HELP! Forced Prayer at Work

screw it

sometimes people have swallow their pride.. what does it take, like 20 seconds to say a small thank you? who cares, how long do people actually keep grocery store jobs anyways..? tell your friends to stop being snobs. :2cents:

They can't FORCE you to pray. If you don't have the same religious beliefs, then they can't impose theirs upon you because you're subordinate of the managment. Tell your friend that if he does not wish to pray that he should stand up and say so, and if they threaten to fire him, he has every right to sue them for unjust dismissal (or so I would assume). I'm not a lawyer, but something tells me they have no right to force someone to do something against his or her wishes while using position of authority as the only means of leverage.

Ok, I have a few friends who recently told me about the grocery store they are working in has been "forcing" people to pray before eating. I am sure there has been some court case or some law question about this answered before. I have looked around and havent been able to come up with anything concrete to send to their employer. So if any of you law buffs have any ideas that can help me out or know of any court cases that I can use as a referance I will be forever in debt to you. Thanks.

Sorry, I don't know of anything in particular, but keep in mind anything you find might be state specific, as laws can vary between states...

I've never heard of this happening. I think your friend is yanking your chain.

sometimes people have swallow their pride.. what does it take, like 20 seconds to say a small thank you? who cares, how long do people actually keep grocery store jobs anyways..? tell your friends to stop being snobs. :2cents:

First of all one of my friends has been working there since he was a sophomore in high school so he is working on 6 years now. Who cares? I care, he isnt the kind of person who will stand up against people who hold his job in their hands. And what makes you think that they are snobs? Also I didnt ask for your opinion I asked for facts and help.

Unless they have a gun to his head, all he has to do is NOT DO IT.

Not rocket science people.

I've never heard of this happening. I think your friend is yanking your chain.

Aparently youve never lived in the "bible belt" lol

arent prayers supposed to be silent? so unless he has to say it outloud, whats wrong with closing your eyes, mumbling your lips a bit.

Aparently youve never lived in the "bible belt" lol
He may not, but I DO. An Employer can't force you to pray, it's called freedom of religion. And if they fire him for refusing to pray, it's "discrimination on a religous basis". Tell him to suck it up and speak up, and to not be a little puss. If he get's fired, he can sue them for more money than he would have made in 5 years employed there.

He may not, but I DO. An Employer can't force you to pray, it's called freedom of religion. And if they fire him for refusing to pray, it's "discrimination on a religous basis". Tell him to suck it up and speak up, and to not be a little puss. If he get's fired, he can sue them for more money than he would have made in 5 years employed there.


:iagree:

+2, so he's got to ask himself the question: is it more important to fit in and keep the job, or does it bother him enough to stand up and possibly lose his job over it (with possible lawsuit)?

Look, the guy isnt going to stand up and say anything about it. I have (at this time) one person over there who is going to stand up and who is getting some statements from people who were there when this happened but thats it.

I honestly dont care what your opinion is on the matter the fact is I was asked for my help on this and I in turn asked for help from you guys. I dont care if he is a "pansy" for not saying anything. If you cant help me with this then id like to ask you to keep your opinions to yourself.

Sorry; check your local laws I don't know.

gathering statements on a forced prayer?? man.. not even judge judy would take this one. People have more serious matters to take care of.


i just pictured a court room full of children, with babies as the jury.. please stand before the honourable judge big bird... now raise your right hand and swear you will tell the truth upon the great Willy Wonka. :evillol:

Look, the guy isnt going to stand up and say anything about it. I have (at this time) one person over there who is going to stand up and who is getting some statements from people who were there when this happened but thats it.

I honestly dont care what your opinion is on the matter the fact is I was asked for my help on this and I in turn asked for help from you guys. I dont care if he is a "pansy" for not saying anything. If you cant help me with this then id like to ask you to keep your opinions to yourself.
I didn't give you my fucking opinion, I gave you the facts you asked for. Pick out specific people, don't generalize the entire board as giving their opinions. Most here have helped, WITH FACTS.
So if any of you law buffs have any ideas
THAT is asking for opinions.

sometimes people have swallow their pride.. what does it take, like 20 seconds to say a small thank you? who cares, how long do people actually keep grocery store jobs anyways..? tell your friends to stop being snobs. :2cents:


I agree... i'm sure they dont actually "FORCE" him to pray. Maybe they say a prayer before they eat, how is that FORCING him to pray? He doesnt have to do shit, all he has to do is sit there quietly and not pray while they pray for 30 seconds. Problem solved :rolleyes:

I've bin to a muslim persons house for dinner before and they said a prayer at the table, just because i was sitting there doesnt mean they were forcing me to pray, i just sat there an let them do their thing

gathering statements on a forced prayer?? man.. not even judge judy would take this one. People have more serious matters to take care of.


i just pictured a court room full of children, with babies as the jury.. please stand before the honourable judge big bird... now raise your right hand and swear you will tell the truth upon the great Willy Wonka. :evillol:

that was pretty stupid. Some of you are pretty inconsiderate.

