Not that I can complain much, at least I have a part time printing-graphical position, it pays the bills, but I need to work more, so I have been hitting the job market and last month, I did go to a very promising lead: a tech position in a college; so I did go to their office and the recruiter was interested and gave me some forms to fill, I saw that I filled all the requirements, and I had plenty of experience, everything was ok until I saw the final lines of the form: “this is a fire at will working place, and you must be a Christian”.
Well that was a showstopper, I guess I could have reverted to the fact that I was a former Catholic, but I suspect some Christian institutions do not consider Catholics to be Christians (?) Of course being now a hard agnostic, I figured a guy like me was out of the question. What was annoying was that the want ad did not mention that Christian “requirement” (for a tech position?)
I did not want to ask any more questions after that, so I decided to not file the form and go to other leads at local public institutions. Only to find that (after applying) the budget crunch of the state has sunk my chances to get a job there. I want to help my family and continue growing, but then I wonder: did I do the right thing?
If you need a job that badly, I wouldn’t sweat it. I have a friend who is a registered Democrat… and works for the Florida Republican Party. While she cannot stand most of her co-workers, the Republicans are paying her bills. They did tell her that (which is true) Florida is a right to work state, which means if they thought she was sabatoging JEB!'s re-election campaign… and had evidence, they could probably fire her. They could pull the list of registered voters, see that she isn’t on theirs and fire her for that. But no credible employer will toss someone out without due cause.
I’d say this institution just wants you to know that you live in a right to work state, and should they decide to can you at some point in the future, they can hang their decision on the hook that you are not a practicing Christian – without fear of a lawsuit from you for discrimination.
Finally, AFAIK, Catholics are considered Christians by just about everybody. Even agnostic, recovering, non practicing, former Catholics.
When I was looking for academic jobs, I decided not to apply to places that required accepting “Christian values.” However, my decision was mainly based on the fact that the institution might require inclusion or exclusion of content in my courses that I wouldn’t be able to stomach. It doesn’t sound like a tech job would have that problem.
If this is a private christian college, that does NOT receive federal funds, they can indeed put in such requirements.
If they get federal funds, I would go visit the ACLU. I think you maght supplement your income nicely with a discrimination lawsuit.
BTW, I was a media tech contracting work with the Christian Science Monitor in the 80’s. I wasn’t an employee, so when a full-time job opened up, I asked for an application.
It contained some appalling (IMHO) questions. Did I refrain from premarital sex? Did I tithe 10% of my income to the “Mother Church”? Did I take any drugs; over-the-counter, prescription, or antthing else? There were more that I don’t remember.
Not only did I not apply, I severed my relationship with them altogether. Damn shame, cause it was the best paying gig I had at the time.
It sounds like you applied to a small private college run by a religious organization. If the college doesn’t receive federal funds, then they can make it a requirement that you color your hair lime green if they so choose.
As for your religious history: Catholics are Christians. There are a handfull of ultra-fundie Protestants who don’t agree, but everyone else does.
As to your being agnostic; whether to apply based on your Catholic upbringing would be up to you. I notice it doesn’t say “practicing Christian.”
Heh. My father, who just retired after teaching Sociology for 35 years, told me about the time that he was offered a (high paying) job at a private religious university, provided he stopped being a Quaker. He sent them a letter that said he’d believe whatever they wanted, as long as they paid him.
Oddly enough, they declined to follow up with their offer of employment.
IMO, there seems to be a diversity of opinions with the whole “must be a Christian” concept. Some institutions are only nominally committed to Christianity at best – as long as you aren’t actively anti-Christian (I don’t know about agnostic though, tough call), you’d be fine. In other places, being a Christian involves precisely the act of accepting Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior and being an active member of a local Christian church, and those topics have come up in some of my job interviews. Then there’s the debate about who in a Christian college must be Christian, and well, you get the idea.
As for Catholics being Christian, while most Protestant groups (I’m not familiar enough with any other non-Catholic Christians to say anything) do consider Catholics to be Christian, some Protestant Christian colleges that I’ve been familiar with or had friends familiar with might be hesitant to hire a Catholic. It’s not that they wouldn’t consider them Christian, it’s more that they are a representative of that institution and Catholicism isn’t close enough to their beliefs to hire a person who believes that who would be representative of their institution.
Some religious organizations will require that you subscribe to their statement of faith, over and above being “Christian.” This is legal and fair, as it would be unreasonable to demand that they be represented by someone who does not share their core beliefs.
[Firesign]
“Daddy, where can I get a good deal in a Christian atmosphere?”
[/Firesign]
There are many Christian colleges in the US, ranging from nominally Christian to evangelically so. Different places have different standards and requirements. With the more nominally Christian, merely affirming that one is a Christian is usually enough. OTOH, where I last taught, the job application included a place for you to fill in your own personal statement of faith - they didn’t have a specific one that they wanted you to sign, but when you applied, they certainly looked over yours to see if your beliefs passed muster. And they expected you to be a participating member of a church, once you’d been in town for long enough to find one.
Organizations whose faith is part of their mission, including colleges, are allowed to use faith as a basis for accepting or rejecting applicants. It’s as legal as church on Sunday.
Mmm, it looks like the consensus is to prevent convictions to be our guide in cases like this one. :o
Well, yes, had that job been the only choice I guess I should have gone for it. Luckily, the part time job I still have is getting busy; I like the place but there is no health insurance even if I go full time; so, back to the hunt!
Many thanks to: lel, Jthunder, Badtz Maru, yojimboguy, Diceman, robertliguori and everybody else for your replies.
