Woman Shuts Down Religious Email At Work, Says “I Don’t Like Prayer/Blessed Language Directed At Me”
Interview With Author
Whatever we believe in, it is our choice. However, while it is completely fine to talk about those things, pushing them too much can quickly get annoying.
As one Redditor shared, the workplace is precisely where personal beliefs should be kept to yourself. When one atheist woman asked an IT worker a simple question and received an answer starting with prayers and blessings, she was quick to tell them she didn’t want that. Still, that made her wonder if that was the right thing to do. Scroll down to read the full story!
More info: Reddit
Religion and work can coexist, but it’s important to know the boundaries and take care not to overstep them
Image credits: Vlada Karpovich (not the actual photo)
A Jewish/atheist woman who previously had a lot of experience with people pushing their religion on her worked in a big corporation
Image credits: Ivan Samkov (not the actual photo)
She needed help from her IT colleague, so she sent them an email with a question, to which their reply started with unrelated prayers and blessings
Image credits: u/whybotherany
The woman thanked her for the solution, adding that she’s not interested in prayers, which some of her colleagues found to be rude
The story took place roughly 2 years ago. The OP, a Jewish/atheist woman who has dealt with a lot of Christians pushing their religion on her, was working for a big corporation.
Naturally, in a big company, there were a lot of different people with various views. The poster explained that she did respect other people’s faiths and knew not all Christians were like this, but having religion inserted into her workplace really annoyed her.
One day, she contacted IT to seek help with a problem that she’d been dealing with. The IT person came back to her with an answer but not before beginning the email with prayers and blessings for the OP’s family. The OP wasn’t too excited about this and replied that she was not interested in prayers, thanking the person for the solution they provided.
The woman didn’t think much of it, but when she later talked to a few other people, they all told her she was rude. She, on the other hand, argued that her answer was quite polite, and she only let the other person know of her preference while also thanking them for their help.
Most of the commenters jointly agreed that the woman was not a jerk in this situation, and while the argument that the other person was just being nice was probably correct, they pointed out that when non-believers do something similar, the reception is usually rather different. Still, some did think that the woman was wrong in what she did, explaining that she overreacted and could’ve handled it in a much nicer manner.
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Since the story happened a good while ago, we were curious about how things turned out. Looking for those answers, Bored Panda reached out to the author of the story, u/whybotherany, who was quite surprised by the sudden interest.
As time passed, the poster left the company she worked at without encountering the IT worker ever again. “She never emailed me back, and I never heard about it. I did receive a message on Reddit from someone else who worked for my company who recognized the woman and had a similar reaction.”
The OP told us that she came to Reddit looking for an external opinion after a discussion she had with her friends, who were sure that her actions were rude, as she wasn’t exactly sure whether she was right or wrong.
In addition, the author thought that since so many AITA posts have quite an obvious answer, her story might come with a more interesting dilemma. “I thought I had an ambiguous situation to share, which could generate an interesting discussion.”
But the post’s reception by the commenters didn’t surprise the poster. “Religion is one of those topics that really gets Redditors going,” said the poster, adding that she felt partially validated by the ones agreeing with her position but also saw some good points in the criticism that came from the other side. “How people responded very much depended on their background and subculture,” summarized the OP.
Image credits: Fox (not the actual photo)
Pushing your religion on others, especially in the workplace, is wrong. Everybody has their own beliefs, and that is a territory in which boundaries should be respected.
However, telling people to leave their religion at home when they come to do their jobs also seems wrong. Yet, oftentimes, people with less popular beliefs might find themselves being discriminated against at work.
To learn how to deal with it, a good starting point would be learning your rights. According to Scott A. Leadingham of the Freedom Forum, in the USA, according to the First Amendment, every employee has some religious freedom rights at work for which they cannot be discriminated against, at least legally.
Additionally, every worker can freely ask for their beliefs to be accommodated at the place they work in. These include adjusting their schedule according to the days that their religions forbid them from working, changing duties that conflict with their beliefs, and getting appropriate breaks for daily prayers or other similar religious activities.
However, the catch is that the First Amendment only applies to the government, and, therefore, it doesn’t have a lot of power in private workplaces. Additionally, religious accommodations may not always be granted. If the employer can present substantial evidence of how complying with the employee’s request would hurt their business, they have a right not to grant it.
Yet, it is usually in the workplace’s best interests to make sure that their employees are happy, too. Even if they don’t ask for religious accommodations or any other belief-related things, according to Simran Jeet Singh of the Harward Business Review, there are a few ways in which employers could make it better for their religious workers.