It's not that bowing your head for 20 seconds is a big deal. It's that his job is forcing him to do something for a religious purpose. That is NOT cool, and NOT legal. But to actually do it? Unacceptable. If he doesnt want to pray before his meal, then he just shouldn't pray. If somebody causes trouble with him about it, then he should stick up for himself out of self respect... not necessarily to change their minds, or prove that what they are doing is wrong. All he needs to say is, I am not religious, and though I am greatful for my food, I do not wish to pray about it. That would be different than just standing up and saying.. "NO, Im not going to pray because I don't have to."

If you wish to send his workplace something that would make them shake in their boots, then trust me you won't need a legal printout of some documented court case. Just send them an anonymous letter telling them that what they are doing is wrong, immoral, and illegal. And If they wish to proceed then a lawsuit may justifiably be brought against them. That is not saying that you are GOING to file for a lawsuit, but it is true and may scare them. If it takes more than that, then I think you can find the means to do something about it, in your own town. Talk to the authorities.

But honestly, if your friend does not have the courage to do this for himself, then you really shouldn't be doing it for him. Dont get me wrong, Im not saying you shouldn't help people, but imagine if it ever did go to court. Your friend could have to testify, and he does not seem like he would want to go through all that. Or maybe the job will begin to ask people about their opinions on it, and if he hasnt got the pride to stand up for himself in the first place, then I doubt he will be comfortable having a one on one discussion about it with his superiors. Basically, you may drag him into something that you believe in more than he does. That's really not fair to either of you.

I personally would live my life the way I live my life. Eat without praying, and not cause trouble about it until trouble is caused with me. Then once that time arrives, I would say exactly what I believe and nothing more. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I think your friend has an insecurity issue with standing up for his rights. As his friend, you should be helping him with that, instead of fighting his fight for him.

Rick

that was pretty stupid. Some of you are pretty inconsiderate.

and some of us are pretty touchy... things like this are everyday LIFE.

If hes been working there 6 six years it obviously doesn't matter much to him

I've never heard of this happening. I think your friend is yanking your chain.
Dotto. In this day and age that just doesn't happen....and if it did....so what? I have yet to see any documentation where prayer ever HURT anyone. Besides...I have always been of the mind set that if you have issues with your employer...QUIT and gwet a job where you DON'T have issues with your employer. People who complain about their jobs waste a lot of their lives being miserable. If I hated my job and my employer, I'd be somewhere else doing something else instead of whining.

that was pretty stupid. Some of you are pretty inconsiderate.

It's not that bowing your head for 20 seconds is a big deal. It's that his job is forcing him to do something for a religious purpose. That is NOT cool, and NOT legal. But to actually do it? Unacceptable. If he doesnt want to pray before his meal, then he just shouldn't pray.

What you just said seems pretty stupid to me.... You say "if he doesnt want to pray before his meal, then he just shouldnt pray" thats exactly the point. They're not forcing him to do shit for a religious purpose, all he has to do is stay quiet for 20 seconds while THEY pray. If he's sitting there quietly, is he praying? Hell no... he's just waiting for them to finish. Nobodies making him say the words, so how exactly is that forcing him to pray?? <--- Thats what i want to know

When i was at the table at my muslim friends house, were they forcing me to pray? Were they doing something not cool and not legal? NO they were doing their OWN THING. Just like when this kid at his work is at the table, the people there are doing their OWN THING. He doesnt have to participate, nobodies forcing him to say the words.

What do you want them to do? Stop praying? THAT seems pretty inconsiderate to me, making a group of people stop praying because of one persons selfishness.

What do you want them to do? Stop praying? THAT seems pretty inconsiderate to me, making a group of people stop praying because of one persons selfishness.


:1:

What do you want them to do? Stop praying? THAT seems pretty inconsiderate to me, making a group of people stop praying because of one persons selfishness.

