Religion at Work: A Legal Quagmire

Abstract

A religious revival is occurring in the United States today as the traditional wall preventing faith from entering the work place is crumbling. With workers increasingly practicing their religion at work, employers face a growing cavalcade of dilemmas, including those where employees discuss religious tenets, wear religious symbols, object to employer edits on the basis of faith, and proselytize. The faith/work challenge is made even more complex because of the greater number of religions practiced today (both traditional religions based on Judeo‐Christian principles and the so‐called “immigrant religions” that have blossomed during recent decades) coupled with the growing popularity of a host of “spirituality” movements. As the mixing of faith and work becomes common place, employers and employees naturally look to the law to establish concomitant rights and duties.