For the employer, it all starts with educating yourself, as it can help you raise your self-awareness, ensure that you don’t exclude your team members, and help you find strengths in your employees’ unique backgrounds.
Next, it’s a good idea to start incorporating and advocating for inclusive practices. Becoming more mindful of your workers’ religious mores and rituals can make them feel more seen, safe, and comfortable at the workplace.
And lastly, create safe spaces. It’s unfortunate, but not everyone around will be as supportive as you might be. Therefore, it’s important to have a place where people can share what’s truly on their minds and feel good doing so.
So, in the end, work and religion can definitely coexist. However, with so many different people in one place, things can easily get out of hand if they’re not properly addressed, as people may interpret their rights in various ways.
Still, if you feel like someone is pushing their beliefs onto you, there’s nothing wrong with letting them know that they’re overstepping the line. But perhaps it can be done a little bit better than how the OP did it.
What did you think about this story? Have you ever had any similar encounters? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Most of the commenters agreed that while the poster probably reacted too harshly, she wasn’t a jerk for letting her coworker know her preferences
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Big NTA here. Religious people need to learn that even something as "my prayers are with you" or "God bless" can be deeply offensive to some people. By saying nothing you're tacitly agreeing with their beliefs, reinforcing their aberrent behaviour. (Bring on the downvotes, people.)
Devil's Advocate here: What about "Merry Christmas"?
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Totally NTA - you should't even have to think about that part. Currently "Christianity" is being prostituted for political reasons- and alas many sad and lonely Christians are being sucked into the idea that they are "helping" the rest of us. Nope. Hopefully we can get back to where we were when I was a kid. My religion is NONE of your business- in the most serious possible way. And no- telling me you are applying your religion to me, for my benefit, without asking- is WAY out of line.
I'm glad this kind of behavior is NOT a thing where I live (Switzerland). I would probably have to search for my eyebrows after receiving a WORK email with this kind of start 🙈😅. Even though I've been known to end mails with "live long and prosper" yet only to coworkers I know well and who share the same humor and interests and never to someone unknown. 🖖
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When I was an atheist, this sort of thing drove me crazy. As a Christian, it still does. Why? Because it doesn't mean anything. I don't say bless you after you sneeze, and I don't need you to say it to me. I'm pretty confident that my soul didn't fly out of my nose, or that I'll be demonically possessed before it can grab an Uber back. There are some people whom I'll tell them I'll pray for them, but only if I intend to do so. Bad news can be answered with "sorry to hear that" and good news with "how nice". No stepped on toes, no fake sanctity, situation responded to.
THIS. And people saying it's basically like "hope you and your family are well"? So? Why is some coworker creeping on me about my family? Inappropriate AF. It's a question about IT. The only appropriate response would be to answer the question.
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This is not a 'take it the way it was meant' situation. This is passive-aggressive proselytizing. They likely don't think of it that way, but that's what it is. It is a signal for any other believers of just how pious/devout they are, and a passive-aggressive stance for anyone they'd like to 'convert'. It is the brand of christianity where they're all 'look at how nice and agreeable and impressive we are, you know you want to be a christian.' I've lived among these types basically my whole life. This is not kindly meant. If you tell them you're an atheist they WILL ask you if you worship satan, or what is wrong with you. If you don't respond to any kind of prayer wishes etc in kind, you will be marked as 'other' and they will subtly ostracize you. These are sunday-nice people, not actually kind or good people.
I spent my entire youth as one. You are 100% correct and it shows in their politics. Sunday nice...absolutely, till you hit the parking lot and they need a deputy at every exit to get out of the parking lot like civilized people. Passive aggressive proselytizing...I'm stealing that.
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I used to work in a Catholic hospital and NOBODY — not even the nuns — would have started a business email with any nonsense like this. It’s unprofessional and unbusinesslike. IT was not trying to be “nice”; they were trying to inject religion where it doesn’t belong; or they were trying to be informality where informality was inappropriate. If IT and OP were best friends, then it might be ok if OP accepted the friendliness.
NTA. The IT person overstepped bounds of professionalism. When you are at work being paid to do what the employer asks, adding your religion to your work is not part of the business plan - unless maybe you're working at a church, etc. I think you handled the issue very well.
