Being in the technology industry, I constantly have head hunters sending me information about job openings. I was looking through them this morning and saw this as part of one of the job descriptions.


Job Description:
immediate need for an experienced exchange administrator in a faith based organization. group prayer is considered part of the job description & each employee is an integral part of this. group prayer is considered part of the job description & each employee is an integral part of this.


This is the first time I have seen something like this in a job description. I had to re-read it a couple times. Anybody else ever come across this? Can they do that???

Sure. If it run by a faith based organization, why not? I might not agree with it, but if they're a private company, I don't see the problem.

Also, their putting the prayer requirement in the job description, so in a sense, if you don't believe in group prayer, then you're not qualified for the job. No discrimination, just qualification issues.

I think it is CRAZY, but legal.

Why is it crazy?

If they want to hire someone who has a similar belief system, why shouldn't they? More power to them.

I appreciate that they are up front enough to put it in there in the first place.

Enough of this pc crap already.

I agree with MB guy-You want them to disclose the requirements up front so both parties don't end up in court later...

I agree that they should be up front, I think I was just a bit shocked because I have never see that in a job description before.

They're walking a pretty fine line, with respect to Federal employment law. Different states have different, some stricter, employment and non-discrimination laws, but I don't know where this crew is located.

I'd think they would have a hard time substantiating their claim that a particular religious belief is a bona-fide job requirement.

I agree. Unless prayer is actually part of what the job is all about (e.g., minister, counselor, religious teacher). If it's an office position, prayer is not a bona-fide job requirement.

It's a Network Administrator position. I am wondering if their last Admin relied to heavily on the Plug and Pray philosophy.

Who said anything about belief...they just state group prayer is a requirement.

Would love to see their reactions when on the new hire's first day, he rolls out a mat and begins one of his many daily prayers...all they mention is that he has to pray with the group...it does not state to whom or what he prays about.

Now try challenging that one in court!

I'm going to have to say that it's crazy and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

That ('who said anything about belief') is why I said they were walking a fine line. Their interview process must be an amazing thing to behold; how they dance around the 'faith' part.

It would be funny for the new Network Administrator to come in on their first day with a goat or a chicken, and just say "Prayer requires a sacrifice."

If challenged, they'd still have to show how group prayer was a bona-fide job requirement.

Unless the prayer was directly connected to the job, as mentioned above, i.e. the job IS ministry of some kind, I tend to think that this may end up in court.

Fair employment practices are in place to prevent discrimination in hiring, and IMHO this is discriminatory on the basis of religion, a protected class. Similarly, race/ethnicity is also a protected class, and I cannot imagine the furor if someone placed an ad stating "medium to dark brown skin color is considered a requirement of this network administrator's position".

Is this really all that different from the old hand-lettered signs in windows of shops saying "Blacks and Irish need not apply"? Here, it's "Agnostics and atheists need not apply".

And Bimmer, your comment about Plug and Pray very nearly made me spit out my coffee!

Similarities between this and school prayer... It's one thing to ALLOW prayer in the school or workplace, another thing to REQUIRE it.

so if the group prayer is Islamic in nature and your Christian are you not qualified?

It has been my experience that any time we have an IT issue, prayer is mandatory (please God, just make this work). It is quickly followed by cursing (this freaking POS), and often escalates into throwing things...

You're absolutely right happy, but a smart IT group is remarkably pantheistic, just to make sure they cover all the possible 'divine' bases....

My Brother-In_Law works for the YMCA as a Network Admin. and management starts each meeting with a prayer and they rotate who is to lead the prayer at every meeting. It is a general non-denominal christian prayer. I guess it makes sense since it is the Young Mens Christian Association.

Happy, just for the record, I have never gotten to the point of throwing things. Kicking things, yes, but never throwing

Ah, the famed Impact Adjustment!

Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do