Topic of the Week: Alaska Pulls Prayer Cards

I heard about this and have always thought they shouldn’t have had them in the first place. The first time I flew AS and saw them I was surprised.

While people will have different thoughts on this subject, mine was is was like saying ‘pray this flight doesn’t crash’ which didn’t send a good message on the safety of the airline or air travel in general.

I know some found solace in the prayer card while others were offended by it. As a 27 year employee I was uncomfortable for many years ‘distributing’ the prayer card as part of my inflight service as I felt it reflected on me as a person without my consent. Eventually I made my peace with it….but I have heard my share of both complaints and praise over the years about it. I completely understand the reasoning for eliminating it…why would you want to alienate ANY potential customers? I made this argument many times to management over the years. Also, one’s religion is a very personal journey…who are we (or who is anyone for that matter) to say which religion is the ‘right’ one or the one that should be singled out for promotion?

Those that love AS will continue to fly us with or without the prayer card. Those that will now opt not to fly AS due to the elimination of the prayer card will likely amount to very few. And those that did not fly us before BECAUSE of it (and they do exist) might give us another try.

Can we now work on changing the pledge of allegiance to “One nation under Canada”? ;)

I always thought it was strange that Alaska, of all airlines, had the prayer cards, since the Pacific Northwest is the most irreligious region of the United States. If Delta or American had had them, I would have been less surprised…

Anyway, it’s a smart move. Not everyone is Jewish or Christian (the cards were usually a very neutral verse from the Psalms). But Alaska management was also wise to be very circumspect in how they removed them, to avoid backlash from religious conservatives, who tend to take umberage at such changes.

Brett, I know you’re probably not surprised to see me jump into this one…. This is a personal observation, and not one that my employer would necessarily support.

Respecting the right to practice your choice or lack of religion should include tolerance of those who choose to practice differently.

In an ironic and perhaps interesting juxtapositioning against sexual orientation, the tone in the US and Europe has increasingly been turned around to push religion into the closet, with some individuals and organizations taking it to a further extreme and showing absolute intolerance of those who choose to follow a particular lifestyle or practice it openly…

Given their choice of using Psalms, it would be difficult for a Christian, Jew, or Muslim to find them offensive as they’re all recognized texts in these three religions. I get the idea that some people saw it differently, and you always had the freedom to turn it over.

As for what other airlines do… If you fly on a Middle East carrier, you’re likely to have an indicator in the cabin or on the IFE of where Mecca is. Do I find that offensive as a non-Muslim? Hardly, and no less offensive than anyone could find things such as a uniform style which reflects the religious based culture of their home countries (e.g. covering of womens’ skin & hair), or a service standard in which only men serve men & women serve women.

I’ve seen some people question how any successful business could dare weave faith into their business practices. Three come to mind: In-N-Out, who continues to place scripture references on their paper products; Chick-Fil-A, who makes a point of closing on Sundays.

Even WalMart does this to a smaller degree — depending on the locale, they carry one of the largest selections of devotional candles I’ve ever seen in areas with high concentrations of Catholics, as well as a very large section of LDS books in their Arizona & Utah stores. I know that’s just smart retailing, but its not something you see from every mass merchandiser.

So, I’m disappointed that they’ve taken them out, but really not surprised.

And no, I really don’t expect any backlash from the ultra-religious, and question why the company thought they needed to go public with their decision. The cards could have quietly been discontinued when stock ran out, and still achieved the same end without negative publicity on both sides of the issue that the action attract.

This is much ado about little. It’s strikes me as odd in modern American society for an airline to hand out prayer cards, and Alaska is smart to stop doing so. Given that the practice has been limited to first class for serveral years now, I probably would have just stopped distributing them without making a big deal about it. I doubt many folks would have noticed. If they did notice, “the letter’ could have been furnished to those curious about the change.

Oh dear, what to do. Guess I’ll just have to take a flight to National, have some liver and onions at Sholl’s Cafeteria, served by the helpful ladies with their hair nets, and every table, a blessed prayer card, making me remember to say grace.

No, you serious? Not every table anymore? Oh, no Sholl’s! OK Alaska, whatever! Bless you all!