While listening to Sirius XM Satellite Radio lately, I have been hearing a commercial play frequently. It is a promo for the Catholic Channel. This commercial talks about the topics they cover. The one topic is about how religion in the workplace is dangerous for the Catholic and/or Christian. I suggest that any topics surrounding religion at work are unhealthy for the gays and lesbians listening to such conversations and to the straight people listening to us talking about them. I will talk about the first scenario here.
The topic of religion has been a bone of contention in the LGBT community for countless decades. These issues really started coming to a head in the 1970s. The 80s brought these issues to the forefront for the national media with the rise of the Moral Majority, the creation of the immaculate concept of “family values,” and HIV/AIDS. Most of us know that some people believe that things such as gay marriage will lead to bestiality and adoption corrupts the children of gays and lesbians. These vitriolic subjects disgust most of us. They are not true and are the worst type of prejudice and racism (as in homophobia).
Whether straight or gay, the topic of religion at work is extremely uncomfortable. I have found it very interesting working with a minister in an office environment. We know that we have our differences in opinion, but must work together despite our feelings. It was a struggle for me to come to terms with the fact that a person at work does not agree with “homosexuality.” Does that mean that she or he doesn’t like me? Does she or he despise me? Luckily, no.
This brings us to the question of how to deal with the religion we see and hear about at work. If you are comfortable with your relationship to whatever god you pray to, good. That does help ease the tension. We have to ignore what we see. Do not confront it. Do not acknowledge it.
I always to hate to tell people to leave things alone, but this is a topic best ignored. Hopefully, if we do not feed into the insanity of religious conversation at work, we will feel more comfortable with our own beliefs. The last thing you want to hear from someone is that they want to refer you to Focus on the Family for spiritual help with your “lifestyle.”
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