This is part of the growing theocracy and is a political statement. The first step is innocent statements like the IT guy wrote. It gets the culture used to these views. Then it becomes the expected norm in the organization and general culture. If you don’t go along you are marginalized. Eventually, the last stage is meetings starting with prayer, using insurance companies and other companies with Christian values, and finally employing people that have god fearing biblical values.
NTA, they should not have used any kind of religious phrase in the work place. If you had said "blessed be" or "merry meet" (wiccan greetings) 100% they would have gotten upset over it if they recognized it. The workplace is not for you to incorporate your religion into. Unless the work is about that (if you work in a church then yeah okay) You also were not rude about it. If you had gotten confrontational "don't talk about your religion to me its inappropriate" then you would have been bordering a ESH but you weren't.
I dunno. I am an atheist and I find it majorly cringy when people need to point out they are Christians. Like, I don't care and in more cases that not it preceeds some majorly unchristian behavior or attitude. But in this case it sounds more like a "hope you have a good day and this email finds you well" sort of thing? Can't get offended at this.
Exactly. I work with lots of people from different cultures with different beliefs and customs. "Pray you and your family are blessed and doing well" IS NOT a conversion attempt. It simple means - like Trillian said - a general greeting from someone is probably happy and wishes you happiness and good health.
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NTA. If they want to talk about rude, how about how rude it is to impose your faith on others the way the IT worker was doing. Keep your faith out of the workplace, or go find a Christian company to work for.
NTA. Not remotely. Keep your religions to yourself and we all will be fine. If you don't then I am bringing my very non religious beliefs into things.
The story reminds me Iran, after been conquered by the mullahs. Any telex, letter, email sent by Iranians is starting with "in the name of Allah".
Man, I work in a factory and the lady who was head of quality control would walk around, inspecting parts and give out a very loud and random "PRAISE JESUS!" and "PRAISE BE!" now and then. It was so annoying. Even workers there who were Christian were so annoyed by her disruptive bullsheet. She finally got fired for proselytizing and handing out Jesus fliers to workers. Leave that s**t at home and at whatever church you go to 80 times a week. No one at work wants to spend 8+ hours with an extremist holy roller. To this day I can just imagine what her home must look like. Probably more religious junk than the entire Vatican has. The /entire/ Vatican.
At work, we always had this lady tell us "Blessed be" whenever she came in. I'm an atheist and was only familiar with Wiccans or white witches saying this. So one time I asked this lady if she was Wiccan. You'd have thought I set her on fire. She was horrified and asked why I would think such a thing. So I told her and she never, ever said "Bessed be" ever again when she came in.
For me, NTA and in the company I work for, sending such a message in an email goes against company policy which prohibits religious or political statements and messages in all company communications including internal mail and emails. The company doesn't even allow religious decorations or cards to be displayed. Our company is based in France which is strongly secular and operates in almost al EU countries plus the UK and employs people of all faiths and religions. While some national laws prohibit us from completely banning religious clothing or jewellery, any overt displays of religion or politics is severely discouraged.
Ihave MANY FRIENDS OF MANY FAITHS! ONLY EFFIN' CHRISTIANS CRAM THEIR C7RAP DOWN MY THROAT! All the others maintain a spuritual connection with their "gods" and leave me to my own private beliefs. If. Your god needs human sales & marketing teams that is a weak a*s god .
I’m agnostic from a multi religious family, Christian’s, Muslim, Buddhist and pagan/whitches and I’m never offended at any religious gesture at the end of notes, work or social, I don’t take it personally enough to care I guess.
Totally NTA. People need to separate their religion from their work. I would have shut it down as well. I'm an atheist as well.
Since it's an IT person a fun response would be to sign off with "Hope Moore and Noyce continue to smile upon you and yours!"
I'd say NTA or NAH, I'm not an American, so it's hard to tell. Usually religious folk just talk that way and like to use religious phrases. It might be a good idea to just talk it out face to face with the IT person. I consider myself culturallly christian and an atheist, but there isn't much religious tension between christians and atheists in my country, so that's not really complicated.
As an atheist, I used to think that people taking time out of their day to do something they think is nice for me was kind. I considered it a cultural thing. Now I generally perceive it as a threat when somebody says "God Bless" or "Ill pray for you", it can be very hostile, dismissive, and bizarre honestly. It became this way because being accepting of their customs wasn't enough. Being tolerant of their customs wasn't enough. Supporting their customs wasn't enough. They began encroaching into personal territory and are literally using the law to force people into compliance of their beliefs.
i was born and raised protestant but my parents never made a fuss about religion. my dad left church when i was 20. you can have your faith and believe in whatever you want, but you don't push it on other people. my ex-MIL was reborn christian and tried to push her beliefs on me every freckin single time we spoke until i finally got the courage to tell her to f**k off with that bs she kept telling me. i do not have any problems with faith and religion but keep bothering me and i will make myself very clear that all of that bs means nothing to me and i could not give two sh*ts about it.
