Are such religious references typical for US-based companies or should I be worried?

Question

I was shown a job ad at StackOverflow from a US-based company which had caught my eye. Now, I don't have any immediate plans to move to US, but I do check out opportunities from time to time. Besides, I have used software products developed by that company which were rather good, so I decided to take a look.

However, when I went to company history page, I was surprised to find that it was entitled This is our story ...to God be the glory! and started with:

This is our testimony of God's direction, guidance and provision for us over the last year.

I intentionally don't include any links, but of course an interested reader can easily find the said page by searching for the citation.

Now, I don't expect everyone to share my religious beliefs and feelings (it's especially hard considering that I have none), but I don't want to get hired only to become a misfit. All companies I worked for so far have always kept a fair distance from controversial topics like religious beliefs or politic views. Given the above statement, should I expect this company be substantially different? Would my colleagues rather grab a beer with me after work, or go to church together?

Should I bring this topic up during the interview, or should I avoid discussing it? I don't want it to look like I'm having a problem with them, even before I'm hired.

Answer 1

Should I bring this topic up during the interview, or should I avoid discussing it?

When you get to the interview, ask questions like:

• You mention your faith pretty heavily on your website, can you talk about how that affects your leadership and employees?
• How welcoming an environment do you have for people who have varying faiths? How do you overcome these challenges?
• What does making an impact in the community look like to you?

These sorts of questions are good because they effectively ask what you are wanting to know. They also show you did research on the company and so are asking meaningful questions based on that research.

Understanding company culture is important regardless of what influences it (religion, the "fast paced fun loving!" environment, megacorp boringness, whatever).

Even if you could legally be employed and legally they can't discriminate based on your religion, most people still want to work in a place they feel comfortable.

Answer 2

The US has robust equal-opportunity / employee protections from religious discrimination. So if it is a job that interests you, you have some safeguards against religious indoctrination. However, at the same time, the US also has robust protections for freedom of expression, especially religious expression. And it largely works. I have colleagues who have crosses or religious symbols at their desk that make them happy, and other colleagues who are religiously ambivalent or non-believers. They go to lunch together and it's never been an issue. One thing about US culture is, it places a very strong emphasis on tolerance. So if seeing religious symbols would irritate you, then this might not be a good fit.

If you apply for this job, and they like you and offer you a job, this would be a good bullet point to discuss. When they say, do you have any questions for us, you can tactfully say, "yes. I'm excited about this opportunity. However, I noticed some sincere, heartfelt confessions of faith on your website blog. I am not religious (although I get along well with religious people). Will this be a problem?"

Answer 3

All companies I worked for so far have always kept a fair distance from controversial topics like religious beliefs or politic views. Given the above statement, should I expect this company be substantially different? Would my colleagues be regular peers I could grab a beer with, or dedicated Christians who go to church on Sunday together?

In the US, very few companies take a public stance one way or the other about religion or politics. That's particularly true of public companies.

Some companies (mostly smaller or private) do publicly show their religious and/or political affiliations. And a few CEOs of some larger companies are vocal about their beliefs.

That said, most of even these companies don't force or strongly encourage their religious and political beliefs on their employees. In many of these companies you wouldn't feel any different than you would in the companies who were silent on their affiliations. In a few companies, you probably would feel different.

I know there are a few national companies where I wouldn't work, based on what I know about their leaders' publicly-stated beliefs (both religious and political). We all need to decide the nature of the company we want to work for, and the kind of company culture in which we would be happy.

Should I bring this topic up during the interview, or should I avoid discussing it? I don't want it to look like I'm having a problem with them, even before I'm hired.

You probably want to decide before any interviews actually take place if you want to be associated with such a company or not. And if you do, you want to consider how important a religious or political culture would be for you.

If you decide that this isn't very important to you and you could live with such a culture, then don't bother bringing it up.

However, if you decide it is important, then you must ask about it, just as you would ask about any other aspect of the company that was important to you. Otherwise you could end up in an uncomfortable setting that runs counter to the kind of culture you want in your workplace. When you ask, you might find that the leader's beliefs don't impact the company culture at all, or that they do. Either way, you likely won't have been the first to ask that question - HR will likely know how to answer your query.

Answer 4

Having Googled and found the company, I instantly recognized the product, which I use a decade or two ago, before they started pricing aggressively (in the face of FOSS alternatives).

Knowing the product, this cannot be a very large company at all (maybe a few dozen employees, both developers and sales/marketing).

Which might be significant.

