So someone has been leaving these little Christian booklets in one of the company break areas. It's a pretty nice break area that they built. It's comfortable. It's got sofas and refrigerators and places to eat your lunch and literally six microwaves. It doesn't have a TV or a magazine rack or any kind of entertainment though. They recently built this place during a major renovation and I was thinking about dropping off some trade magazines on the coffee tables for people to read while they were on break.

I remember thinking that someone might use the area to drop off religious material and sure enough about three weeks later these "Our Daily Bread" booklets started to appear. Keep in mind this is a professional, white collar setting. I've found tracts left in places here at work before on occassion but it's rare. There's probably a corporate policy against proselitizing so I'll have to research it.

In my opinion this is unprofessional and could be grounds for a reprimand by HR. What do you think?

I think you should say something about it immediately. It's just not the place for that bs. No matter what religion. You know someone is totally getting off and patting themselves on the back for leaving it there though. Until you can talk to management about it, I would put them straight in the trash where the perpetrator can plainly see them.

It's probably perfectly legal, as long as it was not the owner or a manager putting it there as an attempt to pressure people into converting, at which point it might become legally questionable. If a worker put it there, there is nothing anyone can do about it besides prohibit ALL employees from contributing ANY magazines to the break area.

Most people have a hugely exaggerated idea of the restrictions on religious expression in workplaces and schools, imagining that they are supposed to be essentially "religion-free" environments. In reality, neither employers nor schools may impose a policy banning religious speech altogether. Workers and students actually have a great deal of freedom in that area.

There's a Clinton-area document giving guidelines for religious expression in the workplace here:

http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/New/html/19970819-3275.html

There used to be a similar document (also from the Clinton years) for schools that you can look for if you're interested.

A very informative link...

I think a lot of this will translate to my work environment.

Thank you.

The document linked to applies to government employees only. It's obviously not illegal to leave pamphlets laying around, but I know our HR policies prohibit religious discussion in the workplace. I think the policy is more about making others uncomfortable. You can get fired for discussing religion in the workplace and not have a discrimination case if a case can be made that you were the one being intolerant by pushing your beliefs on others.

Does anyone know where "Our Daily Bread" come from? Is it Catholic?

Radio Bible Class (RBC), Grand Rapids, MI.... relatively mild bent towards the evangelical...though I know lots of Catholics who read 'em, so they must not be too overboard.

Christian.

"Our Daily Bread" is published by RBC Ministries, formerly "Radio Bible Class".

To check out their history and principles, here's one of their websites:

http://rbc.org/about/history/

I couldn't see a statement about any particular denomination but I don't think they're Catholic. I have often read the booklets and always thought they were Protestant and likely fairly non-denominational.

They are not Catholic. They are available in bulk by donation.
You can also get the app for it and hear it read at their website. Are these booklets jumping up and grabbing you by the nose? Don't feel bad about throwing them away if they bother you so much.

Is anyone putting Avon catalogs in the break room? Is anyone selling chocolate bars for their kids' fundraisers?

along with those who assume materials of this type should naturally be banned from such spaces. The comment, "Keep in mind this is a professional, white collar setting" would be laughable if it weren't so appalling. Just what is it you are afraid of?

I'm not sure what sort of a world you live in where religious materials of this type disturb you so..certainly not the America I live in.

I know Christians of all denominations (including my mother who is Catholic) who read the publication you are referring to. They have lots of wisdom in them.

notmonotloggedin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> along with those who assume materials of this type
> should naturally be banned from such spaces. The
> comment, "Keep in mind this is a professional,
> white collar setting" would be laughable if it
> weren't so appalling. Just what is it you are
> afraid of?

I espouse free thinking so I'm not "afraid" of their ideas. I also am NOT of the opinion that their ideas should be banned. But this smacks a little of proselyting to me. I think it's fine if they have material like this in their own cubicle and hand them out from there to anyone who is expresses an interest but to distribute them in the workplace like this seems in appropriate and unprofessional to me. I don't think a common break area is the place to do this kind of thing. At least it's better than the lobby and they haven't set up a carousel full of pamphlets and DVDs. I wouldn't have a problem at all it if was tacked to one of the common employee message boards.

> I'm not sure what sort of a world you live in
> where religious materials of this type disturb you
> so..certainly not the America I live in.

I'm not disturbed by the material at all. I wouldn't have come to this board in the first place as a doubting but still active Mormon if I couldn't handle it.

> I know Christians of all denominations (including
> my mother who is Catholic) who read the
> publication you are referring to. They have lots
> of wisdom in them.

Great, but what would you think if you saw things like this appearing in your company break room?

Maybe I should get a subscription to "Skeptical Inquirer" or "American Atheist" magazine and leave copies of them in the break room.

Better yet, leave out a pamphlet about how God approves of incorporating porn into your daily routine.

I doubt they are illegal as no one is forced to read them. I suspect it would be up to your boss whether or not to allow them. However he could run into problems if he banned thoseand allowed other stuff. I just don't see it as a big deal.Don't read them if you dontlike them.

