Better off Without Religious Accommodation in the Workplace The saying, “Life isn’t fair,” is one that most people started hearing at a young age, but as Religious Accommodation in the Workplace continues to become more of a worldwide debate in break rooms, more employees are experiencing that saying first hand. The opposing side of the argument uses “Life not being fair” as a way to show their side of the argument; however, they believe the say shouldn’t be allowed to be used while in the workplace (Religious Accommodation: Holidays). Work is a time where everything should be equal and fair, yet a large amount of employees see the unjust and unfairness almost daily. From when a Muslim employee needs five prayer breaks during their shift to complete their essential prayer duties, or when Jewish people need every Saturday off due to the worshipping of the Shabbat from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The same also applies for the Christians who ask to have Sundays off because it is the “day of rest” in the church, while they also ask for every holiday off like Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas (Dispute Over Prayer). Learning that life isn’t always fair is a lesson most children are taught at a young age, the purpose behind that is to help teach them the unfairness that life can sometimes be …show more content…
However, Religious Accommodation in the classroom has sparked even more debate than the others. The debate has been called a movement but also a “doorway to extremism” (School Prayer). Involving a large variety of people from all over the world, some from the United States, some from Mexico and India, as well as many other destinations, opinions are then formed and sides are
This paper deals with the stance of our schools and government on prayer in school. In this paper I will show how our government is hypocritical in its dealings of the prayer in school issue and how some of us as citizens are hypocritical as well. I will discuss the freedom of religion rights and how its interpretation affects prayer in school. Also, I will address the popular phrase, “separation of church and state”, that is often used to argue against prayer in school.
Religious Repression In what ways do countries differing religions affect our ever changing society? Does our diversity, combined with our lack of resources and overpopulation, ensure constant violence? I believe that the religious persecution of certain nations has been nothing more than denial of a human right. In Brave New World, Huxley predicts an all powerful government: “the world state”.
Chapter three of Civil Liberties: Opposing Viewpoints inspired me to research today’s issues of school prayer. To understand how we got to where we are today, I first delved into our countries history of court cases pertaining to rulings on prayer in schools. Lastly, to update my audience on how our lives are being affected today, I directed my efforts toward finding current situations. By analyzing these situations, I gained knowledge for a better understanding of why society needs to be aware of these controversies. I don’t think there should be any form of organized prayer in today’s public schools.
Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of religion and requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to accommodate religious practices of employees unless doing so would cause undue hardship to employer. Overall the number of EEOC cases with regard to religious discrimination has nearly doubled from 1997 where the reported cases were 1709 annually to 3721 cases in 2012 (US EEOC, 2012). The rise of cases in the US is primarily due to further diversity in the workplace and the employees embracing expressions of faith. Examples of religious discrimination in the workplace are varied from the basis of one’s dress or clothing, refrain from working Sabbath or religious holidays or antagonism between cultural or religious groups leading to harassment. Management strategies need to be identified and discussed with employees in the same manner as other components of employer’s diversity policy. The following is an example of a request for time off work to observe the Sabbath. In EEOC v. Thompson Contracting, Grading, Paving, and Utilities, Inc., No. 11-1897, the EEOC sued the company for failing to accommodate a request to not work Saturdays made by an employee who alleged he followed the Hebrew Israelite faith (Jones and Erickson, 2013). After Mr. Yisrael refused to work three different Saturdays, Thompson terminated his employment. Mr. Yisrael then filed a complaint with the EEOC. The job as a dump truck driver was infrequently called to work Saturdays but did so due to recent weather conditions. The employer would have had to hire substitute drivers for the time frame in order to cover his shift. In so doing, the employer would be incurring additional costs beyond normal ...
This paper was written for my Writing 209 class. For the assignment ,Donna Marsh, asked us to find an article in a periodical that dealt with an issue in our American culture. We were then told to express our opinion on the topic discussed in the article and to analyze the argument presented in the article. I chose the topic of school prayer because I believe strongly in the separation of church and state that exists in our country. This is a controversial issue that is worthy of discussion, and hopefully my essay will provoke you in some manner whether you agree with my premise or feel that the views I express are totally invalid.
I have read many articles from outsiders reporting on the Muslim faith. But I have never read an article more incorrect and damaging than the piece done by Robert Holstrom "Muslims or Demons". Robert Holstroms' article details the belittlement and atrocities afflicted towards Islamic women by Muslims. Mr. Holstroms' presents followers of the Islamic religion as militant drug dealers and mercenaries, which perpetrate their ideas while using false Islam, foreign money, and opium to get their way.
... Sunday often come across people that request Sundays off or a certain day of the week off in order to participate in a religious activity. They are required to work with the employee’s schedule to allow them to go to church or attend whatever ceremony they believe in. (Cross & Miller, 2012, p. 510)
Sociology in its basic most broad definition is the study of society and social behavior. Which includes all variables that govern and affect how masses act and react under different circumstances. This includes values, traditions, morals, ethnic identity and most importantly; religion. Religion has been, for as long as humans existed on this earth, the foremost perception that controls society and govern its behavior. Some would even argue that religion is the source of human morals, traditions and values.
As secular humanists and groups like the Christian Coalition are at war with each other regarding prayer in high schools behind closed doors in Washington DC, the average high school kid is the one that gets caught in the middle.
When it comes to religious beliefs, people have opinions that can be very conservative, to people who have extremist opinions. It is nearly impossible to say whose opinions are correct, but one thing that can be found in their opinions is a middle ground. From religion to religion, people tend to have some degree of similarities in their beliefs or practices. I saw something parallel to this during my interviews. I interviewed four very different people, from different generations, and different religions, yet I found similarities within many of their answers.
Many individuals believe that the first amendment prohibits religion to be taught or exercised in a public school setting. They believe this because they feel as if it infringes on an American citizen’s right. Often times there can be discrimination against minority groups. An example of this was after the 9/11 attack in New York. Discrimination against Sikh-Americans became increasingly worse because they were often accused of being allied with Al Qaeda. People are worried that if we do teach the religion in school, bullying will grow to become an even bigger problem (“Religion in Schools: A”).
Even so, this is usually the point in the US, for example, at which conservatives might bring up school prayer, enraging liberals who don’t want to be forced not only to pray in school but even to be exposed to others praying in school. The point liberals get right is that it is, indeed, a manipulative encroachment on children’s ability to make up their own minds about religion and spiritual matters. The same is true of subjecting children of faith to classes in which the instructor’s not content to simply teach you the concept but is compelled to convince you of its
Such standards would be in line with those that employers are mandated to take in cases of employees with physical and emotional disabilities and would also more closely approximate standard that now apply to federal agencies under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Although this bill has had many supporters, it has not passed. Accommodation of Religious Beliefs Within reason, employers are legally required to accommodate religious beliefs. If an employee or applicant asserts religious discrimination, the company cannot simply ignore the employee, demote them, move them to a different department or fire them. The burden of proof is on the company to show the undue hardship accommodating the religious belief would cause.
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. (2002, October). Religious discrimination – Accommodating differences in the workplace. Retrieved from: http://www.vssp.com/CM/Articles/articles871.asp
School prayer is a very controversial issue in today’s society. This issue has been a problem since America was first founded, in that the country was founded on religious beliefs. The Pilgrims wanted to be able to express their beliefs freely, but in England this freedom was not found, so they decided to come to the Americas, where their beliefs could be expressed freely. As time passed they realized that having this kind of freedom caused problems between different belief systems. Many people started questioning the founding of their nation and what the foundation was made of. This questioning is still going on today and people are torn between letting prayer in to the public school system or keeping it out.