I am not a religious person. I have spiritual beliefs, but I do not follow any particular religion, for my own reasons. I'm very clear about these reasons, but I don't think it necessary to explain these reasons to others, since spirituality is, after all, a very personal issue.
In spite of this, I have in the past found it necessary to explain to this particular woman how I had gotten to the point in my life where I had decided to distance myself from religious practices. It became necessary for me to do this when she insisted on praying for me and evangelizing to me in spite of my request for her to cease these actions. I was not the only one who was being harassed in this way, either. Her actions were offensive to people who practise other religions and who have cultural beliefs that do not align with her religious beliefs.
I recall one occasion when she was opposed to the cultural practice of communicating with ancestors and proceeded to print out various scriptures, which referred to worshipping idols and using mediums - and how these were unacceptable in the eyes of God - in order to dissuade certain people in the office from continuing this cultural practice.
Another example was her insistence to call people, who practice other religions, into her office where she would pray for them, without invitation, in an attempt to convert them. These individuals always felt highly offended, because - based on her actions - they concluded that she had no respect for their beliefs and that she viewed their religions as inferior. Ironically, none of them would ever sit her down seriously to talk to her about this inappropriate behaviour, because, out of respect, they didn't want to offend her. They preferred to keep the peace.
I, on the other hand, am not prepared to keep the peace if it means that I will be required to betray my own beliefs. So, naturally, we had words at some point. It was extremely distracting and emotionally taxing, because of the fact that we were dealing with spiritual issues. (I am getting tired all over again, just writing about it.)
She's on her way out of the company now, but last week she had to put in the final fight for her religion. I could hardly believe the gall of this woman - she actually said that I am intolerant of other people's religions. I was intolerant, yet she was the one who excluded all other religions, disrespected and even attacked other people's beliefs? I was outraged, but I realised that these are her issues. She was clearly having difficulty coping in a society that regarded all religions as equal.
Nevertheless, the incident, once again, brought a negativity into the workplace for her, for me and for all the people around us. This is actually the problem for me.
I don't really have a problem with religion in the workplace. In fact, I think it would be pretty hypocritical of people who are religious to just turn off their spirituality at work. I expect people to live their religions in all areas of their lives, when they are religious. So religion is definitely not the issue. The problems arise when people who are religious enter the work environment and immediately start making plans to convert all the employees. The problems will inevitably arise when these people ignore the beliefs of others and attempt to impose their beliefs on these people.
The workplace is an extremely diverse environment today, especially in South Africa. There must be tolerance in respect of other's beliefs if people are going to work together without conflict. I think this is probably the most important thing to remember when it comes to religion in the workplace.
It's perfectly normal to practice your religion in the workplace - surely a person cannot be expected to stop being religious at work. But imposing your beliefs on others is simply not right!
DISCOVERY: Though, I believe that imposing your beliefs on others is not acceptable, these things do happen and when they do there could be something to learn. I believe that in life, all experiences can have value if we are open to it. The journey with this particular woman was actually one that helped me to strengthen my own beliefs. Yes, there were many occasion when I thought she was just totally out of line. Many times I told her so and many times we were highly upset with each other, because we would end up debating the topic intensely, and, of course, disagree about everything. In the end, however - in retrospect - I see that she has helped me to discover, with greater certainty, that the route I have chosen, one which is free from religion, is indeed, the right route for me. This is probably the complete opposite of what she was hoping to achieve. Without knowing it, she challenged me to explore myself intensely, and reflect deeply on the reasons why I had chosen this path. And I remembered with great clarity the experiences that had brought me to this choice - affirming that I'm walking the path I'm meant to walk. For the growth, I am grateful!
I don't really have a problem with religion in the workplace. In fact, I think it would be pretty hypocritical of people who are religious to just turn off their spirituality at work. I expect people to live their religions in all areas of their lives, when they are religious. So religion is definitely not the issue. The problems arise when people who are religious enter the work environment and immediately start making plans to convert all the employees. The problems will inevitably arise when these people ignore the beliefs of others and attempt to impose their beliefs on these people.
The workplace is an extremely diverse environment today, especially in South Africa. There must be tolerance in respect of other's beliefs if people are going to work together without conflict. I think this is probably the most important thing to remember when it comes to religion in the workplace.
It's perfectly normal to practice your religion in the workplace - surely a person cannot be expected to stop being religious at work. But imposing your beliefs on others is simply not right!
DISCOVERY: Though, I believe that imposing your beliefs on others is not acceptable, these things do happen and when they do there could be something to learn. I believe that in life, all experiences can have value if we are open to it. The journey with this particular woman was actually one that helped me to strengthen my own beliefs. Yes, there were many occasion when I thought she was just totally out of line. Many times I told her so and many times we were highly upset with each other, because we would end up debating the topic intensely, and, of course, disagree about everything. In the end, however - in retrospect - I see that she has helped me to discover, with greater certainty, that the route I have chosen, one which is free from religion, is indeed, the right route for me. This is probably the complete opposite of what she was hoping to achieve. Without knowing it, she challenged me to explore myself intensely, and reflect deeply on the reasons why I had chosen this path. And I remembered with great clarity the experiences that had brought me to this choice - affirming that I'm walking the path I'm meant to walk. For the growth, I am grateful!
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