Religious symbols and Dress Codes at Work
20th November 2006
From the BBC:
‘Should there be a right to wear a cross at work?
Does the Christian cross have a place in the workplace?
A British Airways (BA) employee has lost her fight to openly wear a cross necklace at work at Heathrow.Nadia Eweida, 55, of Twickenham, has been on unpaid leave since her bosses told her she could not visibly wear her cross at the check-in counter.
BA denied it had banned the wearing of crosses and said such items could be worn if concealed’
They are debating it at: http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4759&&&edition=1&ttl=20061120195959 – or leave a comment below…
D.
Let them express their faith and if you’re not down with that I’ve got 2 words for ya ‘Reality Check’.
A cross is hardly intrusive, but to be fair to BA they have said its OK to be worn if concealed. Which, although at first glance appears a bit stern, really I dont see why they shouldnt insist on a uniform.
Wearing the cross or wearing the headscarf – the story is a levelling sweep directed to all those wearing visible religious symbols. Innocent enough. But, I can’t help think the story is a poke at Islam. The ruling prohibits wearing the cross and it implies in brackets (a prohibition againtst wearing the headscarf). Like shrugging, ‘Well, that’s what happens in a secular country. Tough, innit?’
I think she is nothing more than an opportunist, and I commend BA for having the courage to stand up to ‘religion’ in the current climate.she admitted she wanted to exhit her faith in God and identify herself as a Christian by having the cross on show, by her logic that means I should be allowed to identify myself as a chlsea fan and wear the shirt whilst working for BA – clealry unacceptable and against company uniform rules.
While on the surface it may appear to be a ‘dress code’ issue, I still think it is a platform. Wearing religious symbols is one of the leading current debates internationally. Why would a dress code even be discussed if something weren’t seething under the surface? If you wear a Chelsea T-shirt to work at BA you may get the sack, but we’re not going to be discussing it over the net. This is not a dress code issue. Personally, I find the secular policy of not wearing religious symbols tedious. What’s seething under the surface there? Oil?
Hmm.. I’m afriad my Good neighbour – as usual – we will have to agree to disagree! The women is clearly jumping on the bandwagan, and BA have not denied her the right to wear the cross, they have just denied her the right to do a ‘Vicky Pollard’ or ‘P.Diddy’ and have it on show for the world to see. And the fact it is a cross is irrelevent to BA, its the fact its jewlerry that matters.The rules are clear – she broke them – she made it even worse by saying she wants to exhibit her cross PURELY so others can Identify her as a Christian? why do we care if shes a Christan, Pagan, Sikh, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Jedi or Atheist? as long as she can check my backs in, I’m happy! as Dave Allen Once said ‘take your God with you, and leave it at that’
Of course, some religious dress codes are almost demanded by their religions – turbans for instance, or sufi beards(?). The wearing of a cross or any other symbol has never been demanded by any Christian God that I’m aware of, so I would gusee that the woman is trying to make a “me too” point by demanding that she be allowed to display (note, not just wear) a cross at work. A classic “Tu quoque” argument, perhaps?Paul
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I wondered how long it would take for our blog to be spammed!
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