Whoever is at the top, might well try to create a corporate culture "in his own image" ;-)

Personally, I would 1) beware, and 2) not expect this under any circumstances from a larger company which is answerable to shareholders.

With a mom & pop operation, you might be constantly reminded of mom & pop's viewpoint (given, of course, with the best of intentions, only trying to help you).

Answer 5

I know this is going to sound a bit over the top, but when you read this statement, you should know that the founders or top management of the company values religion. Even though US is very non-discriminating when it comes to subjects like religion, race, etc., in your heart you know that, when it comes down to selecting you for a job vs. some other person who sounds like the embodiment of an angel on the paper, the chosen will not be you. They can say a lot of things to avoid legal discrimination and there is a very little you can do about it. It is just like working for a boss who likes to go baseball games and drink beers, while you are a non drinking geek, who doesn't get sports. Not a match made in heaven. Work for the sake of work is not how one should live his or her life, unless there is a dire need to sustain one's livelihood.

Answer 6

In parts of the US, religion is very mainstream and part of the social fabric, but not in a way that makes it compulsory or that people are judgmental about it. This can be the case in corporations also, but it is uncommon.

I would view the blog post as saying that this is the person's view of how life is led, and they bring that view to their work, but probably do not expect anyone else to see it that way or support or align themselves with it. It would be the same if they expressed a strong view about many other topics (Whitewater Rafting is a great metaphor for Life In General!!!). Just use your "feels" and get an impression of how cozy people are to that topic in that organization. Same as any other company or any other topic.

Answer 7

I have debated on making this an official answer. But there are a lot of little points you have to consider.

First, the direct answer to your question:

Should I bring this topic up during the interview, or should I avoid discussing it? I don't want it to look like I'm having a problem with them, even before I'm hired.

YES!!! The company made a deal about talking about their religious beliefs. You need to know, if your going to be comfortable working there. Remember that the interview as also about you interviewing them. If this is an area for possible concern for you, then mention it, ask, and investigate. Be polite, but don't be afraid to be direct.

US Culture

You have hit on one of great american paradoxes. As a nation we strive for religious freedom and tolerance, but some religions actively work against religious freedom and tolerance. It is a big web of gray areas. How can we be tolerant of of religion if that religion is not tolerant of other religious beliefs? There is no easy answer for this. There are laws and what not, but it's never cut and dry. Most people adopt a live and let live type of policy, but that doesn't mean everyone does. And to be honest, that's fine too. This brushes up against a very complicated topic. You need to ask questions and figure out of the culture there is one that you would feel comfortable in.

US Law

This gets to be a gray area as well. There are laws against discrimination for religious affiliation, but there not as straight forward as people would have you think. Because religion is a very fundamental decision in ones life, it can be difficult or impossible to differentiate between I don't like this person from I don't like this person's beliefs. Do not think that the law provides you with a blanket anti-discrimination shield. It doesn't. The owners, and other employees rights to work and practice their religious beliefs are also taken into consideration. It gets very tangled and very complicated. It's rarely cut in dry in this area.

The Norm

In the US We have a concept that a company is it's own entity. Usually, that company has a set statement of beliefs (or goals), and the workers in that company are expected to make decisions "on behalf" of the company that support that view. Even if a company is your life's work, the normal thing would be to treat that company as a separate entity from your self, and make decisions separate from your own point of view. That being said, it's not unusual that the owner(s) of a company apply their beliefs to the company. For example Chick-fil-a is not open on Sundays because the owner believes in having a day off for family time and religious worship.

Your options

First and foremost you need to figure out if your going to be comfortable working there. If your not, then you should look elsewhere for employment. You can do this by asking questions in the interview and stating your position and judging their reaction.

Second you need to understand that the law is not going to help in this case. You would, at this point, have to jump through too many hoops to make any kind of a case. This would likely tie up your situation for years to come, and in the US make a giant red flag when looking for other work (no one want's to hire any one that is part of an ongoing discrimination case, and in most cases, don't want to be any part of one that happened in the past).

Third, understand that they have the right to "run their company their way" and while you may be able to go to court and win a something or other kind of judgement against the company, that won't change the fact that it's "Their" company and "they can run it there way or not at all!!!" if that's the kind of stance they take.

Mostly understand that in the US, it's perfectly acceptable to have a religious belief, to apply those beliefs to your company, and have the company act on them. It's not ok to penalize someone when their beliefs differ from your's or your company's. At the same time, it's not as simple as black and white, and there are many, many shades of gray.

Answer 8

If their public face is this unprofessional then how do you expect them to act behind closed doors? think about that and make your own decision.