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Does Religion Require a Belief in God? Can There Be a One-Person Religion?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on “religion,” in all aspects of employment. Sounds fairly self-evident.
Suppose an employee insists on posting an anti-abortion sign in his cubicle. You ask the employee to conform with your “no politicking in the office” policy. The employee says his actions are not political; rather, he says, taking down the sign would violate his beliefs. You ask the employee to explain. He tells you that although he is an atheist, he believes abortion to be the most crucial ethical issue of the times, and he has dedicated his life to convincing all with whom he comes into contact to work towards its abolition.
Do you have to worry about religious discrimination in that context?
Start with the legal definition of “religion” itself, and you begin to see the complications. Title VII defines “religion” broadly. To be sure, all religions, not just mainstream religions, are protected – there are over 1500 distinct religious groups in the country, and counting. But the EEOC regulations that have been promulgated in this field take the definition further, to include “moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right or wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.” Note the lack of reference to any divinity, or to any group of fellow believers.
According to these regulations, therefore, an individual who takes certain actions or insists upon certain workplace changes out of a personal view of right and wrong, without reference to a divine being and without affiliation with any group, may be able to successfully argue for protection under “religious discrimination” principles. To obtain such protection the individual’s beliefs must be much more than a personal preference or view point that are not based on a real, wide-ranging belief system. But other than that, there is a substantial gray area, and proof of a personal credo that truly guides an individual’s actions may in fact be deemed a “religion” worthy of Title VII protection.
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