I am a Muslim and we do have some restrictions on issues that are halal or otherwise. Other than this, I would have no problems shopping at any shop.

But a shop that says Muslim owner or Christian owner, will not be the key issue in my shopping. It would be price and service.

And I would also think that their advertsing could do with a makeover.

Good point. I guess I was thinking of Christian artists who write non-Christian albums and Christians buy it… but granted that’s because they’ve written Christian music in the past. Though hehe that reminds me of when Evanescence came out and everybody thought they were Christian for some reason and they made it into the Christian bookstores… =P anyways.

So yeah I agree that it’s a bit weird for an owner of a business who sells generic products to do so but I still think it lets him say something that other signs wouldn’t say altogether, which is basically: “There is a Christian Inside”

So yeah to me that wouldn’t be any different than saying black owned, white owned, American owned, Midget owned etc. The sign isn’t exclusive. It’s not saying “Non Christians keep out”. It’s not selective either, saying “Christians only”, not even “Christians preferred”. All it’s saying that there is a Christian inside who runs this establishment. If customers have a problem with that, that’s too bad, but why should they?

We shouldn’t get along in business because we hide our personal beliefs. We should get along in business because we accept each other for who we are. (Doesn’t mean we have to approve of each other’s deeds or beliefs, just that we’re going to treat each other as human beings and fellow citizens despite differences of opinion and origin)

I know that the owner is probably just bumper-sticker-ing his establishment in a quest for identity like many of us. I wear Jets t-shirts to say certain things about myself – I’m not a Giants fan, I’m from NY, etc. I’m sure the shop owner is not consciously malicious, and I don’t think they are intentionally negative when posting such a sign. I do think they are being stupid in the commercial sense, and I think there are plenty of ways to demonstrate a store is Christian owned – maybe by the way you treat customers, or show inclusiveness, or open your arms to anyone seeking to enter, no matter what their circumstances, than putting a sign on your door.

And for the record, I don’t think of the Christian-owned thing as any more or less offensive than black-owned or Heffalump-owned. All of them are equally short-sighted UNLESS they are specifically aimed at that group – as Mr. Cheap pointed out in para. 2. If you’re selling crucifixes, put up the sign. If you’re selling pencils, it’s just not good business.

Granted there’s the phenomena of identity. However, many people underestimate religion; it’s not just religion. Religion is tied to culture. Now any business person knows how well culture sells. I think there’s a key there to why announcing your religion would work, and why business owners would have an incentive to do it.

As a side note, it’s interesting how despite my description of a possibly positive motive behind the sign (see comment 19), many people still interpret it with very negative connotations (see comment 42 & 44). People’s interpretation obviously rely heavily on past experience which influence their assumptions. Like MITBeta inferred in comment 41, you never know what people will think when they read your signs, even if you mean it well.

They are all STUPID for a commercial endeavor. Why even vaguely risk scaring off some customers, unless you are positive the increase from your targeted sign makes sense. Just seems like you’re taking too much of a chance with the clientele any way you look at it. And if a Christian owner thinks he’ll attract more Christians with a sign like that, try selling the same widget for $1 more than the non-Christian-logo’ed store across the street. See where people shop then.

And as far as Penn and Teller go, that’s a nice idea but a little bit overly optimistic. Nazi Germany’s biggest trading partner before World War II was France. And the Union and the Confederacy during the American Civil War had certainly been doing more than a little business between them before they lit each other up.

But great article & great conversation along with it!

I’m sure that Canada has fairly robust laws on what is and is not permissible to display in public, with much of the emphasis being placed on freedom of speech as most/all modern democracies do. But just because someone is allowed to do something, doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to like or approve of it.

I would prefer it if this person didn’t advertise the Christianity in this manner. I wouldn’t legislate against it though.

Bad human that I may be, I in fact DO boycott businesses that advertise that they are “Christian.” In my generation — this little trick has been around for a long time — what it meant is “we’re not Jews.” And in my generation and in my parents’, that factoid unfortunately had meaning. I will not do business with enterprises that advertise in this manner.

These days, of course, the meaning is somewhat subtler. Now it means “we are of the anointed few who know the Real Truth of Life, the Universe, and All That, and we’ll be seeing you in heaven (assuming you’re one of us), so you might as well start buying our tchochkies now so and start building an eternal customer relationship, free of those ignorant damned fools who, as you and I know, are doomed to spend eternity elsewhere.” That, IMHO, is darned near as offensive as the prior meaning.

Another sense resides in the message: “Because we subscribe to particular religious persuasion, we must be more likely to treat customers better and be less likely to rip them off than those who are not of our faith.” This, experience shows, is a variety of flaming hypocrisy, not to say “a lie.” A plumber I once called, for example, showed up in a truck advertising his “Christianity” and proposed to charge me $250 to replace a 50-cent part; one of his apostate competitors did the job for a few bucks.

The proprietor’s religion is none of my business, just as my religion is none of his or her business. This applies, too, to the religious beliefs of those who run for public office. Religion should be kept out of the marketplace and out of the public sphere. It belongs in church and in the home, and that’s where it should stay. I highly resent having people’s “Christianity” shoved in my face.

Some might think: Higher prices because they can’t compete.

A great example from my sales training: Never pre-suppose that you know what the customer wants.

Customer: “Does it come in red?”

Salesman: “Yes, we’ve got several in stock!”

Customer: “Well I hate red.”

But, down here in the Melting Pot we have a saying: “It’s a free country”. That means a shop owner should be able to display whatever they choose, as long as it isn’t discriminatory or disparaging to others. Many in the world, including those living in Montreal, aren’t so fortunate.

Having said all of that, the “Fish Posters” are usually more interested in increasing business than in running their store based on Christian values. At least that has been my experience.