Tag: First Amendment

May I Talk to Students about My Christian Faith While I’m at Work?

christymorancraft

During the summer after my sophomore year in college, I interviewed for the position of Assistant Resident Advisor (ARA) with the goal of working in the residence halls. Near the end of the interview, one member of the search committee said to me, “We need you to know that you’re not allowed to use this position to try to convert others to Christianity.”

I was flabbergasted – not because of the directive itself, but rather, because of the assumption underlying it.

I hadn’t mentioned my Christian faith during the interview, I hadn’t worn any clothing or jewelry that reflected or symbolized my faith, and I hadn’t taken my Bible to the interview. To my knowledge, the only indication of my Christian faith was a short line on my resume that would have looked something like this:

“Executive Team Member, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship”

The truth is that I had applied for the ARA position because I needed a way to help finance my college education. There were no other underlying motives for doing so.

In response to the search committee member’s statement, I simply shook my head to indicate that I understood. Not long after that, I excitedly accepted the position as an ARA for the upcoming fall semester.

At the time, I didn’t realize how challenging it would be to want to serve well in the role of a university employee while also wanting to share with others about how Jesus can radically change someone’s life for the better. And, clearly, some Christian students who had worked in the residence halls before me had not set a great example of how to manage both of those desires. In their zeal to share about their Christian faith, it was likely that there had been instances when they had inappropriately used their status as employees of the university to do so.

I didn’t think about this occurrence again until early in my faculty career when several housing professionals asked me questions about how some of the Christian resident advisors and desk assistants in the residence halls were expressing their faith. It was then that I started to explore whether or not those of us who are employees at public universities can talk to students about our Christian faith while at work.

In a previous post, I shared some basic information about the First Amendment provisions related to religious expression. That information forms the foundation for this post, and I encourage readers to review it first.

Even if they have a basic knowledge of the First Amendment, though, many Christians who work in public higher education still have questions about when they may talk to students about their Christian faith.

There are a couple of overarching questions that we should always ask ourselves before engaging in discussions about our Christian faith with students:

  1. Do students really want to hear about my Christian faith?

First, do they truly want to hear about it? How do you know? If you are positive that a student wants to hear about it (e.g., that student explicitly asked you about it), you are free to share as much or as little as you want – even if you are actively engaged in your university work (e.g., teaching a class, leading a staff meeting, or performing another job duty).

More often than not, though, we encounter situations in which we need to discern whether or not the student truly wants to hear about our Christian faith. If the student has said or done anything that suggests that s/he might want to hear more, we can simply and directly ask them if they do.

As employees of state-funded colleges or universities, we must be certain that we are not allowing our positional power (i.e., the authority we have due to our employee status) to lead students to feel obligated to hear us speak about our faith. In other words, are they acting interested in hearing about our Christian faith because they think they need to listen to us due to the fact that we are their supervisors and/or professors? If so, we should probably choose not to talk about it at that time.

  1. Do students have the freedom to end the discussion (or to choose not to listen) about my Christian faith without suffering adverse consequences for doing so?

In higher education law, the phrase “captive audience” is frequently used to refer to situations in which students are not free to leave a situation without suffering adverse consequences for doing so.

For instance, formal instructional time in classrooms is typically viewed as a setting in which students would be viewed as a captive audience, because their grades would likely suffer to some extent if they were not in class. Other meetings or activities that we plan that are mandatory for students (e.g., mandatory staff meetings and trainings) would be viewed similarly; students would likely not be free to abstain from attending such events without suffering some form of adverse consequence.

We should be cautious about initiating discussions about our Christian faith with students in situations wherein they could be viewed as a captive audience unless that discussion directly relates to the content and/or purpose of the class, meeting, or other activity.

For instance, students, faculty, and staff regularly talk about various social identities (e.g., race, gender) in discussions of diversity and inclusion on campus. Religion is also a dimension of social identity. When we find ourselves having conversations with students about diversity and inclusion, then, the setting is very appropriate for us to contribute by talking about our own religious beliefs if it seems natural to do so.

So, may we talk to students about our Christian faith while at work? It depends on the answer to the aforementioned questions.

If in a given situation the answer to either of the above two questions is “no,” we should probably not engage in a discussion at that time.

If, however, the answer to both of the above two questions is “yes,” we have the right to move forward with such a discussion. It is important to remember, though, that we should do so with sensitivity – always paying attention to how the student is experiencing the conversation.

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, He told them to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16b).

Wise and harmless.

