There seems to be some sort of perverse need in some people to inject their religious beliefs into their business ventures. I've already written about several instances of this in these pages, including the proliferation of Christian fishies in Yellow Pages ads here in Sacramento. And let's not forget the two articles about a certain Christian job-seeker site. But with every instance of such things, I'm just more and more appalled.
My wife is starting her own business and has been receiving catalogs from various suppliers of things she'll need. One of them, on the inside cover, went on for two paragraphs about "God's gift of Jesus," quoting John 3:16 and going on and on about Christ's sacrifice and whatnot.
What in the world is wrong with these people? Why would any non-religion-oriented company deliberately proselytize in their literature? Do they think that non-Christians somehow won't be offended? Why would any company purposely do anything that has the possibility of offending even a small percentage of potential customers, when it adds absolutely nothing to their business? It just doesn't make sense.
Do they think including this bit of preaching to their catalog will actually tip the scales of potential purchasers in their favor? I suppose it's possible that they think this, and just as possible that it might work.
But it seems to me that any prudent businessperson would never do such a thing. The winning over of customers should be based on the quality and value of one's offerings, not on the religious beliefs of the owner or customer.
Or is that too simplistic of a business strategy?
