Please help me out here a little bit, I'm a Dutchy that moved to the USA, and I'm still learning. When I go through the yellow pages, I find Christian fitness clubs, Christian plumbers, Christian dentists, etc, etc, and I can't for the life of me understand how that's considered a good marketing strategy.
And what does a "Christian Plumber" do? Pray for your toilet?
I can understand the concept of a Christian Church. That's probably a building where somebody tells stuff about Christian beliefs and such. I can even understand Christian bookstores. There they probably sell books about Christian topics, whatever they may be.
But Christian dentists? Do Christians have special types of teeth? Does it have to do with the fact that teeth of unbelievers will gnash and such?
An "All White Dentist" would be a bit funny, maybe, but I still don't understand why it's even allowed to rule out people. Please educate me.
Thanks.|||Christians needs special dentists because atheists have no molars.|||I think Christian plumbers bless your toilet water to make it holy.|||It fascinates me that you think it's strange to see an advertisement for a Christian plumber. It's a lot different here, huh?
They do it because they think it will attract more people. They think by saying they are Christian, people who see the ad will assume they have good morals. Honestly, around here (West Virginia), that marketing strategy would probably work. Not with me, but with most of the population in this state.|||Please educate me too. Nicely put Markyyy.|||Welcome to the U.S. Here we have to define everything by race and stereotype! However it is not PC to use white.... You can have white nothing. However welcome and enjoy!!!|||You appear to be fairly well educated already.
I loved your line, "What does a Christian plumber do? Pray for your toilet?" That's a keeper.
Now I'll just sit back and enjoy the parade.|||While it is acceptable to market religion (not sure why, but oh well) it is not acceptable to overtly market race, even though we do subtly market race in non-offensive ways, lest a civil suite be filed.|||Probably not. But its o.k. as hell to have the united ***** college fund.(as far as I am concerned...ANY MIND is a terrible thing to waste!).
:)
Me thinks they dont play by the same rules. So is this a "level playing field"?
Dont think so.|||Get to California Linz!
i'm quite sure a "Christian plumber" goes out of business in this state.|||They are not advertising as a "Christian whatever" because they will only serve Christian customers. That would be illegal, just as an "all white" anything would be illegal.
They are saying that THEY are Christian. They might do this for several possible reasons:
1) They think that other Christians will choose their services over someone else's
2) They believe that calling themselves a "Christian" business will cause people to believe in the integrity of their business. In other words, because they are Christian, they believe in doing quality work and not ripping people off or dealing dishonestly.|||I am British and was previously unaware that this state of affairs existed in the USA. Thank you for this educational question.
Someone has thumbed down Some Guy but I suspect he, and Linz, are correct.|||It isn't saying that if you are not a christian that we don't want you to come in fact it is quite the other way around. We are more then happy that you are here and will come to a christian place for services other then religion.
Here on the west coast we don't list it so much in that fashion but we do have other books that tell us where the christian place of employement as we like to help each other out and we find that for the most part they are honest people and will go out of their way to help others.
They are usually excepting and fun bunch of people to do business with.|||No, it would be considered racist.
I think that people advertise that they are "Christians" because, supposedly, that means they are good honest people. Maybe they are good people, but just because they say so does not make it fact.|||Its not that those places rule out non-christians, its just that they are a gathering place for christians, most likely they don't spend much time talking about religion at all. For the fitness club I assume you are talking about the YMCA, its old, and while it may have been christian only at one time, they don't really care anymore. Saying that you are christian in the phone book is probably just a marketing strategy, not that they aren't Christian but they probably only list it to catch people's eye. Christians like to help their own so that may work.|||lol Xian plumber? No such thing. I'm in the building industry and I've yet to find one who hasn't "lost their religion" at work. I've noticed advertising taking that lean. It's business suicide. I think what is happening, is their decision to keep the money in the hands of xians. More and more extreme. ouch
GeorgiaPeach, got something for you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvAnQqVJ3…|||LOL
Some Christians (and non-Christians for that matter) prefer to do business with other Christians because they feel they can trust them more.
Waar woont u?|||Some things are considered acceptable, while their counterparts are not.
Acceptable: Black Entertainment Television
Unacceptable: White Entertainment Television
Acceptable: Gay Yellow Pages
Unacceptable: Straight Yellow Pages
Acceptable: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Unacceptable: National Association for the Advancement of Non-Colored People|||Very simple -
A person is their thoughts/beliefs not their color or sex (or height, weight, hair color.......)|||Only allowing white patrons would be considered exclusionary. Private clubs are certainly allowed to do so, but they may not use public facilities unless they are exercising first amendment rights.
Christian Plumbers are obviously hoping that other Christians would prefer to spend their money with fellow christians, just as many businesses display the rainbow flag or sticker to show they are gay friendly.
LOL at yamster breaking out the latin.... don't make much of it though, his disposition "Speaks for itself" as well|||It would be illegal.|||I wonder if in Utah, you see adds for Mormon plumbers....that makes me think; at least you wouldn't see the 'plumbers crack' on a Mormon plumber because their garmies being one piece would hide the butt crack when they bend over.|||Markyyy,
Not only did I notice when I moved to Georgia that a lot of billboards for realtors, insurance agents, small business owners and the like have Christian fish symbols, I also noticed a lot of them have their pictures on the billboards as well.
When I asked my husband he said that it was because they feel that other Christians will choose them over a competitor when they are in need of their services.
I was even more shocked when he told me the reason that many have their pictures on the billboards was so that people would know they were white (as opposed to black or Hispanic).
So you're all-white remark may not be so far off.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth as did the "African American owned and operated" billboards in Detroit did when I lived there.
I make it a point to never support such establishments.|||Markyyy, Markyyy, Markyyy. Are you having a blonde moment?
A Christian dentist will accept anyone as a client. The purpose of advertising they are a Christian business is so Christians who prefer to financially support other Christians have the information. In fact, my church gave me a booklet that identifies local Christian businesses so that I can do just that (if I prefer).
As to the health club question...it would not be considered acceptable. It would be considered illegal...but you know that.
EDIT:
As far as a marketing strategy, it would not be an effective one. Atheist, Jews, Muslims, what-have-you, might decide NOT to use that business because they advertised themselves as Christian. The best marketing strategy would be to not identify yourself as any religion at all.
I don't understand why you all think this is not right. It's no different than steering people to your uncle's business because he is a relative, or any other such scenario.|||The idea is that Christians will be more likely to go to a business that is owned by other Christians.|||I've lived in the USA most of my life and I've never seen anything like that. But we're not like Holland or any other European country either. You people have a freedom from relgion we only have freedom OF relgion. That is, religion in America can get away with anything it likes!|||I hadn't really thought about how insane it was until I noticed your reaction when we walked past the Christian fitness center. I am so used to seeing stuff like that it doesn't really seem out of the norm.
Like the other answers said, they do it because they think advertising their religion makes them look more honest.
As for the "all white' fitness club, the Ku Klux Klan actually does have 'social activity groups' (such as gun clubs), I'm sure it really wouldn't be a stretch for them to try and have a fitness club, although I don't think that's high on their agenda.|||I found it funny.|||By law, dentists and doctors have to treat everyone who can pay or get insurance. But small businesses, such as one or two-person plumbing operations, can be picky-choosy about accepting jobs. They are trying to attract an audience of like-minded people, but that doesn't necessarily mean they won't fix a Jew or atheist or same-sex couple's toilet.
It's like, Coca-Cola can't discriminate against anyone, but they can have a youth-oriented marketing campaign designed to attract people 30 and under.
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