Religious sentiment and verbiage has zero place in a professional work setting and any communications therein.
Uninvited and unasked for religious garbage in the workplace is harassment. I would be taking it up with HR. I did once in the past and they stopped it.
Should have responded in kind -' In a godless universe where we only have each other to rely on it is so nice to be helped by a fellow human! Thank you so much!'
NTA. These Christians are the same ones who cry about "woke agenda" or whatever but then force this b******t on you. F**k them.
If people shade their messages with religious content, shade them right back with "Bless your heart". Particularly if you work in the South.
NTA. I think a lot of those people are virtue-signalling. I'm an atheist, and I have no problem with believers, but I don't start business conversations with 'I'm an atheist'. It's apropos of nothing related to the business at hand. If it's a matter of someone sending personal condolences for a personal situation of mine, I will take it as meant.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES!
NTA. Why would anyone put it to a corporate email? like wtf is that. I have never heard about it. Did the it person expect op would reply I am praying for you too or what? that is a kind of pressure.
I can ignore that stuff easily enough, but I draw a line at any attempt to have a conversation about religion or any questions about my religious beliefs.
Me trying to imagine the thickness of the cloud of silence had that comment been made at Chick Filet corporate.
As an agnostic, I vote YTA. There were no words of indoctrination, only well wishes. The IT person was praying that OP was doing well. The IT person wasn't asking OP to pray, just that they were praying OP was doing well. The response was uncalled for.
The only time religion belongs in the work place is if the work place is specific to a religion like working at a church or something similar.
I am an atheist but I have no problems if people around me are religious. I can talk about religions and I am happy to learn new facts about someones' religion. But after that comes my personal border. I don't wish to be missioned or being forced to hear about how nice a religion is and how much better it would be to convert to this religion. But people did say things like "May your way be blessed." or "May god guide you." and I don't think it is offending. These people believe in this, they are convinced to do a good thing and they believe with their heart that their blessing is helping me. And I just say thank you and I am not offended. That's it.
If it's not a place of worship, religion should be kept completely out of it
In Europe this would be considered unacceptable in the workplace. I had a colleague (American, as it happens) who, knowing I was an atheist, would often say things like "I'll pray for you", which I considered rude and passive aggressive. To me it's monstrously egotistical to be so insensitive to the fact that not everybody is like you with your beliefs. Religious people in my country would never act like that.
The salutation sounds like something that would come from one of my coworkers for whom English is not their first language and most of them aren't Christian. So, I would take it as an awkward translation of a common greeting where they're from. I would say theta m that the OP would, hopefully, know if that were the case, but I've gotten that greeting, nearly word for word and many more that were quite similar.
Whether this was a literal statement of religious behavior, *or* a metaphorical" 'hope you and your family are well", they're both really weird gambits for people an anonymous, purely business relationship, at least in Anglo work culture.
I'd answer "Where do I check if my family is blessed???" But seriously faith & prayers aren't a professional way to address somebody in an email. I have friends who believe and regularly "pray for me" (their words). They know I don't believe in prayer's powers. I take it as a "good vibe sent my way", or an expression of love. But only from close friends.
I am not an atheist, but do not believe God is a vindictive old man. My response to people like this, including family, has evolved over the years. "I have a strong personal connection with God, but it's deeply personal and private. I do not attend church because I don't think it's any man's right to stand in front of me and get all up in my personal relationship with God. So kindly keep your prayers to yourself and share them with people who require worshiping as a group activity to feel fulfilled. That's not me. It makes me uncomfortable so leave me out of it." And that's the truth. And I don't leave room for discussion afterwards.
It all sounds like religous people thinking they get extra points for pushing their beliefs on everyone else.
YTA. I'm an atheist here. It's pretty normal for people to do this. Respect their religion. Maybe tell them you're not comfortable with it? They're also not pushing it on you either. Just... don't get whiny about people being nice?
I would just remind people that I can't really accept people as being rational people if they insist on believing in something for which there is not one shred of scientific evidence. Holds true for all religions (including atheism). Only agnostics are excepted because they know that we can't know until we get there.
