How do you cope with an overtly religious co-worker?

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toto974's picture
How do you cope with an overtly religious co-worker?

Guten Tag!... Fellows atheists (and apparently satanic spawns... chuckling!)

As some of you know, I have returned to metropolitan France two months ago, in search of a job. Since my academic journey has made me a somewhat expert in materials under irradiation, you could imagine that finding a job in such a department is rather difficult.

Soooo, I earn money however I can and I am working in menial jobs for the moment, in interim. In one of these jobs, I can across a fellow french-men (note this very well) and he talks all the time about Muslims being right about everything, zoophilia in Europe since we are no longer god-fearing yada...yada..

It is getting on my nerves. Seriously.

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Rohan M.'s picture
I think that the best thing

I think that the best thing to do is to just ignore his deluded, self-righteous-holier-than-thou ramblings, so long as it doesn't interfere with your work. Also, can you specify when and where he spouts this nonsense? Because if possible, you could try to distance yourself from him in those circumstances if you really, really can't stand it.

Hope this helps.

toto974's picture
@Rohan M.

@Rohan M.

Wherever we work, it depends because we working on construction sites and when he feels like it, for example, when we've done good work an their nothing much to do anymore.

Rohan M.'s picture
Then I think that you can

Then I think that you can just ignore him. Or, if you feel like having fun with it, you could try and silently dismantle his claims in your head, to maybe get your debating skills into practice. That's a little thing I often do when sitting through a sermon on Scout trips that end on a Sunday.

toto974's picture
O course, and, in all honesty

O course, and, in all honesty, the mission ends at the end of these week.

Rohan M.'s picture
Oh, so you mean he's a

Oh, so you mean he's a missionary?

toto974's picture
@Rohan M.

@Rohan M.

No no, just the interim mission.

Tin-Man's picture
@Talyyn

@Talyyn

Disclaimer: For those who are still uncertain, let it be known I am a somewhat mentally twisted mo-fo sometimes if the mood hits me.

So, basically, just to keep myself amused and to possibly (hopefully) annoy the piss out of the sermonizing coworker, I would start shouting things like, "Amen, brother!", or, "Hallelujah!", or, "Praise the Lord!", every single time the guy made any type of religious remark. Aw, hell, on second thought, make such proclamations whenever the guy makes ANY type of remark..... (whether he is addressing me directly or speaking to somebody else within earshot). But, like I said, I am warped like that sometimes... *crooked grin*...

Tin-Man's picture
@Talyyn

@Talyyn

OR you could go the other route...

Guessing you guys get lunch breaks on the job, right? Well, one day when you two sit down to eat and rest, you could turn to him and ask in a sincere and seriously concerned manner, "Hey, do you have a moment to discuss The Prince of Darkness, our Dark Lord Satan?" If you do that, however, you MUST find a way to video it. I would love to see his reaction.

toto974's picture
@Tin-Man

@Tin-Man

It would be so fun to do that but since the guy has two good heads above me ( i am a shrimp lol) and I have a really strong sense of self-preservation.

New actuality: Although I am not the best co-worker you can have, I try to do my best. All the day I have been accused of not using my head to do as he has the habit of doing his job. I do concede that his methods are largely better than mine since I am not practical at all.

Rohan M.'s picture
Welps, then maybe you could

Welps, then maybe you could just do what I suggested earlier and silently attack his claims mentally. That way you could still have some fun with this.

(Edited to fix spelling.)

toto974's picture
I forgot to say but

I forgot to say but apparently, Russia Today, and Sputnik are better than mainstream medias.

toto974's picture
@Tin-Man

@Tin-Man

Do Lucifer looks like the guy in the eponymous TV show? such a pretty boy and interesting character.

Tin-Man's picture
@Talyyn Re: "Do Lucifer

@Talyyn Re: "Do Lucifer looks like the guy in the eponymous TV show? such a pretty boy and interesting character."

Oh, man, that is such a great show! And the Lucifer character in the show is hilarious! I especially like his sense of justice and punishment, which is basically, "Party, have fun, indulge, live a happy life!... Just don't harm others in the process, or that is your ass."

But, uh, yeah, the real Satan is very much like the TV character. Handsome, charming, witty, a bit narcissistic, and NEVER LIES. The difference, though, is that the real Lucifer doesn't have the "daddy issue" problems of the character in the show. Plus, there is no female co-star love interest keeping him distracted and making him second-guess himself all the time.

toto974's picture
@Tin-Man

@Tin-Man

He has a job to do after all (an I think the real Satan would be a real discussion-mate to have).

boomer47's picture
The person describe sounds

The person describe sounds like an old fashioned bigot. His xenophobic views would almost certainly be the same regardless of this belief system .

Not a lot you can do in the work place. A threat of violence might do it, but that's always a risk; he might call your bluff.

Have you tried politely asking him to talk about something else?

