As a church employer in your religion, what reason would you give for requiring that the building engineer be of the same religion?
As a church employer in my religion I would require the building engineer to be of the same religion because employees of churches are expected to uphold the standards of the church whether on or off duty. It’s basically an integrity issue, always do what’s right even when no one is looking. The judgment of church members based on what they know of employees can place a huge burden on the reputation of the church. People associate individuals employed by the church as having their actions approved by the church. In Germany there was a pastor who had a rumor going around that he was cheating on his wife, one Sunday before church service began the pastor addressed the congregation and confirmed the rumors were true. Prior to doing so the church lost a great deal of its members because of the rumor. After the pastor confessed he resigned from his position, once his replacement took charge the church’s regular members started to come back. This goes to show the way you carry yourself off duty reflects greatly upon not only your reputation but the church’s reputation. Certain parts of a church are sacred and only eligible members of the church can enter, this is when hiring a building engineer of the same religion can turn into a great benefit. If there’s work to be done in any of the sacred areas the building engineer is aware of the culture and his values are all in line with those of the church. And lastly I would rely on the fact that it’s not unlawful to employ employees of the same religion so long as the church is in whole or a substantial amount managed by a particular religion. So know that it’s legal would be a good enough reason for me.