It's hard because some longstanding religious practices would now be seen as discriminatory. For example, many branches of Islam teach that it is not permissible for unrelated members of the opposite sex to touch.
If a Muslim man is punished by his employer for not shaking hands with women he meets in his work, is that religious discrimination? Or is he discriminating against the women because of their sex (also a protected class)?
I'll be intrigued to see the long term consequences of this. Religious freedoms overriding civil rights regarding discrimination are a heck of a can of worms.
My local barber shop (who are really nice guys) nearly got into this situation a few years ago. On the day in question, all 3 barbers working were devout Muslim men who cannot touch a woman other than their wife. A woman came in looking for a men's cut. They refused. It made the news. They resolved it outside of courts amicably.
But what happens long term if everyone is allowed to discriminate against anyone they like so long as they wrap their beliefs up in a religious reasoning? Does society not lose out as we break off from interacting with those of other cultures?
It is discriminatory to treat someone differently because of an attribute they have which they cannot change. So, for example, I shouldn't refuse to photograph weddings of same-sex couples, or midgets, or disabled persons etc.
I could easily see this Quran-burning pastor suing on the grounds that he was discriminated against.
How could he claim that? Federal law forbids discrimination in hiring based on religion, but that doesn't mean once I hire a Muslim worker because of his ability to perform the job I have to allow him to take out a rug, kneel and pray for an hour each day while on the clock. He still has to play by my rules, which are applied equally to everyone.
That means you can't be discriminated against on the basis of your religion, not that you can discriminate against other people because of your religion though, right? Just like eg. being gay does not allow you to discriminate against black people.
I know it's more complicated in practice because the problem is political and other factors come into play.
There is also a history way of using religion as a pretext to discriminate against people. I know plenty of Muslims who don’t harbor any negative views of homosexuality, for instance; it’s certainly not a required tenet. And if we’re discussing this in moral rather than legal terms, I actually do think the customer’s viewpoint is the only one that matters.
Considering you are perfectly free to join the exact same religion and have the same protections, it is not.
The fact that your choosing to not join the religion - also your protected right - doesn't come with exactly the same perks is not grounds for discrimination.
I consider the fact that I'm not mandated by the government to pray to Mecca three times a day at work a pretty acceptable trade off.
The problem in this case would be they seem to be hiring almost exclusively from a rather obscure religious group. That means they're illegally discriminating against members other religions.
I would consider that discrimination, unless it applied to all religions. e.g. if you're a Catholic, you can't interview a Catholic, etc. But even that I don't think would legally fly because (IANAL) I believe religion is a protected class.
I didn't say a person's religion can't change? Obviously people change religion all the time. But that is not the reason why discriminating based on religion is wrong.
Again, the first reason is moral. Imagine if catholic people were the majority in some area, and on average wealthy, and wouldn't hire muslims which in that area were a poorer minority. That's just not fair - why shouldn't all people in that region have the same employment opportunities?
The second reason is practicality. There are so many religions and ethnic groups in the US, everyone has to work with everyone else. Otherwise we are losing out on a huge amount of economic potential. Let the best people work at the best jobs, even if their religion doesn't happen to match their employer's. It's a job, not a place of worship.
Also, I never said you can't say what you said. Only that I and the law disagree with you, on this topic. But I wouldn't hold what you said against you - not employment-wise (I would still potentially hire you) and not in any other way actually (if we met in person, we'd probably get along just fine). Disagreement doesn't need to be the end of the world.
Religion is a proxy for culture, which is generally a protected class for the most part since you don't chose the culture that you grow up in.
Furthermore, companies are allowed to discriminate on aspects of religion/culture - not allowing time for prayers, requiring certain dress code, e.t.c.
If a Muslim man is punished by his employer for not shaking hands with women he meets in his work, is that religious discrimination? Or is he discriminating against the women because of their sex (also a protected class)?
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