I think might be an idea to look for another job..

toto974's picture
@cranky47

@cranky47

The job, my "mission", is finished at the end of the week so I will take all the money I can. Since his demeanor has angered me all the day, I was in the idea to stop on the spot but it wouldn't for others missions, I think.

David Killens's picture
Despite the toxic work

Despite the toxic work environment, maintain your professional integrity.

Old man shouts at clouds's picture
@ Talylyn

@ Talylyn

I find a well placed 'fuck off you knob" dropped into the conversation works quite well....or, imitate Tourettes Syndrome episode that disappears as soon as a third party appears, greeting any accusations from the Dieu botherer with a gaze of wide eyed innocence.

toto974's picture
@ Old man shouts...

@ Old man shouts...

All of you here are so much devious... as expected for godless heathens no? I like that.

Rohan M.'s picture
Hon hon hon... (No offense,

Hon hon hon... (No offense, Talyyn.)

Cognostic's picture
@Talyyn: RE: Muslim Bullshit

@Talyyn: RE: Muslim Bullshit!
It's a menial job. Expect it to be performed by menial people. You took a menial job knowing full well that it took no talent or skill to perform the job. You are doing it to survive and for your own reasons. It is helping you to get where you need to go. Those other people around you are going nowhere. They are content in their menial jobs, with their menial lives, and their menial ability to make sense out of the world. MOST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE LIKE THAT! You just forgot! Your friends and the people you hang out with are all like you. You simply have not hung out with the menials in a long long time. (THEY ARE EXACTLY THE WAY YOU DESCRIBE THEM.) They are still human beings, no matter how ridiculous their ideas, struggling to make sense out of a complicated world with a menial mind. These people are not your competition. They are not going to be your future friends. They are not your associates. You will not need to endure them long. You are simply visiting their world, you are a tourist in the life world of the menial. Take some pictures, make some memories, and when you return from the trip you will have some stories to tell.

toto974's picture
@Cognostic)

@Cognostic)

My favorite monkey (me I am a more the bonobo type)... exactly what i think, and i will take ALL the money i can... Grinning.

David Killens's picture
The job is temporary,

The job is temporary, eventually you will move on and he will become history.

Abide for now.

toto974's picture
@David Killens

@David Killens

This is what I said to myself. In all honesty, I prefer being some support professor for the time being, knowing that, in term of national performance, we suck in mathematics and a little bit in physical sciences ( for such a country where were born people such as Condorcet or Lavoisier).

Randomhero1982's picture
I have to admit, I've been

I have to admit, I've been incredibly lucky living in the UK... in that being an atheist is entirely socially acceptable!

The only real religious run in I've ever had was more on principles then anything else...

At my previous employment, a gentleman of the Islamic faith was unwilling to shake the hands of women during his interview.

Unfortunately for him, 70 - 80% of the work force was female and giving my friendships with them, in a close knit team, I refused to shake his hand when meeting.

Other than that, I've only had run ins with god botherers that knock thr door once a month and are sharply dismissed when they fold under questioning.

I guess it's all dependent on the situation, personally I dont think just mentioning something like "look, I'm an atheist, so can we please just get on without discussing theism"... or something akin to that, is unreasonable...

Luckily in the UK, I have the liberty of dismantling arguements put forward, without the fear of repercussions.

Rohan M.'s picture
RE: RandomHero1892

RE: RandomHero1892

Yep. Isn't it ironic that in a country with an official church headed by Her Majesty herself, religious belief is now considered odd and archaic?

Randomhero1982's picture
Indeed Rohan,

Indeed Rohan,

But everyone here is obviously clear on the fact that the Queen is literally just the figure head of a constitutional monarchy.

It's simply a tie to our past.

Some people are royalists in that they love the history etc... others see no point in them.

But again, even saying we shouldn't have a monarchy is perfectly fine to say in the UK.

toto974's picture
@Randomhero1982

@Randomhero1982

In Lyon, god botherers seem to be mainly Jehovah's witnesses that haunts the places where there is a lot of traffic.

PS: I'm a little inebriated for the moment, do I check three before sending answers. I guess metal/rock music with some alcohol can do wonders to make me evacuate but it has drawbacks.

Maximilian's picture
I had terrible colleagues. In

I had terrible colleagues. In general, the work team is what made me literally hate my job. This and some other reasons made me look for a new job, and I decided to go now and look for a suitable vacancy. I think that I won't have any difficulties in finding a new job, including I'm considering options abroad.

xoxosta's picture
I'm already out of the habit

I'm already out of the habit of working in a team, because for the past few years I've been freelancing. Now I realized that as a developer I lack experience and career growth, and I urgently need to find a job in some serious company. With the help of relocateme, I quickly found developer jobs with relocation assistance, and for me it became an opportunity not only to work in a trusted company, but also to move to another country.

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