Yesterday, we shared with you the story of a new Planet Fitness member who was asked to cover up because her belly-baring tank top was too revealing. Now a case that’s the exact opposite is in the news: a woman in New Mexico is suing the chain after she was asked not to cover up so much in the club. Specifically, the practicing Muslim was told that she couldn’t wear a headscarf in the club. [More]
religion
Aspiring Nun Has Too Much Student Debt To Take Vow Of Poverty
By 5.14.12
In news stories about the student debt crisis, we hear about American young adults delaying the typical milestones of adulthood due to their student loans. They (well, we) postpone marriage, childbearing, and purchasing first homes. But what if you’re interested in a holier, more altruistic path? Men and women who want to join Catholic religious life must be debt-free before they even think about making their vows, and that’s a challenge for people who don’t realize their calling until after they’ve taken on student debt in the mid-five figures. [More]
Alaska Airlines Opts To Stop Handing Out Prayer Cards
By 1.26.12
For the past three decades, Alaska Airlines has handed out prayer cards imprinted with Bible verses with meals. But the airline will stop the ritual Wednesday, following through on a decision it made last Fall. According to the airline, a marketing executive copied the prayer card idea from a rival airline in order to “differentiate” its service. If you hadn’t noticed the prayer cards recently, that’s probably because you weren’t flying first class. The airline stopped serving meals in coach six years ago. [More]
Suit Can Proceed Against Restaurant For Serving Meat To Hindus
By 7.20.11
An appellate court has ruled that a lawsuit against a New Jersey restaurant that served meat to a group of devout Hindus can forward. The vegetarian dining party are suing the eatery for the cost it would take for them to travel to India and purify themselves in the Ganges River. [More]
It Seems Catholic Charity Events And Hooters Don't Mix
By 6.16.11
Scantily-clad waitresses and Catholic fundraisers for the homeless seem like a perfect match on paper, right? No? Well, those who didn’t think Hooters should host a Catholic St. Louis charity event complained about the concept and convinced planners to cancel it. [More]
Church Group To Pray At Gas Station For Lower Fuel Prices
By 4.12.11
For the third time, members of a church group in Georgia will gather to pray for stability in the economy, lower fuel prices, and peace in the Middle East. Where will they gather? The gas station of their local Kroger, where else? [More]
iPhone App Lets Catholics Practice Confessing On The Go
By 2.9.11
A $2 iPhone app walks users through a simulation of the Catholic sacrament of confession, offering sinners the opportunity to admit their misdeeds via their phones. [More]
Court Says California Mall Can't Ban Customers From Talking To Each Other
By 8.16.10
The Westfield Galleria in Roseville, California takes the comfort of its patrons seriously–so seriously, in fact, that it wants them to shut up and focus on shopping, or else ask for permission first if they want to talk about any topic that’s not mall related. Last week, the state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal found that the rule violated the state’s constitution, so now mall shoppers can gab as much as they want to each other. [More]
Hobby Lobby Just Wants To Share Craft Supplies And Christ With You
By 4.14.10
The big box craft store Hobby Lobby famously places full-page, Christian-themed ads every Easter in newspapers in the markets where it has stores. They also make this message the centerpiece of their Web site during the period right before and after Easter, with a religious messages where normally one would find information about sales on picture frames and sock yarn.
Sarah tells Consumerist that she noticed this when she visited the chain’s site to print out a coupon, and wrote to the company to tell them that she was offended. A Hobby Lobby representative answered that he was sorry that she was offended, but the company believes that it would conversely be “truly insensitive” not to share their religious message with all customers, Christian or not.
At Walgreens, Every Holiday Is Hanukkah!
By 4.7.10
Michael says his local Walgreens in Illinois can’t seem to unload its inventory of last year’s Hanukkah candy–so it just brings it back out with every other holiday. [More]
Join Church Of Nationwide Insurance, Get Accident Forgiveness
By 3.17.10
Sean received an exciting promotional letter from Nationwide Insurance a few weeks ago. Did you know that Nationwide has its own imaginary patron saint? It’s true! Is this mailing a lighthearted way to sell the idea of “accident forgiveness,” or a culturally and religiously insensitive ad campaign? Sean thinks it’s the latter. What do you think? [More]
Muslim Hollister Employee Fired Because Of Headscarf
By 2.25.10
Update: This is the new discrimination incident that this post was about. Sorry for the link mixup. There are evidently a lot of things that violate the “look policy” of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister stores. For example, having a prosthetic arm. Or wearing an Islamic head scarf. According to the complaint a California woman filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a Hollister store hired her, then fired after a visit from a district manager who found the scarf inappropriate work attire. [More]
Dating Site eHarmony Settles Same-Sex Class Action For $2 Million
By 1.27.10
In 2008, eHarmony responded to complaints that it wasn’t serving gay and lesbian customers by setting up a second website, Compatible Partners, and keeping those customers separate from the official site. Some users sued the company, saying anyone with bisexual interests were being forced to pay twice for the same service. Now eHarmony has settled the class action and will allow members of either site to participate on the other one without having to pay a second time. [More]
Closed-Minded Retailer Tesco Bans Jedi Religious Garb
By 9.20.09
The persecution never ends for the Jedi, does it? First, they were nearly all murdered by one of their own. Then, just when they’ve built a presence on modern Earth, a grocery store in Wales tells a practicing Jedi that he can’t wear the hood of his robe up in their stores. Bigotry!
Atheists Sell Pet Care Service To Christians Anticipating The Rapture
By 9.2.09
An atheist in New Hampshire is hiring out pet care services to Christians who believe that there will be a rapture and they will leave behind their pets. He won’t tell Mainstreet whether the business is very successful—he says his clients number “more than one and less than 175,” but it’s certainly an interesting way to bring two traditionally opposing groups together under a common (profit-making) cause.
Feeling Too Rich? Here's A Bag Of Rocks And A Jar For $25
By 5.8.09
We get that people want to buy objects that either represent or remind them of their faith. We don’t get Stonemarkers, though.
Save Your Friends From Post-Rapture Hellfire For Only $40 Per Year
By 6.6.08
A company called You’ve Been Left Behind is selling a post-Rapture package that sends emails to your sinful friends and family, letting them know where you are and what’s up with the whole pending apocalypse thing. For only $40 per year, You’ve Been Left Behind offers “to get one last message to the lost, at a time, when they might just be willing to hear it for the first and last time.”
Man Ejected From Flight Because He Wouldn't Sit Down And Stop Praying
By 4.18.08
Praying is nice but you should try not to disrupt the entire flight with your holiness. WNBC says an Orthodox Jewish man got up from his seat while passengers were still boarding, and walked to the back of the United Airlines flight where he began praying. His friend said the prayers lasted approximately 2 minutes. When flight attendants asked the man to return to his seat so the plane could take off, he ignored them.
