It’s against the law to make any employment decision on the basis of religion. Since religious discrimination cases are, if anything, on the increase, it’s safe to say that religion still insinuates itself into the workplace. Also, employers are required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs unless it would cause an undue hardship, so religion can necessarily be a workplace and employment law issue at times. Religion is also an issue in this year’s presidential campaign. Let’s see if we can borrow from politics to help us with employment.

McCain was raised an Episcopalian but seems now aligned with the Baptist faith. He is uncomfortable talking about religion, but surviving seven years as a prisoner of war in Viet Nam required a measure of faith that’s significant. Skeptics remain, however.

Palin easily talks about religion and is well-known in evangelical Christian circles. She was raised in the Assemblies of God and is now a member of a non-denominational Christian church. She describes herself as a post-denomination Christian. (What an election! Post-race and post-denomination.) The pregnancy of her teenage daughter has caused some to wonder if she and her family practice what they preach.

Obama’s upbringing was devoid of religion. His father was a Muslim-turned-atheist. His mother was a non-practicing Methodist-turned-secularist. He found Christianity as a young man, and until recently forced to resign his membership because of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s incendiary comments, he was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ.

Biden is a life-long Roman Catholic. Like most Democrats in Congress, he is pro choice and, thus, rejects one of the Catholic Church’s fundamental tenets: abortion is a sin. Biden’s former Catholic prep school decided not to name a building after him because of his views on abortion.

Now to the workplace. It would be unlawful for you as an employer to place in an applicant’s or employee’s file any of the information I’ve described above about the presidential and vice presidential candidates. You can’t take anything like that into account.

It’s not uncommon for employees to talk about their faith at work. They may do so this year in the context of the election. McCain isn’t religious enough. Palin is a right wing evangelical nut. Obama has Muslim roots or attended a church where the preacher said in a sermon, “God damn America.” Biden is a Catholic hypocrite for supporting abortion.

It’s ok for employees to engage in private discussions about these sorts of things, but it’s easy for such discussions to get out of hand. They can be disruptive to work. They can result in employees using language that forms the basis for discrimination claims. It’s your job to make sure that such discussions don’t get out of hand. It’s particularly important for your supervisors and managers to stay clear of taking sides, preaching, or disparaging a religious point of view. It’s unnecessary to issue an edict against having these discussions. It’s important to be vigilant when they occur.