Religion in the workplace

CBC featured a news story yesterday about a Trinity Western University (TWU) graduate who alleges she was discriminated against by a wilderness tourism company because of her religion. After applying for a position with Amaruk Wilderness Corporation, Bethany Paquette received a rejection email from the company’s hiring manager who described TWU’s community standards that prohibit “sexual intimacy [outside] the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman” as discriminatory. The rejection email included the explanation that “unlike Trinity Western University, we embrace diversity and the right of people to sleep with or marry whoever they want.” Further email correspondence ensued in which it became increasingly clear that Ms. Paquette’s Christianity is incompatible with Amaruk’s business values. Ms. Paquette is now in the process of making a case against Amaruk with the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

While I find it troubling that someone was rejected for a job on the basis of her Christian faith, I’m almost more troubled by a quote from Ms. Paquette herself in which she claims, “My beliefs have developed who I am as an individual, but they don’t come into play when I am doing my job.”

Really?

I would hope the opposite is true – that one’s beliefs have a profound impact on one’s work.

I would hope that my faith helps me see work in general as rooted in God’s original intent for creation: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Work is not a result of the fall into sin; humans are called to meaningful work already in Paradise.

I would hope that my faith informs me of where the skills with which I work come from. Whether it is serving, teaching, or leading, showing up daily at a farm, a factory, or an office, the talents I have are gifts from God Himself, given for the common good of those around me.

I would hope that my faith equips me to work honestly and with integrity while building community among those with whom and for whom I work. After all, I want to be like Jesus who perfectly models “speaking the truth in love,” balancing honesty with grace in every relationship.

I would hope that my faith inspires me to work hard, obeying the apostle Paul’s command: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters… It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Ultimately, my work is in service to God who calls me to glorify Him not only on Sundays, but all week long.

In summary, I’d encourage Ms. Paquette to proudly assert how her faith comes into play on the job. It’s quite possible that discriminating against that faith actually cost Amaruk one of the best employees it could have ever hired.

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An aside: TWU is the same university that has come under scrutiny by various Canadian law societies in recent months because of its community standards. Advocates within the LGBT community voice concerns that the university’s stance against homosexuality will create biased lawyers in its new law program. In the early 2000s when TWU was seeking to accredit its teacher training program, the BC College of Teachers took TWU to court over similar concerns that TWU would produce teachers who would discriminate against students based on sexual orientation.

Now we seem to have a Christian pushing back, claiming that she is the one being discriminated against because of her religious beliefs. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
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