#but he openly acknowledged that there are MANY gays in the priesthood already and he wanted to cap that

[liesmyth]

ok well now we gotta know, how is frociaggine used in a sentence. i must know, for research purposes,

pretty much in the same way you'd use faggotry in english! meaning a general vibe, attitude, etc. actually the pope used it correctly 💀 given that he said it in the context of a speech about how openly gay men should be discouraged from joining the church “because there's way too much homosexuality in seminaries already.” except that homosexuality wasn't the word he used

anyway I have a whatsapp group chat called “frociaggine del sabato sera” = saturday night faggotry. love that for me.

[nerdygaymormon]

Efforts to include Religious workers

This past Sunday, a man came up to me at church and said he's been thinking about what I said at the last stake general priesthood meeting when I spoke of being a gay member. He's been wanting to talk with me because his company is supportive a queer people, and that's fine, but they don't lift up religious people in the same way and he's unhappy about that. How can he bring that up to his employer? 

He says he has been discriminated against in the past for sharing his religious beliefs and asked if I have some suggestions he can present in the company diversity meetings of how the business can support their religious employees?

This happened in the hallway between meetings, so there wasn't time to have much of a discussion. In our conversation, the Utah compromise was mentioned and that Elder Oaks has spoken in favor of anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals, and that religious people are protected by constitutional amendment. He commented that he wishes church leaders would explain how support for anti-discrimination measures for LGBTQ people are compatible with our beliefs, but if Elder Oaks is in favor then clearly the principles are good ones. He asked that if I think of ideas he can present to his company or any good resources, to email him.

I've written my response and am sharing here since this blog is where I write about the experience of existing in the intersection of being queer and LDS.

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I've been thinking about our conversation of your workplace not celebrating or lifting up religious people the same way it does other groups, like LGBTQ employees.

Companies put many policies in place to show they're welcoming to different groups. It benefits the company as their diverse employees can give insight on how to reach customers in different subgroups. It's good for people to see themselves as desired customers and welcome in that space.

The thing about creating a welcoming environment is not everyone is welcome. It feels like an oxymoron, but to create a tolerant space we have to be intolerant of intolerance. If openly racist people were employed & welcomed by a business, then those targeted by their racism would not feel welcome or safe.

Will religious-related conversations make other people feel unsafe? Unfortunately, Christians are increasingly known only for wanting to be able to discriminate against others, for opposing gay rights and medical procedures they don't like, for child abuse by church leaders, for committing violence against trans people or immigrants, and so on. No wonder employers worry about religious conversations at work. 

If a company chooses to celebrate and empower their religious employees, how would it do this? And is that what religious people want? If a work group was put together to come up with ways for the company to be more inclusive of religious people, what would their recommendations be? A business can acknowledge Pride Month or Black History Month or Veteran's Day, how would it choose which religious holidays to recognize? Most businesses in the US already recognize Christmas, do they need to do more? 

Even though things are better now than in the past, as a gay person, I generally enter a space with the assumption that I have to be careful. If I walk in and see a little rainbow flag, it is such a relief to me, I can let down my guard, it indicates that this is a safe place for queer people, and I would expect homophobic things not to be tolerated in that space. As for entering a space as a person of faith, it’s the opposite. Usually I assume I'm fine, in fact I don’t think about it unless I see something that indicates maybe I wouldn't be well received. 

That may sound overdramatic, but I grew up in a society where negative things being said about gay people was accepted and common, and for most of my life many basic legal protections were not in place. It was only in 2020 when federal Civil Rights protections for queer people came into effect. Even today, our governor and legislature are targeting LGBTQ people as a way to boost their appeal, and it feels scary to me and makes me worry about how many people agree with those things. Christianity isn't targeted in the same way. That makes displays of support for queer people more important to me than support for Christian people because the risk isn’t the same.

Being someone who is both gay and religious, it's interesting to see how the perception & reality of both groups has changed. For gay people, it's been a series of steps forward, like getting queer characters in mass media, getting the same legal rights that other people already have, it's moving towards being equal and included in society. Milestones towards equality and inclusion still are taking place, like having the first openly-gay governor elected or the first trans person getting elected to a state legislature.

What I see happening to Christians is their legal protections aren’t taken away but their privileged place in society is being curtailed. The loss of privilege can feel like oppression because what people were once free to do no longer is acceptable. As someone who is part of a group that has been legally and culturally oppressed, I wouldn't characterize the experience of Christians the same way. I think what is happening is Christians are moving towards becoming a minority group. 50 years ago, 90% of American adults identified as Christian, today it's 63% and dropping, and among adults under age 35, it's less than 50%. That has implications. Are Christians ready to be treated the same way as Jewish or Hindu people in our nation? 

Still, with all that being said, employers can do things for their religious employees, similar to how they help other groups. Here's a few ideas: 

Provide "quiet rooms" or spaces employees can use to pray. There's a Muslim who I sometimes see praying in the stairwell of my building and wouldn't it be better if there was a designated space where she could go and not be disturbed as she prays?

Is food at company events going to have kosher or halal options?

Since religious discussions in the workplace can be risky, maybe training can be provided on how to learn about co-workers' religious preferences with respectful discussions.

Company policies sometimes inadvertently discriminate with dress codes. Can a Muslim woman wear a head covering, can a Sikh man have a beard? Perhaps for safety reasons a necklace with a cross can't be worn in a manufacturing or health care setting, but is there a way for that employee to wear a cross in a way that is safe?

Is there flexibility for a religious employee to attend a special worship service on their religious holiday? 

Can a group of religious employees get together at lunch to support one another?