Casellas: If [religious leadership comes from] the CEO
of the company and any person with that kind of
authority, it suggests that if you are not part of that
group of believers, then somehow you’re different.
Ultimately, you might be treated differently. That’s
where it comes in, the subtle forms of retaliation
or punishment. That’s always the problem in a
Gilbert F. Casellas
workplace or a business that defines itself with a
religious mission. In the workplace, we still have this
antiquated notion of sort of master/servant. The law
is imported from the common-law tradition, so that
helps define that relationship and, therefore, people
feel, justifiably, that if they don’t toe the line, they are
going to suffer the consequence.
Linda Umansky Saiger: The more cubicles are put
into offices, the more people are put together with
individuals who may be proselytizing or may for their
own enjoyment want to listen to Christian-music
stations or have things on their boards that express
that. There are also now people signing off on e-mails,
using Scripture as a way of saying “Talk to you later”
or “Be well.” It becomes very personal and it becomes
difficult for someone with a different set of beliefs
to be able to feel comfortable. There is another area
where it is tactless. If you’re an Orthodox Jewish
observant person, people have to leave work early
both for Friday, for Shabbat, and also for almost all
the other holidays. Most people understand that they
have a responsibility to make up that time, so they
will come in on Sundays or stay late or won’t have
lunch. If the atmosphere is not supportive, then other
people see that as “Ha! Why should I stay here at 5: 30
on a Friday if they are leaving?” or “What kind of team
player is that who is not coming in on Saturday to help
finish up the project?”
Ellen Johnson: Atheists are coming out of the closet
more and more; the numbers are growing and they are
becoming dissatisfied with what they are experiencing
in the workplace. We all have freedom of speech in the
workplace, but it is religious speech we want to accommodate. What about my political speech? What about
my atheistic speech?
Rev. Ron Page: Being a minister and a believer in the
Christian faith, I’ve been caught between two worlds
because I worked in a secular environment and many
times was in total opposition of the things they stood
for because some of their core values were different than mine ... Core values are very important and
everyone should have a right; atheists should have a
right to voice theirs.
Casellas: The difference between the public forum
and a private setting or employer setting is different
as night and day. Employers seek to accommodate
and recognize as many of the perspectives and the
individuality of employees, and that is where the drive
for diversity comes from—to recognize and tap into
the energy and perspectives that everyone brings. But
it doesn’t mean that translates to speechifying and
having a forum to talk about whatever you want.
Daryl Herrschaft: At what point does one person’s
religious expression become another one’s hostile
work environment? The quick answer to that is
when one fails to be respectful of the other person,
whatever their viewpoint is. And the problem is a lot
of people don’t know whether or not they are being
disrespectful or not, and that, I think, is the crux
of the communication in the workplace that we are
talking about.
