Atheist Business with Christian Customers.

[icehorse]

Back to the OP, I find it to be an interesting ethics question - it brought me up short. If my clients were "bland" Christians (e.g. Presbyterians - which I can tease because my parents are), I'd probably let it go. But if the clients were Westboro Baptists I might bring it up - I feel as though I *ought* to tweak folks like the WBers, it would be cowardly not to.

 

[Blastcat]

You're an atheist businessman with a thriving business. 80% of your clientele are Christians.

Do you tell them you don't believe in the biblical god or not?

Until everyone of us are OUT.. no.

I don't.

I prefer to STAY in business... so I'd stay in the closet.
Hope times change

 

[Mary Blackchurch]

You're an atheist businessman with a thriving business. 80% of your clientele are Christians.

Do you tell them you don't believe in the biblical god or not?

Not if you're selling Bibles for a good commission.

 

[Rational Agnostic]

You're an atheist businessman with a thriving business. 80% of your clientele are Christians.

Do you tell them you don't believe in the biblical god or not?

Not unless they ask.

 

[Cephus]

There is insufficient information for me to come up with an answer.

I would expect that, generally speaking, it wouldn't be a topic of conversation.

And in my experience, it is only a topic of conversation if the theist insists on making it one. I never talk about atheism unless it is brought up by someone else first. It's usually the theists who walk into my place of business and start spouting their religion at me that causes the subject to be breached. That is, in my opinion, very rude.

 

[Esaurus]

You're an atheist businessman with a thriving business. 80% of your clientele are Christians.

Do you tell them you don't believe in the biblical god or not?

There's no problem as long as the atheist business owner does his job lawfully. If the owner has products that may cause a Christian to compromise his faith in its use, the Christian would simply avoid it.

ELD

 

[arthra]

You're an atheist businessman with a thriving business. 80% of your clientele are Christians.

Do you tell them you don't believe in the biblical god or not?

Not sure what your business is?!
But you know that for most businesses at least where I come from the holidays are busy and there are a lot of transactions this time of year... I would advise you to keep your business apart from controversy and just satisfy your customers... If you go out of your way to say you "don't believe in the biblical god" it's probably going to rub people the wrong way...

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

If it somehow came up, perhaps. But I would never bring it up myself, no. Not even if they came into my bakery asking for a cake with the words "God is Great", or something just as heinous (haha) on it. I'd make the cake, keep my mouth shut and (as others have said) take their money - making sure to be completely cordial and personable during our entire interaction. The end.

 

[dianaiad]

People have touched on this...but I have to ask: why does the subject come up in the first place? I mean, really?

Now me, I'm a dyed in the wool theist, but when I go to a hardware store, I don't ask the manager if he's a Mormon before I'll buy a hammer from him.

However, if the owner, seeing that I am LDS (maybe I'm wearing a CTR ring or something. Who knows?) decides to pontificate on the fact that he is an atheist, I figure that he's just another religious nut trying to convert/alienate/get rid of me. In that case, I'll just buy the hammer (or not) and go look for a hardware store where the owner is only worried about whether I want nails or screws for my next project.

 

[TheMusicTheory]

No. And if they ask or bring it up, I would lie.

Why? Because in my experience, Christians are extremely vindictive and hostile to people that don't hold their set of beliefs, and if I'm running a business, I wouldn't want to risk said business by giving them a reason to act as I've seen them act on countless occasions.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Until everyone of us are OUT.. no.

I don't.

I prefer to STAY in business... so I'd stay in the closet.
Hope times change

Totally understand. Very gently, I would make the point that whilst you stay in the closet waiting, others will do the same.

Easy for me to say from a more secular location of course.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Totally understand. Very gently, I would make the point that whilst you stay in the closet waiting, others will do the same.

Easy for me to say from a more secular location of course.

To clarify this, I'm talking generally, not with regards to business. Don't see that religious belief and business should impact on customers, really.

 

[Marsh]

Is this leading up to "why can't a bakery refuse to bake a cake for a gay wedding"?

I remember hearing about that incident. But have you ever heard of a 'Christian' bakery refusing to bake a wedding cake because the purchaser was previously divorced? If I am not mistaken the New Testament writers frowned upon divorce. I propose the owner of that bakery was a hypocrite.

 

[Marsh]

You're an atheist businessman with a thriving business. 80% of your clientele are Christians.

Do you tell them you don't believe in the biblical god or not?

I worked in retail for many years and don't recall telling any customers I was an atheist, nor do I specifically recall any of them informing me of their religious views. It just never came up.

 

[Marsh]

So the OP is perhaps checking to see what atheists think about the situation if the boot was on the other foot, I suppose. I don't remember ever being discriminated against due to my lack of religion in a shop or whatever, so...
*shrugs*

Perhaps, but in 50 odd years of making purchases I have never been asked my religious persuasion. Have you?

 

[Shad]

Perhaps, but in 50 odd years of making purchases I have never been asked my religious persuasion. Have you?

I have once but the person and I had developed an acquaintance prior to any question being raised. Perhaps familiarity was the defining factor that made a difference compared to events in which service was declined due to a religious viewpoint held.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Perhaps, but in 50 odd years of making purchases I have never been asked my religious persuasion. Have you?

Nope. Would find it an epically weird question.

 

[IndigoStorm]

So if hypothetically one of my religious aka christian clients told another earthling that I was an atheist ... would that christian be concerned that he/she was patronizing an atheist business?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Kids ask me about something like this, and I tell them it's not my job to influence you on those matters in in any way.

They don't even know my political affiliation, let alone my lack of belief in a god or gods.

A few days before the US election, one of the kids I coach (a 9-year-old girl) came up to me and asked "who do you want to win the election?"

I responded with "you!"

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Back to the OP, I find it to be an interesting ethics question - it brought me up short. If my clients were "bland" Christians (e.g. Presbyterians - which I can tease because my parents are), I'd probably let it go. But if the clients were Westboro Baptists I might bring it up - I feel as though I *ought* to tweak folks like the WBers, it would be cowardly not to.

OTOH, treating religion as something that's irrelevant to daily life and that's best kept as a private matter sends its own sort of message.