OK, here’s how our 2010-11 faculty meeting kicked off. The new principal of the high school at which I worked started with a prayer. I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in god, or should I say I believe in one less god than most of the people with whom I work. I’ve never really had a huge problem with a little prayer. I usually draw pretty pictures on my clipboard or check email on my PDA while everyone has their heads bowed down in prayer. They bless the snacks, the custodians who made the floors sparkle while we were gone for the summer, and bless anyone who had a baby, got married, divorced, etc. I let them do what to me is a silly ritual, and then we move on.
More after the jump.......
I don’t go around telling people that I’m an atheist, because I don’t think that’s anyone else’s business. At the same time I don’t have a problem with people who have religion (OK, little lie there... I do avoid the whack-jobs, but most religious people I know avoid those people as well)
But at yesterday’s meeting the prayer was closed with ‘in our Lord Jesus Christ’, which was the first time that I’ve had a direct supervisor say such a thing in a faculty meeting. 99% of the public prayers I have been subjected to while at work have been non-denominational. I’ve seen some with a little Christian flair, but never specifically Christian, by invoking the name of Jesus Christ, as this prayer was.
I considered letting it go for now. After all, it was the first meeting with the new principal. Maybe the next meeting won’t have the same tone to start out (maybe there won’t be any food to bless at the next meeting. Why do they always have to bless my food?) I decide that if he continues to do it I’ll figure out a way to anonymously let him know that one of his workers is uncomfortable with the Jesus part of the ritual.
But today we had an Invocation with all 2000 school district employees in attendance. The first speaker they had was from the local Chamber of Commerce, who has been very supportive of the needs of our school district. But he started and ended his talk by saying that none of what we had would have been possible without the ‘Blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ’. Really? The $35 million the county had paid to the BoE was paid for, as I understood, from taxes, not tithing. Now I’ve been told that "Jesus is Our Lord" two days in a row. And it continued as one of the Board members mentioned Jesus as a guiding force, and two others referenced god. Again, I can deal with non-denominational god references to some extent, but direct evangelism two days in a row to a captive audience set me off.
Now here’s the problem. How do I address it? Do I report it as workplace harassment? I do feel uncomfortable with all the god and Jesus references. I can’t find any church/state separation issues specific to the workplace (at least in my 10 minutes of searching teh Google), so I don’t know if it’s a constitutional issue. Of course when the kiddies come in to the church/state wall will most likely go up. (a thin, see-through veneer, but better than nothing)
What to do? I’m uncomfortable bringing it up in person, because I have no desire to be the ‘Fucking atheist who ruined everything’. If I were a Jew, or a Muslim, or of any other faith, I’m sure there would be dialogue and understanding, and things could be smoothed over in some way. Or probably it would be "He’s the fucking (insert faith) that ruined everything.
If any fellow Kossacks have dealt with this in their workplace, please let me know how you handled it.
Thanks! (and rAmen)