Ethical Theories And Perspectives On Religion In The Workplace

Improved Essays
Religion in the Workplace
Religion is an important aspect of most societies because each country’s religious practice influence ethics, human dealings, social customs, and the ways in which members of a society relate to each other and to outsiders, as well as workplace behavior. Religion is becoming an increasingly polarizing issue in the workplace, forcing managers to balance the respective interests of employees, coworkers, and patrons of establishments. The annual debate about whether an evergreen is an appropriate public symbol in December or whether the office party should have a Christmas theme happens each year. Questions such as: Why should one bring his or her religion to the workplace? Why shouldn’t they? The workplace is one place where many people will meet with several different religious backgrounds. Should people just concentrate on what brought them to their place of employment or is it okay to talk about religious beliefs (Ettorre, 1996)?
…show more content…
Employees now bring a wider range of personal religious practices and beliefs to the workplace. Different holidays, attire, diet, values and practices can lead to conflict with existing policies or beliefs. It's an issue many businesses are not prepared to deal with. Over the course of this paper I will describe, compare and apply two ethical theories and perspectives to religion in the workplace and explain how the theories and perspectives analyze religion in the workplace. I will also describe the ethical issues and the breaches of ethical

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Avoid Religious Discrimination in HR Perspective Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious, ethical and moral beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer” (EEOC). To provide religious accommodation, employers are supposed to offer adjustments to the work environment to avoid or solve conflict of employees’ religious belief and practices with workplace requirements. Common religious accommodations include flexible working time, modifications of policies, and job reassignment. From HR perspective,…

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After researching how many companies allow religious freedom of speech in a work place I was surprised to find how many companies allow it. John Tyson is the founder of Tyson foods; he has allowed his employees to be open with their spirituality and also follows the Christian faith. I found it very interesting that they have hired 120 office chaplains - “The Chaplaincy Program has been in place since October 2000 and "provides compassionate pastoral care to Team Members and their families." (Rohrlich, 2010) John Tyson stated they have employees that practice different religions within their organization; such as, Muslim faith, Jewish faith, and many different types of Baptist.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As companies labor over providing the best accommodation for their workers, they must understand and support the religion nuances of many. Establishing strong policies and procedures, comprehensive training, and general acceptance of difference are comportments to assist organizations in accommodating overall diversity variances. In the end, it is all about accepting and supporting the difference of individuals which make the organization better, strong, and more competitive in the…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In an interview after the courts ruling, The EEOC General Counsel, David Lopez stated, "We were extremely pleased with the Supreme Court ruling in our favor, which has reinforced our longstanding efforts to enforce Title VII's prohibition against religious discrimination," The EEOC continues to protect individuals against discrimination from employers, by investigating the accusations and trying to settle the charges. If they are not successful, they have the authority to file lawsuits. They also strive to prevent discrimination before it happens, by “outreach, education and technical assistance programs.” This case also provides job applicants with a new level of civil rights protections when it comes to religious prejudice and religious accommodations in employment.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Cultural Competency Action Plan There are ten standards of Cultural Competency that social workers must meet through their practice. Each standard tackles a different aspect in finally reaching cultural competency. Standard 1: Ethics and Values…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is telling that Walden University’s mission is to provide a career professional who might be of a different background and ethnicity with the chance to transform oneself as what is described as a scholar practitioner so that he/she might affect positive social change in one’s native country or community (Vision, Mission, and Goals, n.d). Furthermore, the concept of spirituality is being accepted in today’s business world, and this concept of spirituality in a particular organization does not have anything to do with religion (McLaughlin). Instead, one perspective is when a person embodies personal values such as integrity, honesty, among other values in order to make one’s organization socially responsible in how it influences the environment,…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In today’s world, conflict over race, religions and ethnicity is a primary source of conversation. When turning on a news channel, picking up a newspaper or even glancing at the magazine covers while waiting in line at the grocery store, one is not able to avoid the topics. The world of business is not exempt from these same issues. As Christians in a managerial position, one must know how to respond when they are placed in an assumed conflict. In order to know the appropriate reaction the individual must understand their stance on Christian worldview, their ethical beliefs and how they will act when faced with a dilemma.…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moreover, the employer is required to reasonably hold the spiritual opinion of an employee or prospective employee, unless doing so would inflict an unreasonable hardship (EEOC, 2009). I have one example of religion discrimination which happened last year. Craig James, a former college football player claimed that Fox sports fired him due to religious discrimination (Fuhrmeister, 2013). According to the article, James had a solid case for discrimination lawsuit, and it is stated that Fox sports violated the Civil Rights Act (Fuhrmeister, 2013). The religious belief serves a moral purpose by providing codes of conduct for appropriate behavior through revelations from divine sources (Pozgar, 2013, p. 45).…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is also considered as improper for an employer to take any negative action towards a person because of their religious choices.…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Biblical Worldview Essay

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the parts that make up a worldview is the notion of identity, or rather, answering the question of “who am I in relation to my world?” The Biblical account of creation states that “God created man in His own image.” (Genesis 1:27 HCSB) Christians, therefore, identify as being created by God in his own image. This belief is a part of the doctrine, or set of beliefs beld by a group of people, of Christianity. According to Everyday Theology, some principles of this truth that are explained in the Bible are that humans have dominion over and stewardship of the earth and have the capacity for relationships, both with other humans and with God.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religious Worldview Essay

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Religious Worldview that the Article Expresses The article expresses a number of religious worldviews. First, it states that working with the view of Christianity allows business leaders to do the right thing such as compensating their employers where necessary. Additionally, the Christian perspective allows business people to perceive their customers as blessings and not burdens because it enhances the understanding of the people that every person is created in the image of God. It states that having a positive view on human value would contribute to the success of the business in the marketplace (Stonestreet, 2013). Reasons for Selecting the Article…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Organizational Culture, analysis of the Lincoln Electric Company Case In Brazilian law, we say that all people have personality, and this is a condition to all rights that come along. It is for this reason that plants and animals do not have rights in the Brazilian legal system, although they end up being protected for the sake of the environment. Brought by the notion of personality, comes the personal characteristics. In Brazil we say that individuals are physical people, while companies and other organizations are legal people.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This means an employer may be required to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment that will allow an employee to practice his or her religion. Examples of some common religious accommodations include flexible scheduling or voluntary shift substitutions for religious observances, but also to such things as dress or grooming practices such as wearing head coverings or other religious dress such as a Jewish yarmulke or a Muslim headscarf.2 Mississippi recently passed a “religious freedom” law which will provide legal cover for those who wish to discriminate against gays and lesbians. The law allows government clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, meaning it allows for-profit businesses to claim to have religious beliefs and to refuse service on that basis.10 It is unlawful to harass a person because of that person’s sex. Discrimination such as sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or predatory behavior of a sexual…

    • 1783 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Due to the First Amendment, the employee would have the upper hand because the employer does violate his right to exercise religion. The employer has the right to express his thoughts on the matter as well. It would be up to the judge at that point whether or not to hear the employer out or not. It kind of seems unfair and unjust towards the businesses. Yes, the First Amendment is of the law, but it really does not cover businesses and other organizations.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Personal beliefs can affect the typical worker in any work environment, not in just a law firm. The best example for personal beliefs in the workforce can be identified with religion. Religion is one the largest topics of personal beliefs because something out of the ordinary that interferes with a worker's religious beliefs can create chaotic results in the workforce. In Hobby Lobby, their Christian belief systems had a controversy for paying for birth control to their workers. AT&T's workers are currently undergoing a strike because they do not want their job being outsourced to other countries.…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays