To what extent should religious art be allowed in the workplace? Part II
February 18th, 2009 by Menachem Wecker
I recently posted the following question on LinkedIn: “Boston College recently introduced religious art into its classrooms. To what extent should religious art be allowed in the workplace? Do you have religious art in your office/workspace? If so, what kind? Do you support its presence at work, or is it offensive?” This is part two; see part one here.
Here’s a response from Patrick Fitzgerald, a graduate of the computer and network support technician program at Humber College, who is (here comes the shout out) looking for a job as a computer technician, network administrator, or web developer (get in touch with him to schedule an interview via his LinkedIn profile).
Here’s what Patrick had to say in response to my question:
I figure if it is a person’s own office, they should be permitted to put whatever art they feel like in there. Within reason of course. As others have said some things may be far too graphic or obscene for some clients and/or other employees. Some people consider Michelangelo’s David to be pornographic. Others might view a picture of Jesus with a crown of thorns dragging their cross depicted in a painting as overly violent. Etc…
I figure as long as it is decent and respectable that it is perfectly fine to display. Although in a school (I’m assuming it is not a Catholic/Religious College) I would say it might be pushing it a bit as people are there to learn and not be preached to directly or indirectly (unless they take a class about religions hehe). Another part where they may be in trouble is if they are publicly funded in which case the typical expectations of the separation of the church and state may be expected.
More responses to follow.