I hate that in society, YTA. But it shouldn't be. The human condition has only improved, in literally every single objective metric, from life expectancy to infant mortality to equal(ish-trying to get there) rights, the more God we throw out of our lives and society. The trend needs to continue to the point of people only having any expression of faith in their homes if at all. Stop making us indulge voluntary mental illness. Christians should literally spend every waking moment asking AITA...yes, yes you are. Even in it's most benevolent form, collective faith is an erosion of critical thinking that makes us all suffer for it. Fact: the Alabama supreme court just cited the Bible and God in justification for rendering a decision on IVF that is already impacting people. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, but we've normalized Christian b******t for the last couple thousand years. So oh well. And to the "I respect everyone, religion has a role" atheists STFU. Faith based delusions should not have equal footing with our rational based thinking.
I would have take the IT's comment how it was meant, kind. As an atheist myself, especially in the south were I grew up, there are a lot of Christians who "bless me," or "pray I am well." I just shrug it off and thank them. They're not trying to convert me, it is simply their way of wishing me well, albeit through their religious filter. That's their belief and I respect that. If I chose to be annoyed at every comment that had religious ties, well, I would be exhausted and miserable. Best thing to do in these circumstances is say, "thank you," and go on about your life. Now, when someone asks me to "pray for someone," or take part in their religious practices, that's a different story. However, that is not the case here. I do not think either of these people in this senerio are TA. They both just have different opinions and beliefs. Hopefully, both parties can move forward and remain cordial and professional.
You nailed it with the last word. "Professional". Injecting your religion in the work place is unprofessional. Depending on your religion and the religion of the person you're emailing, this could make someone very uncomfortable. More so if the person receiving the email is a subordinate of the one sending it. Unless you work directly for a religious organization, you shouldn't inject your religion in the workplace.
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Meh. Not worth it. I'm atheist but arguing with these people is pointless. For all you know that IT person is tight with the boss who goes to the church. In the US we say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In Japan they say the nail that sticks up gets pounded down. Worth considering that pov.
I'm a person who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus through the Episcopal church, whatever that makes me and I say right on!
How about from now on nobody says anything to anyone. Our society has regressed to everyone bending out of shape to express outrage at the most insignificant things. Yes, I am a Christian, I am faithful but do not ascribe to any religion ( as they have all been tainted by a human at some point). I do not pontificate or prosttlize, but I will express my faith if asked. I try to respect all faiths and beliefs (save those that cause pain or harm). People have the right to believe or not believe, that is up to them. As Bill and Ted said " be excellent to each other". There are so many important things to be outraged at. Take a breath. The appropriate response would have been to personally speak to the sender, thank them for their help and sentiment, and calmly tell them you do not care for that kind of conversation. Build a bridge to better understanding, don't drop a bomb on the bridge and expand the ever widening chasms between us
Big NTA here. Religious people need to learn that even something as "my prayers are with you" or "God bless" can be deeply offensive to some people. By saying nothing you're tacitly agreeing with their beliefs, reinforcing their aberrent behaviour. (Bring on the downvotes, people.)
Devil's Advocate here: What about "Merry Christmas"?
Load More Replies... Totally NTA - you should't even have to think about that part. Currently "Christianity" is being prostituted for political reasons- and alas many sad and lonely Christians are being sucked into the idea that they are "helping" the rest of us. Nope. Hopefully we can get back to where we were when I was a kid. My religion is NONE of your business- in the most serious possible way. And no- telling me you are applying your religion to me, for my benefit, without asking- is WAY out of line.
I'm glad this kind of behavior is NOT a thing where I live (Switzerland). I would probably have to search for my eyebrows after receiving a WORK email with this kind of start 🙈😅. Even though I've been known to end mails with "live long and prosper" yet only to coworkers I know well and who share the same humor and interests and never to someone unknown. 🖖
Load More Replies... When I was an atheist, this sort of thing drove me crazy. As a Christian, it still does. Why? Because it doesn't mean anything. I don't say bless you after you sneeze, and I don't need you to say it to me. I'm pretty confident that my soul didn't fly out of my nose, or that I'll be demonically possessed before it can grab an Uber back. There are some people whom I'll tell them I'll pray for them, but only if I intend to do so. Bad news can be answered with "sorry to hear that" and good news with "how nice". No stepped on toes, no fake sanctity, situation responded to.
THIS. And people saying it's basically like "hope you and your family are well"? So? Why is some coworker creeping on me about my family? Inappropriate AF. It's a question about IT. The only appropriate response would be to answer the question.
