A Christ-Centered Life, Even at Work!

Q: Do I have to keep my Christian faith to myself at work?

A: No, in most cases, you don't have to hide your Christian faith on the job! You can be a Christian at work! Under Federal law, most employers are prohibited from discriminating against anyone because of their religion in hiring, firing and other terms and conditions of employment.

This means employers can't treat you any less favorably because of your Christian beliefs or practices, and they can't force you to stop participating in religious activities as a condition of your employment.

Not only must your employer permit you to practice and express your faith, they actually have to make “reasonable accommodation” for you to do it. Examples include flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions, job reassignments, and modifications of other workplace practices. Ordinarily, you're even permitted to organize voluntary prayer groups, wear religious clothing, and hang a Bible verse on your private office wall!

In fact, under the law, your employer is required to take affirmative steps to protect you from being harassed because of your religion! Plus, your employer cannot retaliate against you if you ever oppose any of their employment practices that discriminate based on religion.

Certainly, there are some situations where Christians need to be respectful of employer policies that might restrict our religious freedom, especially if there's an issue of workplace hazard involved. For example, if you work in a machine shop where no jewelry is allowed for obvious safety reasons, you can't (and shouldn't) insist on wearing your cross necklace on the job. And, of course, your efforts to be a witness for Christ in the workplace can't (and shouldn't) cross the line into harassment of co-workers or customers.

In general, all employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments, the federal government, government agencies, and labor organizations are covered by the applicable Federal law. If you work for a small employer that might not appear to be covered, check your local and state laws, because many states and localities have extended the protections of the Federal law to smaller employers as well.

So, for most of us, unless our Christian practices or expression would impose an undue hardship on our employer (and the law makes it pretty tough for employers to show undue hardship), we have every right to live a Christ-centered life even at work!

Key Scripture: We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:20a

Stephen Bloom is a Christian lawyer and author of “The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues” (Living Ink Books, ISBN 0899570313). He is a frequent media guest, speaker and writer on Christianity and law. He is a Lecturer at Messiah College , and a Consultant at the United Methodist Stewardship Foundation of Central Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit his website at IsThereALawyerInTheChurch.com “The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues” is available at christianbook.com and other major online retailers.

Please note: This column contains generalized information only and is not a substitute for the specific legal advice of your own attorney.