c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ In government workplaces, mixing religion and work is a tricky business.

New guidelines on religious exercise and expression in the federal workplace attempt to negotiate this minefield. The 12-page guidelines were developed by a coalition of religious conservatives and liberals, ranging from the Christian Legal Society to the American Jewish Congress to People for the American Way.

Federal agencies, the guidelines say, should permit personal religious expression to the greatest extent possible _ but workplace efficiency should not be sacrificed, and anything that could be interpreted “by a reasonable observer” as a government endorsement or disparagement of religion is not permitted.

The guidelines say employers have to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of their employees. That means permitting workers to observe the Sabbath and other religious days.

The guidelines say that in work spaces not usually open to the public, employees have to be allowed to make religious statements on the same basis they are permitted to engage in non-religious expression. Thus:

_ An employee may keep a Bible or Koran on his desk and read it during breaks.

_ An employee must be allowed to wear religious garb, such as a cross, yarmulke or Muslim headcovering, as long as the wearing of such garb does not pose safety risks.

_ An employee may discuss religion with another employee, and even may proselytize, but when one employee objects, the discussion must stop.

_ Even supervisors may speak to their employees about religion. But they cannot speak in a coercive way and must take care that their statements and actions are not perceived to be coercive. For example, a supervisor may invite employees to his daughter’s bat mitzvah or baptism. But to quote from the guidelines, a supervisor cannot say, “I didn’t see you in church this week. I expect to see you there this Sunday.”

But what if the supervisor just said,”`Hey, I didn’t see you in church.’ And then stopped.” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a watchdog group in Washington.

“Most employees would fill in the blanks. They’d think that if they didn’t show up in church the next week, they’d be treated differently. … It’s this slightly more subtle pressure that’s ignored by the guidelines.”

Marc Stern, an attorney with the American Jewish Congress and one of the principal drafters of the guidelines, disagreed.

Stern said he helped write the guidelines because the American Jewish Congress wanted to limit the extent to which workers could seek to convert others on the job; it would be impossible, and unconstitutional, not to permit any proselytizing at all.

Though they have been assailed by critics on both the right and left, the guidelines have won the approval of a broad range of religious groups and of labor unions representing federal workers, he said. The goal now is to convince state governors to implement the substance of the guidelines at the state level, Stern said.

MJP END CASSIDY