Load More Replies... This is not a 'take it the way it was meant' situation. This is passive-aggressive proselytizing. They likely don't think of it that way, but that's what it is. It is a signal for any other believers of just how pious/devout they are, and a passive-aggressive stance for anyone they'd like to 'convert'. It is the brand of christianity where they're all 'look at how nice and agreeable and impressive we are, you know you want to be a christian.' I've lived among these types basically my whole life. This is not kindly meant. If you tell them you're an atheist they WILL ask you if you worship satan, or what is wrong with you. If you don't respond to any kind of prayer wishes etc in kind, you will be marked as 'other' and they will subtly ostracize you. These are sunday-nice people, not actually kind or good people.
I spent my entire youth as one. You are 100% correct and it shows in their politics. Sunday nice...absolutely, till you hit the parking lot and they need a deputy at every exit to get out of the parking lot like civilized people. Passive aggressive proselytizing...I'm stealing that.
Load More Replies... I used to work in a Catholic hospital and NOBODY — not even the nuns — would have started a business email with any nonsense like this. It’s unprofessional and unbusinesslike. IT was not trying to be “nice”; they were trying to inject religion where it doesn’t belong; or they were trying to be informality where informality was inappropriate. If IT and OP were best friends, then it might be ok if OP accepted the friendliness.
NTA. The IT person overstepped bounds of professionalism. When you are at work being paid to do what the employer asks, adding your religion to your work is not part of the business plan - unless maybe you're working at a church, etc. I think you handled the issue very well.
This is part of the growing theocracy and is a political statement. The first step is innocent statements like the IT guy wrote. It gets the culture used to these views. Then it becomes the expected norm in the organization and general culture. If you don’t go along you are marginalized. Eventually, the last stage is meetings starting with prayer, using insurance companies and other companies with Christian values, and finally employing people that have god fearing biblical values.
NTA, they should not have used any kind of religious phrase in the work place. If you had said "blessed be" or "merry meet" (wiccan greetings) 100% they would have gotten upset over it if they recognized it. The workplace is not for you to incorporate your religion into. Unless the work is about that (if you work in a church then yeah okay) You also were not rude about it. If you had gotten confrontational "don't talk about your religion to me its inappropriate" then you would have been bordering a ESH but you weren't.
I dunno. I am an atheist and I find it majorly cringy when people need to point out they are Christians. Like, I don't care and in more cases that not it preceeds some majorly unchristian behavior or attitude. But in this case it sounds more like a "hope you have a good day and this email finds you well" sort of thing? Can't get offended at this.
Exactly. I work with lots of people from different cultures with different beliefs and customs. "Pray you and your family are blessed and doing well" IS NOT a conversion attempt. It simple means - like Trillian said - a general greeting from someone is probably happy and wishes you happiness and good health.
Load More Replies... NTA. If they want to talk about rude, how about how rude it is to impose your faith on others the way the IT worker was doing. Keep your faith out of the workplace, or go find a Christian company to work for.
NTA. Not remotely. Keep your religions to yourself and we all will be fine. If you don't then I am bringing my very non religious beliefs into things.
The story reminds me Iran, after been conquered by the mullahs. Any telex, letter, email sent by Iranians is starting with "in the name of Allah".
Man, I work in a factory and the lady who was head of quality control would walk around, inspecting parts and give out a very loud and random "PRAISE JESUS!" and "PRAISE BE!" now and then. It was so annoying. Even workers there who were Christian were so annoyed by her disruptive bullsheet. She finally got fired for proselytizing and handing out Jesus fliers to workers. Leave that s**t at home and at whatever church you go to 80 times a week. No one at work wants to spend 8+ hours with an extremist holy roller. To this day I can just imagine what her home must look like. Probably more religious junk than the entire Vatican has. The /entire/ Vatican.
At work, we always had this lady tell us "Blessed be" whenever she came in. I'm an atheist and was only familiar with Wiccans or white witches saying this. So one time I asked this lady if she was Wiccan. You'd have thought I set her on fire. She was horrified and asked why I would think such a thing. So I told her and she never, ever said "Bessed be" ever again when she came in.
For me, NTA and in the company I work for, sending such a message in an email goes against company policy which prohibits religious or political statements and messages in all company communications including internal mail and emails. The company doesn't even allow religious decorations or cards to be displayed. Our company is based in France which is strongly secular and operates in almost al EU countries plus the UK and employs people of all faiths and religions. While some national laws prohibit us from completely banning religious clothing or jewellery, any overt displays of religion or politics is severely discouraged.
