Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave G on August 20, 2009 at 11:48am

Welcome to the site, Iam. Religion does tend to crop up a lot in conversation down here in the South, doesn't it?

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Permalink Reply by Godless Girl on August 23, 2009 at 1:08am

Welcome! I am glad you have an open minded UU congregation to attend. I've heard positive things about their open-armed acceptance of all types of people and belief/non-belief. I hope it's a congregation that adds to your life. It must be a relief to be 'out' to your wife finally!

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Permalink Reply by iamtheblog on August 24, 2009 at 10:03am

Thanks for the welcomes, Dave G and GG. People who have a "G" in their name must be very welcoming! :-)

In the North, the only time I would normally hear "God" in regular conversation was "Oh my God" or cursing God, not referring to actual religion. I'm beginning to understand that it's usually not meant to be offensive or to be forcing religion on anyone; people just honestly assume everyone believes in God.

GG, it's definitely a relief to be out to my wife. I feel so much better since then, and Sundays have become a time to talk about our beliefs (and non-beliefs). My wife has been very accepting and open-minded. We went again to the UU congregation here this Sunday and are pretty sure we're going to keep attending.

This Sunday, like the first one we went to, they started the service by emphasizing that they were open to people with with doubts about their beliefs or who don't believe in God at all. A month ago, I wouldn't have been able to imagine that there was a church that would openly welcome non-believers. There is occasionally God thrown into a hymn here or there, but besides that it's been interesting to be exposed to people who have belief but welcome doubt and discussion instead of thinking they have "the" truth.

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Permalink Reply by Brutus on August 24, 2009 at 5:45pm

So, does "everyone is expected" mean you're fired if you don't?

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Permalink Reply by iamtheblog on August 25, 2009 at 10:56am

I've heard that this does happen on occasion, yes. Most states are at-will states, so they can pretty much fire you for whatever reason they want, including if they don't like your tie. (I believe in some states and towns it's still legal to even fire someone because they're gay.). So I'd rather not test the waters to find out until I have more job security.

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Permalink Reply by Brutus on August 25, 2009 at 7:48pm

It's actually illegal to discriminate on the basis of religion under Fed. civil rights laws. Most states do allow discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or just about anything else. Religion, like race and gender are Federally protected classes. Nevertheless, I can certainly see not wanting to put yourself in that position. We all know what value Evangelicals put on "man's law."

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on August 25, 2009 at 8:17pm

Sure it's illegal, which is why they'd just say that they were firing someone because they wouldn't work an extra 20 minues a day or because they eat too much popcorn at their desk, rather than the real reason.

Proving religious discrimination, unless it is fairly blatant, is tough.

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Permalink Reply by iamtheblog on August 27, 2009 at 6:27pm

Yes, that's the problem. If employers are willing to openly fire someone over being gay (a group that according to some polls is more accepted by the general population than atheists are), I doubt they'd have qualms over inventing a reason to fire an atheist. If employers had to have a good cause to fire someone, I think it'd be less likely that an atheist would be fired just because of being an atheist, or that gays would be fired just for being gay. Atheists are maybe a little more protected, if I understand correctly, but not by much.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on August 24, 2009 at 10:05pm

Hello and welcome! It is good to hear that your wife is understanding and tolerant of your unbelief.

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Permalink Reply by iamtheblog on August 25, 2009 at 10:57am

Thanks for the welcome!!

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on August 25, 2009 at 11:18am

Well, you know how us people with G's in our name are...

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