Slight Religious Discomfort in the Workplace

[Miranda]

I recently received an e-mail at work. It was a forwarded joke about a bear killing and eating an Atheist. It wasn't that funny (I can post it here if you want). Upon reading it I felt kind of bothered, considering I'm an atheist. From the list of left over email addresses on the page I knew it had been sent by quite a few of my co-workers. I replied to most of them, simply asking "is this supposed to degrade atheists?" and no one answered except one befuddled co-worker who abruptly apologized later. I then got another forward today about famous people who have died in horrible ways because they slandered "god" or "jesus".

Even if I was religious, I wouldn't necessarily find such jokes funny, nor appropriate for work. I don't know any atheists that send comical emails about the tragic deaths of Christians (not to say that there aren't some out there, I just haven't seen any).

 

Have any of you experienced any religious tension or discrimination in the workplace (atheist or not)?

[Tormod]

Sorry to hear that.

 

I must say that I have never experienced it in my workplace. Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe it's simply very uncommon where I live.

[InfiniteNow]

Those emails are actually against the law, and they should be fired. Why is it treated any differently than if you sent an email about people who died in horrible ways because of their Christianity? Oh wait... It's not... It's the same exact thing.

 

There are some groups in my work where I don't openly discuss my atheism. It is actually somewhat dangerous and will kill opportunities for me. However, the crew around me all know, and we actually discuss it openly on a regular basis. The guy right beside me is a fundamentalist, but we're close friends and our discussions always focus on kindness and seeking to understand one another.

 

Either way, it would NEVER be accepted/tolerated if you sent an email about a bear eating Jesus, and since these folks did the exact same thing they need to be punished as per company policy (which, all companies in the US have).

[pamela]

unfortunately Miranda, i have been subjected to this in many positions over the years.Most times and depending on the level of abuse, i can easily make a comment or two, seasoned with humour and sarcasm that quickly puts an end to it. Other times, maybe not so easy.For that matter, there have even been times, where it took all of my self control not to clock someone;) How are you handling the situation at present?

[freeztar]

Personally, I would shrug it off and keep working. :)

 

The bigger problem I see is people actually sending mass forwards in a work environment. It's very unprofessional.

 

If it bothers you, talk to your boss and explain it as a roadblock to productivity. That should do the trick. :)

[Miranda]

Thanks for the quick replies!

 

Personally, I would shrug it off and keep working. :)

 

The bigger problem I see is people actually sending mass forwards in a work environment. It's very unprofessional.

I agree. I hate getting forwards but for some reason I always receive them. It's one thing to be sending forwards that say "bless your family" and whatnot...those don't bother me much...but some of the ones I get are just rediculous.

I don't know if I should make it an issue to my supervisor or not. Mostly because I keep my atheism a secret, which is why I received an anti-atheist email to begin with...people here think that everyone is religious. I'll look into company policy just to be on the safe side.

[freeztar]

I don't know if I should make it an issue to my supervisor or not. Mostly because I keep my atheism a secret, which is why I received an anti-atheist email to begin with...people here think that everyone is religious. I'll look into company policy just to be on the safe side.

 

Well, my last suggestion was secular, no religious views (or lack of) implied. If people are spending company time looking at and forwarding these emails, then that is time lost that they could be spending doing actual work. I guarantee that any legitimate supervisor will agree with that. :)

[Moontanman]

I received an interesting message on my space the other day. some guy sent me a message saying he had heard I was a Christian and he had a job offer for me. I sent back that he was mistaken, i was a Pagan..... The sad thing is that this guy was probably doing his best to take advantage of the idea that most people assume that a Christian is a good person and that he is a good person too. No doubt he was looking to get money from any "Christians" who fell for his scam. If indeed god is real I hope there is an especially hot place for people like him.....