Eep...

[semperfiona]

...if anyone's wondering why I sometimes feel like a fish out of water here, here's one piece of evidence. The following was posted on our internal bulletin board:

Hello, we have a few people that meet for 1/2 hour over our noon hour to pray for our company. If you are interested in joining us, please send an e-mail or voice mail to <name>

Comments

[justjohn.livejournal.com]

Can you modify that announcement, to include: "Please contact ahead of time to schedule any small animal sacrifices."

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Damn, you got there first.

Can you at least slip into the meeting room, light incense, drap rosaries over the chairbacks, and put down prayer rugs?

[shaktiqueen.livejournal.com]

See, I think you should send an email asking if the are sure they have enough people to call the four quarters.

And then send an email to Human Resources saying that you feel uncomfortable with the religious atmosphere. If you are willing to fight that battle.

[maemidwest.livejournal.com]

When did it become acceptable to promote religious activies in the workplace? Unless you work for a church, that's just wrong! And why the hell are they praying for the COMPANY? Aren't there better things out there to pray for? If they really wanted to help the company, they'd spend that half hour trying to drum up extra sales for the company or organize fund drives or clean up the the company restrooms.

"God, please could you see to it that the copier never runs out of paper? ANd please God, that our office chairs are always in the most comfortable position for our bodies. And God, that our boss gets his inflated bonus once again while we are under raise freezes. Amen"

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE????????

[indigobynight.livejournal.com]

Yikes...I might have to make mention that that sort of thing makes me uncomfortable. Is that "politically correct" behavior in the workplace now?? Promoting religion inthe workplace? And praying for the COMPANY??? Yikes again...

[jingoro.livejournal.com]

I have a few reactions, some to the comments, some to the situation.

1) There is no separation of church and workplace in the United States. If the cow-workers (to borrow a Dilbert term) want to assemble off-the-clock and hold vigils, that's perfectly okay by most standards I understand. If they're doing it on-clock, and the employer is willing to compensate them for their prayers, well that's up to the boss-man.

2) Many states are so-called 'right-to-work' or 'employment at-will' states. Mostly this means 'right-to-get-your-ass-fired-without-cause', or that your employer (or you) can terminate your employ at any time for any reason (or no stated reason what-so-ever). This means boldly making waves about not having equal-time services for other religions potentially risky. For me, evangelism is not a demand placed on me by my beliefs, hence risking a good paycheck would not be in my interests. Your mileage may vary.

3) If the meetings are held in a separate meeting area, and employees are not obligated to attend, there's little recourse you can take against the employer for disrespect of your own civil rights. And besides, I don't know if you'd really get anywhere on that angle anyway . . . it involves lawyers, and lawyers involve money, and well . . . see #2 above for my views on keeping my income afloat.

4) I'm not a lawyer, but you already knew that.

5) If your company seriously needs praying for, perhaps it's time to circulate a resume? You weren't being audited by Arthur Anderson, were you? <smirk />

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

I can see where it'd make you uncomfortable, but it's an opt-in thing, and there's no indication of how many 'a few' is. Is there any indication that it's somehow an official company-endorsed gathering?

But it *is* a bizarre sort of thing to encounter on your company bulletin board, so on the theory that one song-and-dance deserves another...

Let us pray, let us pray
Won't you join us here today?
Send an email or a voice mail, let us know you're on the way
Gather round, won't you please
Come on, get down on your knees
If the company's in trouble
You should be here on the double
We can chant, we can sing
It's the up-and-coming thing
And it really doesn't matter what you say
It's well within your power
To give up half an hour
So let us pray, let us pray, let us pray!

Read a psalm, sing a hymn
If the future's looking grim
We should all obey the call
So won't you fall in with our whim?
Try it once - I've a hunch
That you'll never miss your lunch
Would you really skip our meeting
For a foolish thing like eating?
We're all here, we're sincere
We're appealing loud and clear
That our company may never gang agley
So come on round some noon
We hope to see you soon
Why not today? Don't say 'nay'
And I'm sure you know the way
So let us pray
Let us pray
Let us pray!

[freddyferret.livejournal.com]

Maybe the company does need prayers. Maybe the company is going to hell in a handbasket, will be bankrupt by the end of the year, and the people are praying for a miracle to save the company so they don't have to try to find a new job. If they know how bad the job market is right now, they know that their best hope is to keep their present job, no matter how crappy it is.

[semperfiona]

I can see where it'd make you uncomfortable, but it's an opt-in thing, and there's no indication of how many 'a few' is. Is there any indication that it's somehow an official company-endorsed gathering?

No, not really. It's just another sign of the fact that this place (like most, if I'm honest with myself) is populated mostly with Christians, who feel totally comfortable discussing their faith in random conversations, while those of us who are pagan or atheist or otherwise non-Christian, talk only in whispers or when away from the building.

As for the "song-and-dance": I love it. ::grin::

[semperfiona]

You're right on all counts, which is why I choose only to rant about the atmosphere to carefully chosen cow-orkers (I love that word too) or to that subset of the wide world that reads my journal.

At least things have improved in one way with the coming of the new CEO: no more "invocations" at the beginning of mandatory all-employee meetings!

[jingoro.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was a bit rude. Glad things have turned around a little bit.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

It's just another sign of the fact that this place (like most, if I'm honest with myself) is populated mostly with Christians, who feel totally comfortable discussing their faith in random conversations, while those of us who are pagan or atheist or otherwise non-Christian, talk only in whispers or when away from the building.

I've often felt lucky in that I grew up Christian in places where it was just another minority religion. There *is* something uncomfortably intolerant about Christianity as practised in the US, though, to be fair, for most people it's more a matter of unquestioned assumptions than active hostility.

As for the "song-and-dance": I love it. ::grin::

Thanks :) Had fun writing it.