As long as it's tastful and in your own space why not. I think there's a law that says you can tell an employee no personal stuff at all which would include religious articles or let them have personal stuff which in that case you can't say no religious articles
I have no problem with a policy one way or the other,,,,,provided it's fair. If icons are allowed,,,,,,fine, they're allowed for all,,,,,if they're not allowed,,,,,then they're not allowed for all,,,,,period. Although if allowed, i don't think they should be large or ostentations, simply because it's a place of work, not a place of worship.
Jewelry is another matter,,,,why on earth should my place of employment say whether I have a right to wear on my personal body a piece of religious jewelry or not? (Unless ANY jewelry causes a safety issue,,,,,my husband may not even wear his wedding ring at work for fear a machine will rip his finger off,,,good policy there) I wear a star of David and my co-worker wears a cross,,,,we have both commented on the beauty of the others' symbol. No big deal. Respect is the key, IMHO.
I think that what's good for one should be good for all. I have a small Buddha on my desk with four small tumbled crystals and no one says anything. I wear a medicine Buddha on a long chain that generally stays under my shirt and I sometimes wear different crystals according to what goal I am aiming for (IE protection, healing etc). As I am Jewish by birth, I have found that when I wear my Star of David, occasionally I am subject to abuse (Jewish b!tch etc) so I rarely wear it these days.
I have no objection to people wearing their crosses, pentacles or other jewellery, nor do I have an issue with any religious icons on their desks. I only object when they decide theirs in the ONLY right way and proceed to shove it down everyone's throats.
When I was younger (early 20's) and involved in Wicca, I was harrassed at my work for wearing my pentacle openly. I have since learnt that one does not need to wear ostentatious or obvious jewellery to follow their faith, LIVING it is a far better example.
I have no problem with a person having any religious articles at their workplace. I have a cross, with St francis' prayer on it. Many LDS here have a picture of the local temple. some others (new age, nature religions, etc) have theirs. that is OK for me.
However-
When someone uses these as an 'in your face' prostalizing tool...i'm bothered. There was a guy who put a sign up, "Jesus?-ask me about Him." Especially sine this person was the most arrogant, selfish people in the place...
And, if we find that someone is offended, then out of courtesy should remove it..
[QUOTE=heimdallsman;419208]So, I take it that my six-foot Baphomet is out of the question?
Also, what are your opinions of more controversial religions, like satanism? I'm a satanist, and am looking for my first job, and want to know most people's opinions on expressing that before I go in wearing a baphomet t-shirt.
In Satan,
Mike.[/QUOTE]
Considering that the vast majority of the world is under the impression that satanism is the greatest evil, I would recommend an "intellectual" discussion first. And I would also suggest this discussion take place after being hired.
To the OP, I pretty much agree with the majority in this thread (on this thread?). I think it is fine to have small, unobtrusive religious symbols in the office. That said, my work experience is with the federal government, so no one expect my co-workers see my office. Also, my religious symbol is a craved wooden cat. I'm not sure anyone else knows that it is a religious symbol for me.
People should be allowed to have religious items on their desks as long as they don't try to force it on others. Also, I think it should apply to any religion as long as it's not putting down another. People should not be forced to participate & prayer. It should be voluntaty unless it's a religious organization.
The Roo just hopped in to say " Have a very blessed day!"
[QUOTE=heimdallsman;419208]So, I take it that my six-foot Baphomet is out of the question?
Also, what are your opinions of more controversial religions, like satanism? I'm a satanist, and am looking for my first job, and want to know most people's opinions on expressing that before I go in wearing a baphomet t-shirt.
In Satan,
Mike.[/QUOTE]
Personally I wouldn't care, but I'm of the opinion that if I can display my items then so can you, and if I can't, then you can't either. Really it just has to be fair. Unfortunately you will probably meet with a lot of resistence considering that your religion isn't very well understood by most people. People tend to fear that which they do not know and they tend to hate that which they fear. What was it that Yoda said about fear and anger leading to suffering? He had it right.
Good luck with the job search, I know it sucks (just got a new one myself). :p
[QUOTE=DustyLady;42174]Delmarvamom, I'd have to agree that's crossing the line. Especially coming from someone in a leadership position in the company. Kind of smacks of corporate prayer. I'm not sure how I would have responded if it was me.
A few years ago, the school I was working for at the time scheduled parent-teacher conferences during Holy Week. Of course, these were mandatory for teachers. Well, I respectfully approached the superintendant and principal, and suggested that this created a conflict with those of us who enjoyed going to church on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. His response was to write the phone number for the ACLU on a piece of paper, and literally throw it at me, daring me to call them. I was greatly relieved when neither one of them returned the following school year.
Hi I'm boodlebear. Though I know true Satanists are good people there was still a knee-jerk reaction. Can you imagine the panic from those who don't know? Even if your post might be tongue-in-cheek.