Ihave MANY FRIENDS OF MANY FAITHS! ONLY EFFIN' CHRISTIANS CRAM THEIR C7RAP DOWN MY THROAT! All the others maintain a spuritual connection with their "gods" and leave me to my own private beliefs. If. Your god needs human sales & marketing teams that is a weak a*s god .
I’m agnostic from a multi religious family, Christian’s, Muslim, Buddhist and pagan/whitches and I’m never offended at any religious gesture at the end of notes, work or social, I don’t take it personally enough to care I guess.
Totally NTA. People need to separate their religion from their work. I would have shut it down as well. I'm an atheist as well.
Since it's an IT person a fun response would be to sign off with "Hope Moore and Noyce continue to smile upon you and yours!"
I'd say NTA or NAH, I'm not an American, so it's hard to tell. Usually religious folk just talk that way and like to use religious phrases. It might be a good idea to just talk it out face to face with the IT person. I consider myself culturallly christian and an atheist, but there isn't much religious tension between christians and atheists in my country, so that's not really complicated.
As an atheist, I used to think that people taking time out of their day to do something they think is nice for me was kind. I considered it a cultural thing. Now I generally perceive it as a threat when somebody says "God Bless" or "Ill pray for you", it can be very hostile, dismissive, and bizarre honestly. It became this way because being accepting of their customs wasn't enough. Being tolerant of their customs wasn't enough. Supporting their customs wasn't enough. They began encroaching into personal territory and are literally using the law to force people into compliance of their beliefs.
i was born and raised protestant but my parents never made a fuss about religion. my dad left church when i was 20. you can have your faith and believe in whatever you want, but you don't push it on other people. my ex-MIL was reborn christian and tried to push her beliefs on me every freckin single time we spoke until i finally got the courage to tell her to f**k off with that bs she kept telling me. i do not have any problems with faith and religion but keep bothering me and i will make myself very clear that all of that bs means nothing to me and i could not give two sh*ts about it.
Religious sentiment and verbiage has zero place in a professional work setting and any communications therein.
Uninvited and unasked for religious garbage in the workplace is harassment. I would be taking it up with HR. I did once in the past and they stopped it.
Should have responded in kind -' In a godless universe where we only have each other to rely on it is so nice to be helped by a fellow human! Thank you so much!'
NTA. These Christians are the same ones who cry about "woke agenda" or whatever but then force this b******t on you. F**k them.
If people shade their messages with religious content, shade them right back with "Bless your heart". Particularly if you work in the South.
NTA. I think a lot of those people are virtue-signalling. I'm an atheist, and I have no problem with believers, but I don't start business conversations with 'I'm an atheist'. It's apropos of nothing related to the business at hand. If it's a matter of someone sending personal condolences for a personal situation of mine, I will take it as meant.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES!
NTA. Why would anyone put it to a corporate email? like wtf is that. I have never heard about it. Did the it person expect op would reply I am praying for you too or what? that is a kind of pressure.
I can ignore that stuff easily enough, but I draw a line at any attempt to have a conversation about religion or any questions about my religious beliefs.
Me trying to imagine the thickness of the cloud of silence had that comment been made at Chick Filet corporate.
As an agnostic, I vote YTA. There were no words of indoctrination, only well wishes. The IT person was praying that OP was doing well. The IT person wasn't asking OP to pray, just that they were praying OP was doing well. The response was uncalled for.
The only time religion belongs in the work place is if the work place is specific to a religion like working at a church or something similar.
I am an atheist but I have no problems if people around me are religious. I can talk about religions and I am happy to learn new facts about someones' religion. But after that comes my personal border. I don't wish to be missioned or being forced to hear about how nice a religion is and how much better it would be to convert to this religion. But people did say things like "May your way be blessed." or "May god guide you." and I don't think it is offending. These people believe in this, they are convinced to do a good thing and they believe with their heart that their blessing is helping me. And I just say thank you and I am not offended. That's it.
If it's not a place of worship, religion should be kept completely out of it
In Europe this would be considered unacceptable in the workplace. I had a colleague (American, as it happens) who, knowing I was an atheist, would often say things like "I'll pray for you", which I considered rude and passive aggressive. To me it's monstrously egotistical to be so insensitive to the fact that not everybody is like you with your beliefs. Religious people in my country would never act like that.
