Ethics and Religion Talk: Should an Employee be Fired for Religious Beliefs?

Is is OK to fire a Muslim limo driver for not helping to carry a package containing wine? Is it OK to fire a Jewish cook for refusing to cook pork? Is it OK to fire a Christian caregiver hired to help a new mother and her six month old child for refusing to care for the mother after she aborted a subsequent pregnancy?

The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds:

“No, it is not okay to fire someone based on religious grounds. That being said, there should be clear communications before hiring someone or accepting a job if there will be certain expectations and requirements for doing a job. Communication is key in these circumstances. It is fair that an employer makes some accommodations providing they are reasonable requests. These requests cannot repeatedly cause the business hardship by making such accommodations. For example, the limo driver could have helped with other packages leaving the alcohol for others to carry. The driver should not apply to work for Budweiser. An observant Jewish butcher could work at a Kosher butcher shop, but not at a butcher shop that predominantly handles pork products.”

Father Kevin Niehoff, O.P., a Dominican priest who serves as Judicial Vicar, Diocese of Grand Rapids, responds:

“All these scenarios are troubling. In an article on this topic, Kwame Anthony Appiah, states, ‘when dealing with religious differences, we do not have to bend over backward; but we do have to bend.’ This act of bending requires both sides to move, and hopefully, that move is ultimately toward one another.

“No, it is not okay to fire a Muslim limo driver for carrying a package containing wine! No, it is not right to fire a Jewish cook for refusing to cook pork! No, it is not proper for a Christian caregiver to deny care for a mother who previously aborted a pregnancy. What makes these instances not okay is the lack of dialogue and respect for the other. Instead, the focus is on the person judging. That person is forcing everyone to adhere to what that person believes!

“Religious practice is not simply a personal preference. Individuals practice a religious tradition because of something held deep within. Someone does not need to agree with that belief system to respect it. Likewise, a person holding a belief system does not need to force others to believe the same to respect another.

“People cross bridges when they open themselves to objective truth. Communication is the vehicle to traverse the bridges. Let us openly talk to one another and open ourselves to other ideas and ideals.”

Linda Knieriemen, Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Holland, responds:

“These are complex situations we are seeing more and more as society further polarizes and long religious and political lines. Religious beliefs and practices should be respected and accommodated as much as possible rather than creating win/lose situations. Let kindness and civility prevail.”

Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds:

“We begin with a question about firing someone for the perceived offense of not accommodating a customer appropriately. I suspect that many who read this story will feel empathy for the driver, regardless of their take on the main issue at hand. While the owner does have the right to expect his employees to offer excellent service, a broader conversation should have taken place. Assuming the driver was a solid employee otherwise, a reprimand would have sufficed. 

“That said, I certainly understand the frustration of the limo service owner. Is he going to have to ask every client if they need extra help in transporting alcohol? And what if a Muslim feels that even driving a car with wine or beer in it is offensive? What about non-halal meat? Pork? What if the driver is aware that the client is with someone other than a spouse?  These and other questions need to be resolved before employment takes place. 

“As to the Jew cooking pork, I’d love to know more about that circumstance, real or imagined. If pork is on the menu why would anyone (Jew, Muslim or Hindu) even be working there And the Christian caregiver is obviously not observing the command of Jesus on judging others.

“The Hindu adage, ‘When a lower duty conflicts with a higher duty, it ceases to be a duty’ plays into all of these.  Case in point: for many years I have volunteered at a camp for people with Muscular Dystrophy. Most of the campers there need help with eating. As a Hindu who is primarily vegetarian (with an occasional bite of fish) I have no issue preparing hamburgers, hot dogs or anything else for the person I am serving that week.​ I have heard this sentiment expressed from Hindu thought leaders as well.”

My response:

It is important to know what the job responsibilities are before accepting a job, and one should not accept a job that violates one’s religious principles. If a person refuses to do the job for which they are hired, then they may be fired. A caregiver is hired to give care, not to monitor the religious and moral purity of the employer. The employer, however, should make reasonable accommodations for employee’s religious practices, even if they differ from their own.

This column answers questions of Ethics and Religion by submitting them to a multi-faith panel of spiritual leaders in the Grand Rapids area. We’d love to hear about the ordinary ethical questions that come up in the course of your day as well as any questions of religion that you’ve wondered about. Tell us how you resolved an ethical dilemma and see how members of the Ethics and Religion Talk panel would have handled the same situation. Please send your questions to [email protected].