I had something similar happen but think 9/11 and patriotism in a bathroom. Someone put a statue of an eagle with a flag in our restroom. Two days later Someone else added a small flag stuck in a potted plant. I waited a day added another flag. Next day I added a yellow ribbon. Next day I added a magnet to the soap dispenser that said "I love this my country." Management took them all down and said employees were not allowed to de ortedthe bathrooms (: no one knows who added any of it, no one got in trouble, and after a week no felt like they were being judged for patriotism in the bathroom.
To deal with it like this all you have to do is to find other religious tracts and then add to whatever is already there. Go over the top a little at a time. Add a Book of Mormon, the watchtower, one of those little comics that people always leave places. Discreetly, and anonymously add every religious thing you can find. I think you will quickly discover the management or the other employees on their own will take care of this.

What a great idea! Dangle rosaries in a few places, assorted religious pamphlets and texts, make sure to include some Islamic stuff too, dont want to leave them out. This illustrates how ridiculous the practice is an will hopefully move hr to ban pamphlets altogether. Although probably, just go to hr and ask that they issue a fatwa against pamphlet leaving. wait...

In my opinion, leaving religious pamphlets in a communal space at work can create, for some, the feeling of a hostile work environment. Imagine if you have just left a cult and every time you go to get a coffee or have your lunch, there are cult pamphlets. Worse still, who left the cult pamphlets? Are they going to try to start talking to you about the glorious cult now?? Some can brush that off, for others it can have a profoundly negative impact. Inappropriate for a shared workspace.

southern said: "...leaving religious pamphlets in a communal space at work can create, for some, the feeling of a hostile work environment. Imagine if you have just left a cult and every time you go to get a coffee or have your lunch, there are cult pamphlets. Worse still, who left the cult pamphlets? Are they going to try to start talking to you about the glorious cult now?? Some can brush that off, for others it can have a profoundly negative impact. Inappropriate for a shared workspace."

Yes, I agree with all these comments. It may be difficult for nevermos initially to get this but to exmos, especially on a board called Recovery from Mormonism, no explanation is necessary.

Hostile work environment - that's a good insight into what the crux of the problem is (especially for an exmo or other ex-, depending on their experiences with religion).

darkprincess Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> one of those little comics that people
> always leave places.

Jack Chick to the rescue!

I doubt it is illegal, as no one is trying to force you to take it. They are simply being left out on the table in the break room - if someone is interested, they are free to take one. If not, they are free to ignore them and continue on with their day.

No one hates forced religion more than me, but I really don't think this is an issue. If you are offended, just don't take one.

I don't think it is something HR needs to get involved with. In fact, HR reprimanding them could possibly end up with them filing a discrimination lawsuit, rather it was justified or not, and a bunch of bad press about how the company discriminates against the poor Christians who are only trying to force their opinions on everyone else.

What I would do is use a little slight of hand, and toss the pamphlets away when no one is looking. Most likely, the perp will have a warm feeling in their bosom, just knowing that their fellow co-workers have taken the pamphlets home to peruse, and have probably had their soul saved, thanks to Christian co-workers non-effort. They can now feel good about themselves for days, having done absolutely nothing to make the world a better place, but living under the delusion that they have. Let them live and die with that delusion, if it makes them happy.

Or, you can be totally immature, take the pamphlets away, and write "pro-sin" statements all through them. Then quietly return them, when no one is looking, leading to Christian Co-worker to have a moral breakdown upon discovery of your crime. Either way works. BTW, "pro-sin" can be anything from drawing sex organs on the pictures, to writing hilarious thought captions, or just pointing out where the pamphlet is wrong. Of course if you get caught doing this, you will likely get in more trouble then Mr. Nice Christian.

I'd probably just throw them away.

Or bring some reading material that contradicts theirs and put it right next to it.

Whenever I see stuff like that in some professional capacity, doctor's waiting room, or whatever, I collect them all and throw them out.

If you find it offensive I would just throw it out.

I recommend them to people who are coming out of cults but haven't abandoned their general belief in God, and also to A.A.'s who would like something a bit more specific than "Higher Power." Read a few of the meditations, and you'll see what I mean.

Do we have to sterilize society of Christianity? Because you don't want it in your life, must you expunge it from other people's? Would you be offended if somebody left out a copy of "Guns and Ammo" they're finished with? "The Nation?" "National Review?" The "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit edition? All of these could offend somebody or another. Nowadays one offended person can cancel an entire event.

Perhaps you could leave some atheist literature around. Or a reading rack could be set up, and people could share what they want to: RBC, JW's, magazines they're done with.

We're getting so thin-skinned as a society. I realize that the 1st Amendment does not necessarily extend into a privately owned workplace, but (unless disruptive) its principle should. Did the presence of a daily meditation disrupt your workday? I should hope not.

Every single Christian sales brochure (I will not be preached at by somebody who does so by pamphlet, fuck you folk) ends up in the urinal Jesus side up.

So keep them coming, you evangelical whack-a-dos