There was a case which relates to this a couple of years back.
A Hasidic Jew applied to be a firefighter with the Goshen Fire Department. The GFD made it very clear that unless he shaved off his beard, he could not be a fireman as a beard would prevent a complete seal being formed with the respirator and the face. This would not only endanger the life of the applicant, but also his fellow firefighters as they would have to now risk their lives once he succumbed to smoke inhalation, not to mention the obvious risk to those being rescued if the applicant passed out while carrying an unconscious victim.
The Hasidic community attempted to sue the GFD on grounds of religious discrimination which was obviously complete nonsense. Had it been an atheist with a beard the same rules would have applied - it had nothing to do with religious intolerance but everything to do with FD rules and above all, common sense. He chose to follow the rules of the Hasidic faith which clashed with the rules and regulations of the GFD. If your beliefs prevent you from complying with a given job description, you have no business applying for the job - it's a simple choice. But because his faith demanded he have a beard the Hasidic community saw it as an opportunity to cry foul and invoke the religious intolerance card.
The over emotional crowd as usual allow their emotions to dictate their thought process instead of common sense. Tax payers money wasted in the drawn out process of court hearings over something which should have been a non-issue in the first place. I'm definitely with Simon and Cofty - if your beliefs are going to keep you from carrying out your job description stop making it about bigotry and others being at fault, common sense alone calls you out for what you are - a self entitled twit who thinks the world should step aside and make special concessions just for you because your views demand it. YOU are the one causing conflict and no one else.
