervisor that she was feeling harassed by her employees, and shortly after that she was fired. In this case the judge should rule in favor of Elaine Mobley, because of what we have of the case it seems that she was being harassed and told her director of division and did nothing but fire her. The employer did in fact discriminate unlawfully, because you cannot force someone to become one of your same religion. It is especially unlawful to leave messages in her desk stating “How can you speak of God and Reject me? I love you and know all about you” as the book stated (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 56).…

    • 2010 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Constructive Discharge

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It is unlawful if an employer discriminates against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (Title VII of The Civil Rights Act, 1964). Title VII clearly states that “an employer has a duty to reasonably accommodate its employee’s religious beliefs as long as the accommodation is not an undue hardship.” "Accommodations" include allowing employees to have flexible schedules for religious holidays; however it also says that an employer has the right to refuse accommodation if doing so would pose an unnecessary burden on the employer.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mayor Bloomberg gives his ideas concerning this point when he said, “We are Americans, each with an equal right to worship and pray when we choose. This is a test of our commitment to American values. We must do what is right, not what is easy. We must put our faith in the freedoms that have sustained our country for over 200 years” (Bloomberg 2). Mayor Bloomberg uses the appeal of logos to reveal to his audience the logic in believing in “the freedoms that have sustained America for over 200 years” (Bloomberg 2). Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken! Freedom of religion has helped America to be successful in all of her years since her birth. America’s main charitable efforts have been sponsored primarily by religious people and groups. This includes the founding of schools, medical centers, soup kitchens, and numberless other charities. Many significant moral movements that have taken place in America’s history have been motivated by religious values. Two examples of this is the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights movement. These were led mainly by people who had a foundation in what was morally right and wrong. The core of U.S. values are basically a combination of religious ideals. People who believe that they answer to a higher being are more likely to obey laws and make good choices, even when authorities aren’t there…

    • 1351 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Constructive Discharge

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In Title VII, employers must reasonably accommodate its employee’s religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would create an undue hardship on the employer. A reasonable accommodation is one that eliminates the employee’s conflict between his religious practices and work requirements and that does not cause an undue hardship for the employer (Rel, 2011). These accommodations range from the employee needing a day for their Holy Sabbath day, wanting to wear religious garb to work or having flexible work schedules to accommodate religious Holidays. When an employee asks for an accommodation the employer may not simply refuse to do so. If the request is not in best interest of the company because it would result in an undue hardship, the employer must prove the undue hardship that the company would incur. An undue hardship to the company would include anything other than minimal cost to accommodate the religious practice by the employee.…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are few organizations that are allowed to consider the faith of employees when hiring. Manufacturing facilities is not one of them. Our Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of religion. As U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.) states, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin” (para. 1).…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although I know that my Christian beliefs/values should have a positive affect on internal and external motivation in the workplace. I also know that this positive affect is accomplished by ensuring that I behave in a manner that would be…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The topic of religious discrimination, as well as the right to practice freedom of religion in the United States, has been a subject of much debate in recent years. Most notably, the employer contraceptive mandate within Obamacare, settled in the case of Little Sisters of the Poor vs. Burwell, has raised the issue of what limits employers of religious faith have in exercising their consciences when electing not to provide their employees contraceptive or abortifacient coverage that employers are compelled to provide under the healthcare law. This issue is far from the only example of litigants seeking relief from the courts as a result of real or perceived attacks on their religious freedom. For example, the number of overall…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religious Discrimination

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Religious discrimination is strictly forbidden in the United States Constitution and in many Individual States own constitutions. While in the US constitution it more specifically refers to the government imposing any undue laws or policies in place that would potentially discriminate on an individual's right to worship as they so choose. Whereas in the States constitutions and in this case the State of Massachusetts laws states that an employer shall not be allowed to discriminate on an individual as far as their religious beliefs allow. In the case of Cloutier v. Costco Wholesale Corp. we have an individual suing Costco Wholesale Corp. for religious discrimination because she was terminated for not strictly following the employer's dress code of not having any facial jewelry except for earrings.…

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Christianity makes up a whopping 83% of United States citizens, while only a small 13% are not religious. Religion is a great thing, it gives people something to believe in and a set of rules to make life a littler easier to live by, but where does the boundary exist between belief and fact? No religion is the fastest growing “religion” in American because studies have shown that the amount of atheists have doubled in the last several years. I actually have conducted my own study concerning religion and atheism. My hypothesis was that more religious people tended to be more republican and conservative while atheists leaned towards the democratic party, which proved to be true. There is a specific vibe that if you are religious you are a good person overall which socially doesn’t prove to be true. The United States of America is a country that allows you to express yourself religiously, but doesn’t make you feel accepted for being non-religious.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For effective functioning market system, moral and ethical aspects are always necessary; regulations by its own cannot control people behavior given the complexity of our current financial system. The destructiveness of unethical behavior was shown in many examples around the globe, one of the most recent examples is the unethical behavior contributed to the Global Financial crisis of 2008.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While expressing religious preferences in the workplace, employees have to do so, respectfully, and they must not abuse these privileges.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics