Brian Kagin of American Atheists on NBC Nightly News

Edwin Kagin, the National Legal Director for American Atheists, will be a guest on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams this weekend. He will discuss “Chaplains in the workplace.”

Mr. Kagin noted:  “While not illegal (unless the entity is the government), it is bad business to inject the most divisive issue in the world into a work scenario, because it can only lead to a loss of cohesion in a diverse group. Minorities automatically feel like second-class workers because the employer officially recognizes a religion other than theirs, and the religious people immediately see who is religious, and who is not, and are encouraged to ’save’ (the preacher won’t do it directly, instead send forth the sheep to do the job for him). There’s all sorts of bad potential there.

On the flip side, the chaplain is a minister, not a trained social worker. It is fallacious to think the minister is there to do anything other than that for which he was trained — preach and convert. If the company wants to provide a liaison, they should hire a professional liaison, not a professional preacher. The liaison would provide better service to all employees.

Anyone can pray any time they wish. They have cubes, homes, and they have oh-so-many churches in which to do so. They do not need official places to pray when they are working. The ones who DO need corporate chaplains are the chaplains themselves, who use the captive audience to woo new church members (and that’s THE reason they are there).”

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
Check local listings and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/