In Theory: Marriott pulls religious texts from some brands

Marriott International will not supply Bibles or other religious texts at its new millennial-oriented hotels, Moxy and Edition, Hugo Martin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

“It’s because the religious books don’t fit the personality of the brands,” Marriott spokeswoman Felicia Farrar McLemore said.

Marriott, the world’s largest hotel company, supplies a copy of the Bible and Book of Mormon in rooms at every other hotel in its franchise.

Most major hotel companies allow individual owners and managers to decide whether to supply religious texts. A recent survey conducted by STR, a hospitality analytics company, found that in the last decade, the number of hotels offering Scriptures has dropped significantly — 95% in 2006 to 79% this year.

According to industry experts, the practice has declined due to a need to appeal to younger, less devout, American travelers and to avoid offending travelers of different religions.

“And then there is this practical issue: Many newer hotel brands install shelves rather than nightstands with drawers next to the bed, making it difficult to be discreet about offering a Bible,” Martin reports.

Q. What do you think of Marriott International’s decision and the larger trend?

I am sorry to hear about Marriott not wanting to put Bibles in people’s rooms, but I understand somewhat the company’s reasoning.

I have an idea. All new hotels that I have been in have TV sets in their rooms, and most, if not all, have a channel dealing with the facilities that are available for the guests.

Perhaps the Marriott could offer a second channel that would have scriptures of all the major faiths. The remote control could scroll down until the necessary scripture was found, Hebrew Scriptures, Christian Scriptures, Koran or Gita, for example, and then the patron could locate the book or sura or passage. After the initial cyber expense, there would be no further expense. An added advantage would be to make this program audio-friendly for the visually impaired.

God and the 21st century, peace on Earth and good will toward all.

Shalom and happy holidays,

Rabbi Mark Sobel
Temple Beth Emet
Burbank

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Marriott International’s corporate decision is illustrative of the personal decision every one of us must make regarding the Bible, which is the eternally standing, revealed word of God. Will we promote it or will we be ashamed of it and try to conceal it? Will we publicly live out its principles, or will we let public opinion be our moral guide? If the presence of the Bible threatens some perceived profit or pleasure, which will I reject and which will I choose to keep? We all must decide these things.

On the surface it may appear that the Marriott company has made a pragmatic, profit-driven decision that will (it hopes) appeal to its target customers. But in reality Marriott has made a moral decision, especially in light of the fact that it has purposely discontinued its long-standing practice of providing religious texts in two of its new brands. The company has made a conscious, deliberate decision to reject the Bible. In my opinion this is a foolish and self-destructive choice that speaks poorly of its leadership’s moral judgment and distances itself from God’s blessings. It also presupposes a negative view of its desired customers, that they would be so biased as to reject patronage of the hotel simply because there happened to be a Bible in the room. I do not believe the rising generation is that bigoted and narrow-minded.

Regardless of the financial impact of the Marriott company’s decision, there is a more serious consequence, which those who believe the Bible take seriously (and those who reject it don’t). Jesus said: “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26). Some decisions have serious, eternal consequences.

Pastor Jon Barta
Burbank

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Our older daughter delighted in hotels at an early age because her dad and I are avid travelers, and she would immediately toddle over to the nightstand and look for a Bible. Because we discussed beliefs openly with her she already knew that some families embraced supernatural deities, just as her atheist parents deeply believed in peace, justice and rationality. Once she discovered a book entitled “The Life Of Buddha” in the drawer instead, and we all enjoyed an age-appropriate discussion of comparative religion.

Consider this statement from James McKnight, pastor at the Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles: “I do not expect the owner of a hotel to have the responsibility to give me a sacred text,” going on to say that Christian travelers who regularly read the Bible would probably have a print or digital copy with them.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has weighed in as well, last year having asked 15 major hotel chains to refrain from providing Bibles in hotel room. Much as I respect this group and support its efforts to keep religion out of our constitutionally secular government, I don’t think that Bibles in hotel rooms violate the separation of church and state. As with porn on the TV channels available to hotel guests, no one is forced to partake.

I also don’t think much of the foundation’s providing members with stickers to place on hotel Bibles which say “Warning: Literal belief in this book may endanger your health and life.” That may be true, but it is also defacing hotel property and may show up on your bill like a stolen towel or broken lamp.

Hotels are being silly to think that a Bible discretely slipped in a drawer is fine but one on an open shelf is making too “pronounced” a statement. Whatever Marriott and other chains decide, they should stand behind their action.

It would be better for hoteliers to think deeper and recognize that hotel stays are not fun jaunts for all guests, and that beliefs vary widely. Travelers can be lonely, bored, grieving, struggling with addiction, worried sick about work, or even suicidal. Why not provide a book gathering a range of inspirational or consoling material, from biblical and other sources, along with a help-line number to call for human contact and perhaps intervention?

Roberta Medford
Atheist
Montrose

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The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. No other book has had such a positive impact on the world, and Western Civilization wouldn’t be what it is had there been no Bible. Is it important? Yes. If you had to choose one book to offer someone seeking guidance, comfort, or purpose this is the volume you lay out. It’s been the one that thousands of hotels worldwide have included as part of the furniture in their rooms so that travelers may have ready access. And there’s a reason we’ve come to expect a Bible in a drawer or on a shelf in the places we briefly stay, it’s because the Gideons have been putting them there for more than a century, to the tune of two billion and counting. It hasn’t been the inns themselves that supply the Bibles or foot the expense, it has been the good Christian Gideons who daily donate their own time and money so that people like you and me may count on this one positive constant. If you’ve ever heard a Gideon speak at a church, you know they have endless stories of people who went to Hotels to commit suicide, only to change their minds by the hopeful words of Scripture. And it doesn’t stop there; so many lives have been changed, families saved, and even pastors like me were made by having encountered a Gideon Bible. Taking away such a human advantage as this book can only be considered callous and soulless. How does a book fail to fit a brand personality anyway? Should its cover be modernized? The Gideons would do it.

As for Christian travelers, I would advise that when at all possible, choose a different place to stay, not to particularly punish Marriott or because it’s sinful, but to support Christian faith-affirming businesses and do good “especially to those who belong to our family in the faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Rev. Bryan A. Griem
Tujunga