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Being discriminated against!
I have read with interest a number of threads here where a number of members have expressed difficulty in "being public" about being a Buddhist because they live in a predominantly Christian society, most specifically in the bible belt of the USA.
What I didn't realise is that it appears that it is legal for employers to discriminate against non-Christians in the USA. Such a realisation occurred when a friend sent me a link suggestion that I apply for a position at a university in the USA because he thought I may be suitable. I thought so too, until I found that I had to provide a statement on how Christianity impacts on my ethics and way of life.....I would also have to be prepared to teach "Christian Life". What shocked and....yes...angered me was that the position is for an exercise physiologist, and would include scientific research!
On further investigation I found that such practice is very common in US educational establishments. In my eyes, this is tantamount to bigotry of the highest order and close to legalised "institutional discrimination".
My motivation for writing this post is to show my support and compassion for those of you that are directly impacted by such dogmatism.
What I didn't realise is that it appears that it is legal for employers to discriminate against non-Christians in the USA. Such a realisation occurred when a friend sent me a link suggestion that I apply for a position at a university in the USA because he thought I may be suitable. I thought so too, until I found that I had to provide a statement on how Christianity impacts on my ethics and way of life.....I would also have to be prepared to teach "Christian Life". What shocked and....yes...angered me was that the position is for an exercise physiologist, and would include scientific research!
On further investigation I found that such practice is very common in US educational establishments. In my eyes, this is tantamount to bigotry of the highest order and close to legalised "institutional discrimination".
My motivation for writing this post is to show my support and compassion for those of you that are directly impacted by such dogmatism.
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Comments
Not to say it never happens in real life, but it is not legal.
I chose my words carefully saying that "it appears to be legal" but this does highlight my lack of knowledge of US law.
So in the case in question, should I be unable to fulfil the job spec because I'm a Buddhist and the post is primarily a scientific one, is having a non-related religious requirement contrary to the act?
Kinda makes sense, at least for the case where the university is explicitly religious.
Religions, by and large, are given over to beliefs that circumscribe and sometimes infringe on the intellect. To hold intellectual pursuits hostage to beliefs ... strikes me as strange at least and perverted at worst. Further, I think that such a restriction would demean not only the intellect that deserves nourishment but also the religion prescribing the restriction.
I imagine such prescriptions would be more common among younger religions -- ones not yet entirely sure of their belief-based footing. Older religious persuasions do not seek to limit the limitless.
From where I sit, it all seems peculiar, whatever the religion involved might be.
:scratch:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_Churches_of_America
So it could go either way, Atheist or Agnostic-Atheist. They pretty much mean the same thing. Atheists, no matter how stubborn, cannot deny the fact they cannot prove that a god doesn't exist, making them an Agnostic-Atheist.
"And I shall not be concerned at all with other religions such as Buddhism or Confucianism. Indeed, there is something to be said for treating these not as religions at all but ethical systems or philosophies of life. "
Heck I am accepted at Atheist websites.
Spock: apply for the job anyway. It may be that the school allows a certain percentage of faculty to be non-Christian.
But who is going to decide what beliefs infringe on the intellect? Many religious people think their ideas are "intellectual" while they view the ideas of many academics (postmodernism, Marxism, evolution) as hogwash.
I actually think it would be infringement on 1st Amendment free speech rights if an organization that promoted a certain idea were required to hire people who did not hold those beliefs. Freedom of assembly implies exclusion.
Imagine if your local Sangha (an educational institution of sorts) were required to hire preachers who believed that meditation "lets the devil in." That would destroy the Sangha.
Generally speaking, the worst case scenario would be minority religions/beliefs being swamped by the majority (or the more powerful). i.e., Christians taking over Islamic schools, or possibly atheists taking over Christian organizations.
In fact, I would say that in academia, practicing Christians are already a weak minority, especially in the humanities and social sciences. I actually have a friend who left a graduate program because he felt it was openly anti-Christian.
So I'm actually happy that Christians have some way to protect and cultivate their beliefs, especially in such a typically oppressive arena for them.
So while we, as Buddhists, may not like this specific application of free speech, I think the principle of it, and broader benefits, is more important.
Role of Scouting in Buddhism
* Founded in 1899, Buddhist Churches of America is an incorporated religious organization.
o It administers the religious emblems program for all Buddhist denominations in America.
o It is affiliated with Jodo Shinshu Hogwanjiha in Kyoto, Japan.
* Buddhist Churches of America is governed by Americans of the Shin Buddhist faith through a Board of Directors comprised of the:
o Bishop
o Board President
o Ministerial Association Chairperson
o District-level board members
o Board members-at-large
o Representatives from the recognized Buddhist Churches of America affiliated organization
* Buddhist Churches of America National Committee on Scouting works with the community Buddhist religious leaders to develop the Buddhist religious program.
You must have applied to one of those Christian universities. The ones who teach creationism and who will expell a gay student, if discovered, and claim he can be "cured" of his gayness. Would you want to work at such a place, anyway? Try a real college, instead.
Just be carefull about where you apply, that's all. One thing you have to keep in mind about the US is that Christianity is the largest faith here and outside of the more "liberal" areas(which are mainly on the Coasts of the country), other faiths are looked down on a bit. Conservative Christians are not bad people, they just tend to be a bit xenophobic, so we just have to be patient and let the good nature of Gautama's teaching slowly become apparent to them.
Liberal academics can be just as close-minded and intolerant as Christian conservatives. And there is a lot of terrible teaching going on at politically correct, secular universities.
The good thing is that the market for university education is very competitive. If you don't want a religious education, then don't go. If you don't want to hire someone from a religious school, don't hire them. And vice versa.
We don't need the Feds forcing a conformity among all universities. THAT would be destructive to the higher education system.
There are upsides to a competitive system that we shouldn't take for granted.
Or anyway that's my take.