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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Boss told me off for exclaiming Jesus Christ

614 replies

GloMum · 08/02/2025 14:55

The other day my boss told me off for exclaiming Jesus Christ when I was surprised during a work meeting. Boss told me it’s rude towards people from different religions and asked me if I’d done my DEI training. I have, and I enjoy friendships with colleagues from varied backgrounds. I feel really stressed now in case I slip again, and embarrassed I should be told off.

YABU - This is an inappropriate exclamation at work
YANBU - It’s just an exclamation and you shouldn’t be told off for that.

OP posts:
replay2025 · 07/12/2025 03:32

Zombie

NautilusLionfish · 07/12/2025 03:36

As much as I would avoid swearing at work your boss was overly sensitive telling you off and asking about your dei training. Tell him your religion specifies that you invoke your god when in distress and as an inclusive organisation you expect them to accommodate this. If he bristles as him if you can scream "what the fu**?" next time so ass not to blaspheme but to, at the same time, feel free to express yourself in an inclusive organisation

Worralorra · 07/12/2025 05:36

This is what “Gordon Bennett” was made for!

CoffeeCantata · 07/12/2025 07:05

I'm an agnostic but I think it's highly unprofessional to have said that at work.

Also, nowadays, when speech is so controlled (you have to use the correct, up-to-date terms for all kinds of things: ethnic groups, health conditions etc) surely it seems reasonable to also have to consider what you say in terms of religious references?

I mean, I remember when poor Benedict Cumberbatch was piled on because he said 'coloured actors' instead of 'actors of colour'. So, if we're going to fuss over that kind of thing, then yes, you need to watch out for what some would term blasphemy too,

CurlewKate · 07/12/2025 07:31

Pictures or it didn’t happen. And DEI training? Where do you live? But anyway, using any expression like this in a professional context is inappropriate. Unless a swarm of bees flew in through the window or the CEO danced naked on the table…

LovelySunnyDayToday · 10/12/2025 21:56

GloMum · 08/02/2025 14:58

Boss is not Christian, I am.

FFS 🙄

LovelySunnyDayToday · 10/12/2025 21:57

CoffeeCantata · 07/12/2025 07:05

I'm an agnostic but I think it's highly unprofessional to have said that at work.

Also, nowadays, when speech is so controlled (you have to use the correct, up-to-date terms for all kinds of things: ethnic groups, health conditions etc) surely it seems reasonable to also have to consider what you say in terms of religious references?

I mean, I remember when poor Benedict Cumberbatch was piled on because he said 'coloured actors' instead of 'actors of colour'. So, if we're going to fuss over that kind of thing, then yes, you need to watch out for what some would term blasphemy too,

Completely different!

Balloonhearts · 11/12/2025 15:45

90yomakeuproom · 08/02/2025 14:58

It is blasphemous and is offensive

Offensive to who? The guy is dead!

IdaGlossop · 11/12/2025 23:21

Balloonhearts · 11/12/2025 15:45

Offensive to who? The guy is dead!

Show quote history

Offensive to people who believe that Jesus is the son of God.

Balloonhearts · 11/12/2025 23:47

IdaGlossop · 11/12/2025 23:21

Offensive to people who believe that Jesus is the son of God.

Show quote history

Those people can believe whatever they like but you can't expect everyone else to moderate their language in deference to what basically amounts to an imaginary friend.

I'm sure Jesus was a great man and a very charismatic leader but he was not the son of God. God is not real and if any such entity ever did exist, he's long gone. He'll get over it.

MrsSkylerWhite · 11/12/2025 23:53

Pollyanna87 · 08/02/2025 15:05

Blasphemous language is the most offensive language you can use around colleagues.

What?!

MrsSkylerWhite · 12/12/2025 00:03

SquashedSquid · 08/02/2025 15:32

I say it a lot, and Christ on a bike even more.

There's nothing offensive about saying the name of a made up character.

As an atheist. Jesus H Christ is my go to in unguarded moments when I don’t want to swear.

I don’t think he was made up, though. My reading over the years suggest that he was a living prophet. The son of god from a virgin mother though? No, of course not.

IdaGlossop · 12/12/2025 00:46

Balloonhearts · 11/12/2025 23:47

Those people can believe whatever they like but you can't expect everyone else to moderate their language in deference to what basically amounts to an imaginary friend.

I'm sure Jesus was a great man and a very charismatic leader but he was not the son of God. God is not real and if any such entity ever did exist, he's long gone. He'll get over it.

Show quote history

I agree those who have a faith cannot expect everyone to moderate their language. However, non-believers can choose to moderate their language because they prefer to show consideration for others whose beliefs are different to theirs rather than trample on them. It's why tourists in Rome cover their shoulders when they go into St Peter's Basilica and why visitors to Japan put on toilet slippers when they go to the bathroom in an onsen. You can trash Christianity all you like you like. It's endured for 2,000 years. Faith would not be faith if there were proof.

Wordsmithery · 12/12/2025 07:48

I'm very fond of the f word but would never ever use it at a work meeting. It's just not professional and some will find it offensive. Same for blasphemy.
I'm amazed that anybody disagrees.

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