Integrative Essay Assessment

Introduction

Religious discussion in the workplace can often provide new insight into our co-workers. The discussion of religion can bring new ideas to minds unfamiliar with certain concepts or it may provoke arguments among those devout within their own religion.

Christian faith in the workplace

Before I can delve into a discussion of my ethical beliefs, I must first discuss the development of my ethical value system. Most people, during their developmental years, gain knowledge about ethical values and beliefs through some sort of strict religious background that centers around one type of Judeo-Christian monotheistic belief. Such was not the case for me. My mother had married and divorced four times before I turned eighteen. During those four marriages, I was required to practice and belief the tenets of the Methodist, Christian, Catholic and Jewish beliefs. In addition to those four religions, my mother also secretly taught my sister and I the family beliefs in Paganism and Wicca. By the time I was twenty, I had also studied Buddhism, Islam and Taoism. Finally, I had settled on Catholicism when I married my first wife in 1991.

Not two months after my marriage, I buried both my wife and unborn child as a result of a devastating car accident. After trying to discuss my grief with several religious counselors, I had basically lost complete faith in the term "God". I went on a hedonistic spree with drugs, alcohol and women until I met my current wife. Through her patience and understanding, I came out of my self-destructive period of life and reinvented myself. With this reinvention came a set of ethics that evolved through the various religious upbringings, experiences and trials.

This could cause the same type of isolation resulting from the opinions of the more devoted religious fanatics. Because of the lack of belief and ridicule that the devout may face from coworkers, people in a Unity religion may not feel as though they can talk about their ideals and beliefs in the workplace. Some may even feel as though they would be better accepting a similar position where there are more people who accept their religion. I felt I would be better off taking the Pre-School teacher position at the Church rather than continue to stay with the day care that I was at because I would be more comfortable

My set of ethical values contains tenets from my Wiccan belief, including the following:

What I do returns to me threefold.

Do what I wish, so long as it harms none.

The first part of the belief is strongly similar to that of the Christian belief of do unto others what you want done to yourself. Using this tenet, I act in a morally responsible manner in my dealings with other people, maintaining honesty and respect for the other person. The other part of the Wiccan belief, however, tends to cause some controversy. Many view this as an acceptance for a hedonistic or dangerous lifestyle that foregoes all rules and ethics. However, the requirement that the act ...