Is your Catholicism an obstacle?

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ontheway1

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Have you or anyone you know experienced discrimination or ostracism for identifying as Catholic or expressing views consistent with Catholic orthodoxy?
Also, do you feel that you need to conceal your Catholic views or identity in the workplace, or socially, to get along with people?
 
ontheway1 said:
Have you or anyone you know experienced discrimination or ostracism for identifying as Catholic or expressing views consistent with Catholic orthodoxy?
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Can you give examples of what you mean by discrimination? Are you talking about in the workplace?
 
ontheway1 said:
Have you or anyone you know experienced discrimination or ostracism for identifying as Catholic or expressing views consistent with Catholic orthodoxy?
Also, do you feel that you need to conceal your Catholic views or identity in the workplace, or socially, to get along with people?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have heard some very nasty anti-catholic comments from people and have chosen not to express my faith around such hostility. I was directed to conceal my religious views and identity in the workplace to prevent lawsuits. There was a successful lawsuit against a government employee who encouraged a citizen to go to Church. As a result, all the State employees were directed to remove any religious items from their offices, and do not wear any jewelry or clothing that had any religious themes or significance.

This was not just directed toward Catholics, though, it was a policy for all religious material. I conceal my Catholic identity in the workplace to get along with people at work, but I do not do this socially. If someone does not approve of my values/beliefs in a social setting, I just do not socialize with them. I don’t expect others to share them, but I do expect them not to be hostile.

The time is coming when there will no longer be a choice, and Christians will suffer discrimination just as the Jews did from the Nazis. Scripture is clear that no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast, so Catholics will no longer be tolerated in the marketplace, or in politics, etc.
 
JulianN said:
Can you give examples of what you mean by discrimination?
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Rude comments being made if Catholics come to work with ashes on their foreheads, rude comments about catholic values such as divorce, contraception, anti-abortion, priests must be male. Rude comments about “the wafer” or “the cookie” in reference to Eucharist.

One place I applied would not consider my application because I said I was Catholic. It was a community service agency position for which I thought I was very well suited, managed by a supposedly non-denominational ministry but they said I had to stop being Catholic.
 
Well, that last one is lawsuit worthy! Unless you were saying you wouldn’t fulfill all the requirements of the job because you were Catholic.

Sometimes people do make rude comments, sometimes that’s discrimination. Sometimes people make comments that are merely voicing disagreement with Church teaching—that’s not necessarily discrimination.
 
I have been verbally attacked on several different web sites for being Catholic. I have been called polytheistic, told that I worship Mary and the Saints, that Peter was never in Rome, and other falsehoods. All it does is stengthen my faith.

From Acts Chapter 5:

40After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. 41So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. 42And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus.
 
Yes, i think as most people, i have had negative reactions while expressing views as a catholic.

As for workplace, school, social, yes i hide my identities and views, because it is requiered, or because of fear of negative reactions. i don’t want to have to defend my opinions (shame on me!).
The only different experience, when i was working in a catholic school. I hide at first, and then get engaged in school pastoral. so anybody eventually know.
Some teachers or students will asking religions questions.
I have to made a strict work on myself to clearly separate my actions as i was workinG (to be neutral) and when i was a volunteer as a Catholic.
 
Some examples might include the following:

Not getting a job for which you are qualified, because you are Catholic
Being bypassed for promotion for religious reasons
Being told not to wear religious symbols, when you share office space with a veiled Muslim
Being told you can’t have a Christmas party at work, etc
 
If you don’t get a job because you’re Catholic, you should file a complaint with the EEOC. Assuming you didn’t refuse to perform an essential function of the job, that’s blatant discrimination and is illegal.

The Christmas party doesn’t really sound like discrimination—are you in a workplace with members of other faiths? I wouldn’t expect a party that mentioned one religious holiday only.
 
No mention of Christmas during Christmas season is OK? Why? I lived in an Islamic country for a while and saw santas and Christmas trees in all the malls during Christmas. Even trees sold on street corners, and all other decorations. But, in America it is verboten?
 
Wait—that’s not what you said. You said a Christmas party at work.

And where are you living that there are not trees and Santas at malls?
 
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Ok,
This next bit of information is just a general FYI addressed to no one in particular.
I have a friend currently working in one of the Gulf States. 100% Islamic, except for the guest workers from Christian and Buddhist countries. And guess what. The University is closed for Christmas break. Yes. They close for Christmas! Like, for a week or two.
 
Christmas is practically illegal in American offices and respected some Islamic countries.
 
I think you’re confusing a lack of preferential treatment with illegality.

I’d be far more focused on the discrimination in hiring.
 
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Your choice.
I see preferential treatment at work for Muslims, transgenders, gays, and an assortment of other “underrepresented” groups.
That’s preferential treatment.
 
Is it? So there are office parties for the end of Ramadan, but you can’t have one for Christmas? Or there’s not one for either? The first is discrimination; the second is equal treatment.
 
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Sometimes people resort to personal attacks when they feel the need to win an argument. The results can be comical when they don’t even know the person they are attacking.
 
It’s not in any way a personal attack. You brought up a very serious allegation that you were refused a job because of religious discrimination. But you haven’t provided any context, and your other examples would suggest that claim might also be questionable, due to a misunderstanding of what actually constitutes discrimination.
 
There seems to be a slight misunderstanding. My list consisted of hypothetical examples and not allegations. Perhaps you jumped to conclusions?
 
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