The salutation sounds like something that would come from one of my coworkers for whom English is not their first language and most of them aren't Christian. So, I would take it as an awkward translation of a common greeting where they're from. I would say theta m that the OP would, hopefully, know if that were the case, but I've gotten that greeting, nearly word for word and many more that were quite similar.
Whether this was a literal statement of religious behavior, *or* a metaphorical" 'hope you and your family are well", they're both really weird gambits for people an anonymous, purely business relationship, at least in Anglo work culture.
I'd answer "Where do I check if my family is blessed???" But seriously faith & prayers aren't a professional way to address somebody in an email. I have friends who believe and regularly "pray for me" (their words). They know I don't believe in prayer's powers. I take it as a "good vibe sent my way", or an expression of love. But only from close friends.
I am not an atheist, but do not believe God is a vindictive old man. My response to people like this, including family, has evolved over the years. "I have a strong personal connection with God, but it's deeply personal and private. I do not attend church because I don't think it's any man's right to stand in front of me and get all up in my personal relationship with God. So kindly keep your prayers to yourself and share them with people who require worshiping as a group activity to feel fulfilled. That's not me. It makes me uncomfortable so leave me out of it." And that's the truth. And I don't leave room for discussion afterwards.
It all sounds like religous people thinking they get extra points for pushing their beliefs on everyone else.
YTA. I'm an atheist here. It's pretty normal for people to do this. Respect their religion. Maybe tell them you're not comfortable with it? They're also not pushing it on you either. Just... don't get whiny about people being nice?
I would just remind people that I can't really accept people as being rational people if they insist on believing in something for which there is not one shred of scientific evidence. Holds true for all religions (including atheism). Only agnostics are excepted because they know that we can't know until we get there.
I hate that in society, YTA. But it shouldn't be. The human condition has only improved, in literally every single objective metric, from life expectancy to infant mortality to equal(ish-trying to get there) rights, the more God we throw out of our lives and society. The trend needs to continue to the point of people only having any expression of faith in their homes if at all. Stop making us indulge voluntary mental illness. Christians should literally spend every waking moment asking AITA...yes, yes you are. Even in it's most benevolent form, collective faith is an erosion of critical thinking that makes us all suffer for it. Fact: the Alabama supreme court just cited the Bible and God in justification for rendering a decision on IVF that is already impacting people. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, but we've normalized Christian b******t for the last couple thousand years. So oh well. And to the "I respect everyone, religion has a role" atheists STFU. Faith based delusions should not have equal footing with our rational based thinking.
I would have take the IT's comment how it was meant, kind. As an atheist myself, especially in the south were I grew up, there are a lot of Christians who "bless me," or "pray I am well." I just shrug it off and thank them. They're not trying to convert me, it is simply their way of wishing me well, albeit through their religious filter. That's their belief and I respect that. If I chose to be annoyed at every comment that had religious ties, well, I would be exhausted and miserable. Best thing to do in these circumstances is say, "thank you," and go on about your life. Now, when someone asks me to "pray for someone," or take part in their religious practices, that's a different story. However, that is not the case here. I do not think either of these people in this senerio are TA. They both just have different opinions and beliefs. Hopefully, both parties can move forward and remain cordial and professional.
You nailed it with the last word. "Professional". Injecting your religion in the work place is unprofessional. Depending on your religion and the religion of the person you're emailing, this could make someone very uncomfortable. More so if the person receiving the email is a subordinate of the one sending it. Unless you work directly for a religious organization, you shouldn't inject your religion in the workplace.
Load More Replies... Meh. Not worth it. I'm atheist but arguing with these people is pointless. For all you know that IT person is tight with the boss who goes to the church. In the US we say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In Japan they say the nail that sticks up gets pounded down. Worth considering that pov.
I'm a person who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus through the Episcopal church, whatever that makes me and I say right on!
How about from now on nobody says anything to anyone. Our society has regressed to everyone bending out of shape to express outrage at the most insignificant things. Yes, I am a Christian, I am faithful but do not ascribe to any religion ( as they have all been tainted by a human at some point). I do not pontificate or prosttlize, but I will express my faith if asked. I try to respect all faiths and beliefs (save those that cause pain or harm). People have the right to believe or not believe, that is up to them. As Bill and Ted said " be excellent to each other". There are so many important things to be outraged at. Take a breath. The appropriate response would have been to personally speak to the sender, thank them for their help and sentiment, and calmly tell them you do not care for that kind of conversation. Build a bridge to better understanding, don't drop a bomb on the bridge and expand the ever widening chasms between us
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