Let’s follow that guidance as we make decisions about when to talk to students about our Christian faith while at work.

 

The Misunderstood Line of Separation of Church and State

christymorancraft

“I won’t talk about my faith at work due to separation of church and state.”

“I keep my faith to myself while at work, because I don’t want to cross that line.”

Faculty, staff, and students who are employed in public colleges and universities often say such things. While I deeply respect their desire to abide by the law, I have learned that in many cases their understanding of the law is flawed.

Many who work at public colleges and universities are confused about their religious expression rights on campus. 

So, some remain unnecessarily silent about their faith while at work.

Much of their confusion is based on a misunderstanding of the phrase “separation of church and state” – a phrase that seems to regularly find its way into discussions of religion among employees in public higher education. Related to that sentiment is the idea of inappropriately “crossing the line” – referring to the “line” separating church and state.

Some have misinterpreted the phrase “separation of church and state” to mean that they are not allowed to talk about their faith in the workplace at all.

While people of other religious identities might be hesitant to express their faith in the workplace, Christians seem to be most likely to frame their reluctance in this way.

Let me clarify the meaning of the oft-repeated phrase.

Thomas Jefferson actually penned the phrase “wall of separation between church and state” in his 1801 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. His intent was to advocate for religious liberty that is free from governmental tampering, not to suggest that governmental agencies should be free from religious expression.

Thomas Jefferson suggested that the state should be kept out of the church – not vice versa.

In a previous blog post, I shared reasons why we should support the freedom of religious expression for all in higher education. In that post, I made brief comments about that constitutional right but did not take the time to thoroughly unpack it. Given the misunderstanding surrounding this important topic, some clarification is needed.

The First Amendment provisions related to religious expression in public higher education institutions are summed up in two clauses: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause.

“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.”

This is the establishment clause.

It means that public colleges and universities cannot advocate for one religion over another, nor should they advocate for religion over non-religion. They must strive to maintain religious neutrality.

This clause does not mean that we must all keep silent about our religious beliefs. Employees who talk about their faith at work are not “establishing” a religion on campus as described in the First Amendment.

That said, when we find ourselves in conversations about religion while at work, it never hurts to state that our views are our own views – not those of the college or university at which we are employed.

“Congress shall make no law. . . prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

This is the free exercise clause.

It means that public colleges and universities are not allowed to create any policy that is designed to suppress the expression of religion on campus.

So, there is no hard-and-fast “line” that keeps those of us who work at public colleges and universities from talking about our faith at work.

However, because we are employees, there are some legal restrictions related to when we do so. Legal restrictions should not be our only consideration, though.

Those who are striving to follow Jesus in higher education should also consider biblical guidelines when thinking about sharing their faith at work.

For that reason, let me offer a few thoughts for consideration:

  1. Christians are called to obey God and to spread the message of Christianity.

There is not one place on earth where God does not want Christians to share their faith. By implication, our workplace is included in the “Go into all the world” directive.

As the late Dallas Willard so aptly stated, “If discipleship does not relate to your job, where you spend most of your time, you’ve left your life behind.”

  1. One way that Christians obey God is by submitting to the governing authorities.

The Apostle Paul wrote that “the authorities that exist have been established by God” and that “whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted.”

I believe that most of the opportunities that employees at public colleges and universities have to talk about their religious faith on campus can happen in ways that easily align with the directives of the “governing authorities” (e.g., the First Amendment and campus guidelines).

And, that is exactly what we should strive to do.

  1. There may be situations in which the biblical convictions held by Christians compel them to act in ways that challenge the directives of the governing authorities.

Recall that when Peter and John went before the Sanhedrin they were commanded not to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus. Clearly, they were placed in a situation where they had to decide whether or not to obey the governing authorities. To that command, they replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

And, there are a number of other examples in the Bible of people who were compelled, in certain situations, to obey God in ways that challenged the directives of the governing authorities. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are among them – as is Daniel.

So, while there is no hard-and-fast “line” of separation of church and state, we might find ourselves in situations at work where we feel compelled to share our faith, but we, or others, question the appropriateness of doing so.

In such situations, how should we decide when to talk about our faith and when to keep silent?

We should rely upon the wisdom and discernment that comes from the Holy Spirit.

And, we can remind ourselves that God will be with us and will give us the words to say as we speak when He leads us to do so. He will also be our defense if and when our zeal for others to know about the good news of Christ compels us to speak of Him in less-than-ideal situations at work.

As we walk in faithful obedience, we can trust Him.