[rant; religion] {faith is both a prison and an open hand}

[kaberett]

Content notes: evangelism, mention of non-current suicidality.

Proposition: I should be able to walk into my workplace without being fucking evangelised at. I expect it from the Jehovah's Witnesses (misc) and the Mormons (home of Creepy Sexy Jesus across the way from work); I don't bloody want it inside my department building.

It's the Christian Union's ~themed week~, you see, and it's entirely possible that I'd object less if it weren't such trite, shame-based theology. "I'm not that bad, so why do I need Jesus?" Oh, fuck off.

And fuck off even more for your reaction to "I'm queer, trans, and ex-Catholic; you don't want me" being "actually, yes we do". At which point (late, stressed, underslept) I snapped back that they didn't want me in any meaningful way that wouldn't render me suicidal, all while continuing to walk away, and I kind of hope it ruined her day, to be honest, because she fucking oughtn't get away with making my work space hostile to me and thinking that doing so is ~purely and wholly loving~, because it goddamn isn't.

(See, this is why I fall down on the Captain Awkward maxim that it's a potential red flag if people aren't kind and decent to everyone around them, because fuck that.)

Comments

[hilarita]

Gah. I wonder if the university would let other religions, other cults, or atheist groups leaflet/proselytise in the building... I feel a bad case of double standards would break out.

(I don't think the University should let people do that in the working buildings, BTW. In the student union, maybe. But most university buildings are a workplace, and it's pretty fucking hostile to allow that in a workplace.)

[birke]

At my alma mater, there were established locations in the dining hall and the library lobby with tables from which you were allowed to spread your political/religious/etc message. But you had to do it from behind the table, you had to book a table in advance on a first come/first served basis, and everyone had equal access (except those with hate messages).

(Edit: Aggressive Christians weren't tolerated at my school, whose cherished unofficial motto was "Communism, atheism, free love.")