The persecution of Christians in the marketplace

When Mozilla Firefox’s CEO was forced to leave the company recently due to the uproar created by gay and lesbian lobby groups over his Christian belief in the institution of marriage, a whole new type of persecution against Christians in the West was opened up.

The rise and fall of Mozilla’s CEO

In 2008, Mr. Brendan Eich (“Mr. Eich”) donated $1000 of his own money and in his personal capacity, to a Christian lobby group fighting to keep marriage as a God-ordained institution between a man and a woman.

Recently, Mr. Eich was promoted to CEO of Mozilla, one of the largest international software development companies. Soon after his promotion, gay and lesbian lobby groups began creating an uproar on the internet, calling for an international boycott of Mozilla’s search engine. Shockingly, this was because he had acted on his Christian beliefs six years prior to being appointed CEO of Mozilla!

The boycott radically affected the share prices of Mozilla, and some websites even refused access to their homepage for users logging in with Mozilla. The goal was always to make an example of Mr. Eich, and under increasing pressure, he resigned from the company.

What this means for Christians in the marketplace

While this may seem distant or irrelevant to many Christians, we need to take cognisance of how this will affect all Christians in the marketplace, particularly in the Western world.

Mr. Eich’s resignation will affect all Christians – it will cost jobs and promotions, and open the door to marginalisation and discrimination in the marketplace.

In response, Microsoft Chairman John Thompson has warned that the onus will need to be "on the corporation and its board to assess whether anything the candidate has done or said in the past will adversely affect the company's reputation."

What this means is that even what Christians do in their private capacity outside of working hours will now be taken into consideration by employers.

Being a part of a church with unpopular beliefs, giving money to an organisation fighting for Christian rights, or being outspoken about Christian beliefs (which are now often labelled as bigoted or anti-equality) will potentially cause Christians not to be considered for jobs or promotions, as companies become increasingly concerned about public scrutiny.

Local impact

In South Africa recently, a Christian wedding planner who decided not to offer her services to a lesbian couple due to her conscience has suffered business consequences. Gay and lesbian lobby groups applied pressure to her suppliers and warned them to publicly sever ties with her because of her Christian beliefs.

As a result, advertising agencies withdrew their services, and she was removed from several advertising platforms. Similarly, in the USA, numerous Christian-owned businesses have been forced to close after their beliefs were challenged by suppliers and customers who called for boycotts.

The growing concern

These examples are becoming more frequent, and the consequences are alarming. Christians may soon find their faith held against them during job applications or interviews. If applicants state that Jesus is Lord of their lives, they may find themselves marginalised, unemployed, or unable to do business because of their beliefs outside of work.

A call to action

If ever there was a time for Christians to wake up and fight for our freedoms, it is now. Christian persecution and a real threat to religious freedom is upon us. If we don’t rally together, speak out, and stand united, we will soon lose our freedom to believe, teach, and live out the Word of God as we interpret it, to the glory of God.

Together, with God for us, we can make a difference.

Andrew Selley
CEO & Founder of FOR SA