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Christian "Sharia Law" in Binding Arbitration
There has been an increasing trend for pro-christian businesses to assert religious rights. (See Hobby Lobby's war against contraception).
But the most insidious of these is so-called christian binding arbitration.
Basically, they'll have the fairly typical clause requiring you to agree to binding arbitration for disputes related to a contract. But, the required arbiter will be a christian organization that makes decisions with religious basis. Effectively, you lose the right to take someone to a real court, and have to go to a religious court instead.
One of the examples from the article is a fucking flooring company. It's buried in what is otherwise a long but standard contract. Miss it, and you'll have a Jesus judge deciding your case.
Yet the same people who are so in favor of this movement are the ones who are deeply afraid of what they call "Sharia Law."
But the most insidious of these is so-called christian binding arbitration.
Basically, they'll have the fairly typical clause requiring you to agree to binding arbitration for disputes related to a contract. But, the required arbiter will be a christian organization that makes decisions with religious basis. Effectively, you lose the right to take someone to a real court, and have to go to a religious court instead.
One of the examples from the article is a fucking flooring company. It's buried in what is otherwise a long but standard contract. Miss it, and you'll have a Jesus judge deciding your case.
Yet the same people who are so in favor of this movement are the ones who are deeply afraid of what they call "Sharia Law."
Comments
But in practice, I suspect this is quite terrible, as many contacts are take it or leave it, with no chance to negotiate or even read all the fine print. Is there a reason to have a Christian arbitration clause in your contact, other than "you're a bigot"?
Arbitration is fine only between equals, and with limited powers. Companies vs individuals is just a recipe for disaster.
Don't forget these guys, fighting to prevent a public library from being available in their theocratic town.
There is another angle that seems very common. The scam angle.
There are very few for-profit "Christian" businesses that aren't actually mediocre or actually scams, selling themselves and avoiding scrutiny under the religious umbrella. You're basically using demographics to go after gullible people and playing to their expectations.
Ever notice how "Christian Rock" is just mediocre regular rock? How "Christian Video Games" are just awful rip-offs of regular games?
If I went around making Flying Spaghetti Monster video games, they would suck. Not because it's impossible to make a good one, or that it's a scam. It's simply because I would be a Pastafarian first and a game developer second. Someone who is a game developer first is going to do a better job than me, but they aren't going to make a noodly game.
This sounds a lot like the bull shit pulled by Homeowners Associations.