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Hannah Cherry
Professor Natalie Saccary
IDFY 101 15
October 2, 2015
Christianity, A Deadly Illness
Consider the idea that Christianity, in a given circumstance, could be a deadly illness.
Take into account its ability to put a person into a box in such a way that one could suffocate.
Yet, Christianity means an eternal life. In the work place, Christians face religious discrimination
in a crippling way. The truth of the matter is that Christians are confronted with discrimination in
their careers in such a way that it hinders their ability to get a job, restricts communication in the
workplace, and belittles their capabilities.
In an effort to present the discrimination of Christianity in a workplace, it is imperative to
understand that an employees ability to work suffers the repercussions of discrimination. A
study by Michael Wallace and Bradley R. E. Wright showed that, simply adding one word to a
resume- a reference to a particular religion- reduced employer callbacks by almost 40 percent
(Wright 1). Imagine how one word, Christian, could inhibit a persons ability to achieve
success. When a Christian starts to pursue different jobs, he knows the caution employers could
express when interviewing him. The very nine letters, Christian, have ruined celebrities
careers. An article entitled What Jurassic World Actor Admitted About Christianity Will
Probably Ruin His Career surfaced on the internet. In this article, Chris Pratt explained about
the birth of his premature son, We were scared for a long time. We prayed a lot. It restored my
faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it redefined it (Hickford 1). The name of the
article stands out in a list of search results of Google. Pratt took a stand and boldly gave credit to

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the source he believed to be the savior of his babys life, and the media slandered his beliefs. The
jump that Pratt took to verbalize his faith to the world became a hindrance to his success. The
very title of the article says that his Christianity could be the very thing that destroys his success
thus far. The article begins with the statement, Hollywood is notoriously liberal, and most
conservatives have to practically meet in secret with The Friends of Abe, Inc. (FOA) a support
and networking group for politically conservative members of the Hollywood elite (Hickford
1). The workplace epitomizes the idea that a person has overcome the difficulties of academics
and now begins the smooth sailing. This does not seem to be the case especially for Christians.
The workplace is a battleground for a Christian. One is scrutinized for the actions he takes and
statements he makes even when it is not a blatant confession of Christianity. The one piece of
advice given to people when they are new to an environment or in a professional situation is to
never talk about politics or religion. The word Christianity becomes a negative label for a
person when trying to maintain or gain a prosperous career. Just like an illness kills a man,
Christianity appears to be the silent killer of careers.
However, just as employees face discrimination for their Christianity, employers are also
somewhat restricted in the workplace when it comes to how boldly they can practice their faith.
Employers Religious Rights in the Workplace embodies the statement, Where the surrounding
circumstances indicate that the religious expression at issue is merely the personal view of the
supervisor, and that the employees are free to reject or ignore the supervisors point of view or
invitation without any harm to their careers or professional lives, such expression is so
protected (Adams 241). The guidelines for this rule are subjective, making Christianity an
excuse for harassment. Merely a personal view completely degrades the idea of Christianity.
An article discussing Christian discrimination reads, Often I meet Christians who have lost their

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jobs or not been promoted or had their speech censored for the sole reason that they were
Christians (Sekulow 3). Christians face limitations in the workplace because they are
handicapped by views they hold. In the job market today, it is such a normalcy to see a person
not receive the status he deserves in his job due to the religion with which he associates. A
persons success and work ethic should not be hindered by anothers bias towards the subject. A
promotion or qualification for a job needs to reflect the persons ability to successfully enhance
the company. Christians face a discrimination simply because of the way they choose to think
and live, and this potentially keeps them from reaching their fullest potential in their industry. As
soon as a Christian enters the workplace, he is surrounded by discrimination even in
subconscious forms. Those in higher positions than him subconsciously, or even consciously,
begin to formulate their own ideas of how he will work without even knowing his work ethic. It
is as if a Christian has to work ten times harder to achieve success he should gain by putting in
half the work he does.
Connecting the ideas of restrictions and inhibitors in the workplace, Christians find
themselves belittled as well. In a case study, evidence of this idea of can be seen in the most
constraining way. This study explains, Gregg, who practices social work for hospice and a faithbased counseling clinic, described how one professor discouraged him from pursuing a social
work degree during the first week of his MSW program (Thaller 9). Greggs professor did not
think that he could be ethically objective enough for the practice. No matter Greggs capabilities,
his professor dismissed any potential he could have because of his Christianity. Christians face
handicap in the workplace that prevents them from gaining the success they deserve. Ones
religious views seem to prevent him from gaining not only success but happiness. Going hand in
hand with belittling is ignorance.

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I was once asked, Do you have long hair because of your religion? I came face to face
with this question while working as a hostess. Ignorance works with belittling to make a human
feel separated from humanity itself. The effects of verbal abuse in the workplace set a Christian
apart solely based on his view on living life. Ignorance compliments discrimination because of
the distinction it makes between two people. I asked myself, What does my religion have to do
with my hair? Why can I not just have long hair? Why is it a religious issue? People tend to
not even realize the hurt a question or word can hold. As soon as my boss asked me about my
hair, I froze. I felt like I stood out not because I had pretty hair but because it was a religious
thing. I had never even known long hair to be a religious symbol until, in a public setting, I was
made to feel small because of my physical appearance. Simple comments or even actions can
demonstrate discrimination in the work place. When a person is told he cannot participate in a
program because of his religion, suddenly the only matter that becomes relevant is what god he
worships, despite his skill. Belittling and ignorance are direct ways of setting Christians apart in
the workplace when their ability to succeed is hindered by their religion.
A deadly illness never ceases to stop trying to break one down. In the workplace, it can
be a constant battle to maintain religion. The irony of Christianity being a deadly illness in the
workplace is that being a Christian gives on eternal life. The workplace deludes Christianity to
become a tool to kill opportunities for success, but the death of one employees religion could be
the birth of another mans salvation. Even as ones faith continues to be beaten down in the
workplace, it could be the faith of that one man that brings another to Christ. Christian
discrimination in the workplace hinders one ability to achieve success, restricts a Christian to
live quietly, and it brings about isolation through belittling and ignorance.

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Works Cited

Hickford, Michele. What Jurassic World actor admitted about Christianity will probbaly ruin his
career. AllenBWest, 2015.
JR., J. W. Adams. Employers' Religious Rights in the Workplace. (2000).
Sekulow, Jay Alan. The Rights of Christians in the Workplace. 2015. 24 September 2015.
Thaller, Jonel. Journal of religion & spirituality in social work. Vol. 30. Binghamton: Haworth
Press. 2004.
Wright, Bradley R. E. Your Faith May Cost You Your Next Job. 18 June 2014.