Bingo.

This is pretty unstable ground, expecially considering the location. If the employer mearly requests that the employees pray than I personally see nothing wrong with it. Wether or not the employees choose to pray is up to them. However, if the employer discriminates against those who pray and those who do not then your friend should.... ah hell, I don't know where I'm going with this.

Religion discrimination = legal goldmine.

What you just said seems pretty stupid to me.... You say "if he doesnt want to pray before his meal, then he just shouldnt pray" thats exactly the point. They're not forcing him to do shit for a religious purpose, all he has to do is stay quiet for 20 seconds while THEY pray. If he's sitting there quietly, is he praying? Hell no... he's just waiting for them to finish. Nobodies making him say the words, so how exactly is that forcing him to pray?? <--- Thats what i want to know

When i was at the table at my muslim friends house, were they forcing me to pray? Were they doing something not cool and not legal? NO they were doing their OWN THING. Just like when this kid at his work is at the table, the people there are doing their OWN THING. He doesnt have to participate, nobodies forcing him to say the words.

What do you want them to do? Stop praying? THAT seems pretty inconsiderate to me, making a group of people stop praying because of one persons selfishness.

I guess you agree with the Big Bird Court statement more then, huh?

You changed the subject by making an assumption. In case you forgot where the title of the thread is, its at the top. FORCED PRAYER AT WORK. I agree with what you said about not forcing everyone else to stop praying because of one persons selfishness.. but who the fuck said anything about that? Prayer at work is legal. Discriminating against those who dont pray is illegal. Which is the topic. You totally went off topic with your over the top effort to prove me wrong. The fact is, if what has been said is true, then this person's rights are being violated. I did not make any assumptions. I agree that the person who brought this up to whoever it was that started the thread, is jerking their chain. It just doesn't really happen anymore. That or the thread starter is jerking all of our chains. But that simply isnt the point. Look at the question, dont assume, and answer accordingly. If you wouldnt mind pretending to pray because you are afraid of losing your job, then you go right on ahead and pretend because that would make you more of a pussy than someone who stands up for their right not to pray.

Think a little bit harder before you go on spouting your Macho shit. What you said, I agree with, but it has nothing to do with this thread.

I guess you agree with the Big Bird Court statement more then, huh?

You changed the subject by making an assumption. In case you forgot where the title of the thread is, its at the top. FORCED PRAYER AT WORK. I agree with what you said about not forcing everyone else to stop praying because of one persons selfishness.. but who the fuck said anything about that? Prayer at work is legal. Discriminating against those who dont pray is illegal. Which is the topic. You totally went off topic with your over the top effort to prove me wrong. The fact is, if what has been said is true, then this person's rights are being violated. I did not make any assumptions. I agree that the person who brought this up to whoever it was that started the thread, is jerking their chain. It just doesn't really happen anymore. That or the thread starter is jerking all of our chains. But that simply isnt the point. Look at the question, dont assume, and answer accordingly. If you wouldnt mind pretending to pray because you are afraid of losing your job, then you go right on ahead and pretend because that would make you more of a pussy than someone who stands up for their right not to pray.

Think a little bit harder before you go on spouting your Macho shit. What you said, I agree with, but it has nothing to do with this thread.

Who's spouting macho shit? I simply gave my opinion.

Yes if you look at the title of the thread it is "Forced Prayer at Work" But thats not entirely accurate because in sivics post it said nothing about anybody really forcing him to pray, he just said they say a prayer before they eat and his friend is present when they say it

How exactly did i go totally off topic? I was right ON topic, i was only talking about people praying around a table where people are eating like stated in the original post. If you ask me, you made a few assumptions yourself, sivic never said anything about anybody discriminating against his friend cause he wasnt praying. He merely suggested that might happen

screw it

Nice attitude.

I agree... i'm sure they dont actually "FORCE" him to pray. Maybe they say a prayer before they eat, how is that FORCING him to pray? He doesnt have to do shit, all he has to do is sit there quietly and not pray while they pray for 30 seconds. Problem solved :rolleyes:

I've bin to a muslim persons house for dinner before and they said a prayer at the table, just because i was sitting there doesnt mean they were forcing me to pray, i just sat there an let them do their thing
I agree. In this day and age people are too quick to bitch about shit. Why is it so hard for people to just not do something instead of bitching about everything. Doesn't make much sense to me. The more people bitch the more hatred there is, and the more problems arise in their lives.