Very religious colleague

I don't think anyone should be discussing any hot topics in the workplace, politics, abortion, gay marriage, lgbt pro or against.
As workplaces have been promoting the lgbt, pro-nouns etc they have brought personal politic/ religious views back into the workplace.
It makes things uncomfortable.
People should wear what they like, enjoy their beliefs, but keep them in their head or within their friendship group.

His bigoted views are discriminatory. What he has done so far would have gone against core values and numerous policies where I work. I would have told him so myself before now and then reported to my line manager and HR if he didn't stop. Expressing inappropriate views in the name of his religious beliefs does not make him a special case to whom policies do not apply.

Yeah, this very obviously not OK and needs to be told to STFU, either by his colleagues or by the management. It’s fucking ridiculous that nobody has said anything because they’re scared to rock the boat. There is no boat to be rocked here.

It is fine for colleagues to be open about their religion. It is not fine for them to try to impose their religion on others. For example, it is fine for a Muslim colleague to say “I won’t come to the pub for your leaving drinks because Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol is wrong and I’d rather not go to places that promote it” but is it not fine for them to say “You shouldn’t be going to the pub because alcohol is prohibited in Islam and pubs are disgusting places. Actually all pubs should be destroyed and whenever you mention them I’m going to tell you why you shouldn’t use them.”

ClairDeLaLune · Today 08:56

I’m a Christian and would be very against what he’s doing. He’s coming out with a load of Old Testament crap. Next time he wears 2 different fabrics ask him what Leviticus 19:19 would say about that.

Hah! I should have read the full thread before posting the same thing!

Matthew 6 v 5-8 would be a suggestion, regarding performative religiosity, too.

Also, “My thoughts and beliefs are none of your business.”
”I’m not interested in sharing my thoughts and feelings with someone who is only asking so they can tell me that I am wrong.”

Everything they said and did was guided by their faith.

@MrsDoubtfire1 Well, yes? If you believe something to be true, of course you are going to be guided by that in what you say and do. We all are, to be honest, whatever you believe. If you believe there’s no God and no afterlife, that absolutely affects everything you do. It would be weird if your beliefs had no impact on what you say and do, imo.

I feel a bit sorry for him TBH , as that kind of religiosity can end up looking like mental illness. He’s also isolated in the workplace and must be on his guard permanently for signs of blasphemous activity. Having said that OP I sympathise, I worked in a very evangelical Christian workplace in the 90s and it can get a bit much.

Things are already uncomfortable and difficult! Someone needs to say something, directly to him as well as to his line manager. He needs to learn to get on with his work and stop constantly talking about other stuff. He needs to know that while he can express his views, so can everyone else, and he doesn’t get to make everything into an argument, and some conversations just aren’t appropriate in a workplace where everyone has different beliefs and experiences. He needs to grow up.

And I say this as someone who is a Christian and probably agrees with him about some of this stuff.

He is probably assuming his talk is fine because no one has said otherwise.

No-one should be pushing their religious views on others in the workplace

I wouldn't allow it on my doorstep and I wouldn't allow it at work

And I wouldn't be compelled to wear any sort of virtue-signalling badge either

You may well be confident, that doesn't mean you are right. You are right it you correctly communicate the Equality Act and you didn't. People who know their area can condense it for brevity without misrepresentation. You also misrepresented the law in the way the Stonewall et al lobby groups have been for the past decade, and I am sure that is not a coincidence.

Fuck that. Straight to HR.

Definitely speak to your manager. It's not OK for him to annoy everyone else.

He needs to stop bringing his whole self to work and start only bringing his work self to work.

It was silly of you to let him start dictating what everyone else could listen to. You should have just laughed at him the first time he complained and suggested he buy some earplugs. If he talks over the radio, you talk over him.

I at least know what the protected characteristics are, unlike you it seems. And you are the first to bring sex (a protected characteristic) and gender (not a protected characteristic) up. I didn’t mention either. I am sure you are very confident in your understanding and application of the EA, just as confident as fellow EDI professional Isla Bumba was, and as confident as you seem to be in you incorrect assertion that me pointing out ‘LBGTQ’ is not a protected characteristic was my first post in this thread. Do you know there is no hierarchy of protected characteristics?

oh look no need for any of us to comment as @Calmomiletea knows exactly what our opinions are and what we will say....gosh that's a time saver

sounds like he is looking for a lawsuit tbh

Its as simple as this.

I wouldn't go so far as to say personal views should not be aired, but there is a general unspoken social convention that people do not talk about potentially controversial personal views in work. And if they do, they do not endlessly bore on about them.

This should be quite simple to handle through colleagues just politely but firmly pointing out to him that his behaviour is transgressing an accepted boundary and he needs to pull back on this.

I'm with him on the music though. If you want to listen to music at work put on your headphones. Don't subject everyone else to it. Works bad enough without listening to other people's music choices.

That’s exactly what it sounds like. I’m on Quora and there are huge numbers of American Evangelicals who think it’s their calling to convert others.
I find myself being ultra cautious when expressing my views as any view which deviates even slightly from their beliefs sends them into a tailspin of anger.

I think you should report his behaviours to your manager. Everyone can do without this in the workplace.

I am quite sure that some of his opinions are discriminatory .

I am a practising Christian btw

Personal views should be kept confidential in the workplace. I would tell him to STFU his discussions aren't appropriate for the workplace.

I'd start out tactful in saying 'I think its great that you are so confident in your faith and I want to respect that but you need to respect that the rest of us are not Christian and so music tastes are going to cater to the majority. I'm sorry if you don't like it but you're welcome to put in some earbuds.'

Then if it continues I'd get a bit more blunt and tell him that he has no right to ram his religion down our throats and that until Jesus Christ himself walks into our office and declares that news of his death has been greatly exaggerated, I don't want to hear another word about him or his values.

Maybe consider the possibility that you’re relying on biased sources to inform your opinions?
As far as I know, the Bible doesn’t state that the earth is spherical. The closest I know of is Isaiah 40:22 : “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth”.
^^

My kids went to a religious school - C of E. Neither are now practicing Christians as adults but one has a great respect for the religion. A girl in my son's primary school told him he would go to hell if he didn't believe in Jesus and my son's response was that he would not be blackmailed - Im very proud of him

Not only would I not wear it, I'd toss it in the bin.

Maybe you could start pointing out when he's doing something that goes against the bible. Like wearing clothes with mixed fibres, Leviticus 19. If he gets acne, or a cold, then he needs to live apart from others and do a purification ritual, Leviticus 13.

If you want to go new testament, ask him why he's not following Acts 2:44 and to hold everything in common with other believers. Or Luke 18:22, to sell all his possessions and give to the poor

Does he greet people with "the holy kiss"? Romans 16?