Realtors who use religious symbols in their marketing may have the best of intentions, but little insight into why Fair Housing laws frown on mixing business with their beliefs.

One broker writes Realty Times with the following question:

This topic has become relevant because one of my agents, who happens to be an evangelical Christian, wants to advertise using a Christian fish symbol in the ad. I have told the agent that HUD does not allow the use of religious symbols in real estate advertising and that the use of such a symbol could be considered (and appears to me to be obviously so) prima facie evidence for illegal preference for people of similar religious beliefs. It would also seem likely that any general disclaimer (such as a statement or perhaps the Equal Housing symbol) would not overcome this preference. The agent, of course, has pointed out several local agents who use this and other religious symbols in their advertising. Do you think I am correct in what I am telling my agents?

Tom

Dear Tom:

You are correct. It doesn't appear inviting to use a personal religious belief to get customers. Religious symbols like the fish are for recognition purposes and likely to only attract other Christians and repel non-Christians. There's something discriminatory about that, and that's exactly why it's against Fair Housing laws:

According to the Guidance Regarding Advertisements Under 804(c) of the Fair Housing Act, Section 804(c) of the Act "prohibits the making, printing and publishing of advertisements which state a preference, limitation or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin."

Being against the law should be enough to end the matter with your agent, but there are other reasons why mixing business and religion in advertising is a bad idea:

It's against your brokerage's policy
As a broker, you surely have a policy to obey the law. Apparently, the agent is not clear about your policies or the law.

You are the business owner/broker, and the real estate salesperson is hired to be your agent. Employing an agent means that he or she does things the way you would do them if you could clone yourself and spread out into the marketplace. Any salesperson who doesn't understand that is a financial and legal liability to your brokerage. So the first thing you must do is remind all your agents of what your policy is on all matters of the law, including using religious symbols in their marketing.

It's your liability, too
A religious belief is not a bubble that surrounds someone with immunity from the law or common sense. You are liable for whatever your agents do, which is yet another reason to lay down the law.

"The prohibition applies to publishers, such as newspapers and directories," continues Section 804(c) as well as to persons and entities who place real estate advertisements. It also applies to advertisements where the underlying property may be exempt from the provisions of the Act, but where the advertisement itself violates the Act. See 42 U.S.C. 3603 (b). Publishers and advertisers are responsible under the Act for making, printing, or publishing an advertisement that violates the Act on its face," intones Section 804(c). "Thus, they should not publish or cause to be published an advertisement that on its face expresses a preference, limitation or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

It's disrespectful to you
This agent doesn't appear to respect your authority. My question is why do you want someone associated with your brokerage who doesn't listen to you and ignores the law in favor of what their friends do? This agent sounds more like a willful teenager than a working adult.

If this agent were your teenage son or daughter asking you if they could drink and drive on prom night, and you said "no, the law doesn't allow that," and they responded back with, "But my friends are doing it ...," would that cause you to doubt the validity of the DWI laws? Of course not. The fact that others are doing it simply means they're breaking the law, too.

It's presumptuous
How about trying a little experiment? Next morning meeting, show an illustration of a swastika to your agents and ask them what they think the symbol means.

Most would say it is the emblem of Nazi Germany, in which millions of Jews, homosexuals, political prisoners, dissidents, and yes, Christians, were eliminated in a horrific mass genocide and world war.

Ask the agents how they would feel if a business card were handed to them with a swastika on it. Of course, they'd be offended.

But what if the bearer of the card had something completely different in mind when using the symbol? What if the swastika meant something different to the bearer besides hate and murder? What if it represented ... good fortune?

It wouldn't matter because the bearer would have already lost the sale. She'll never get the chance to explain that the swastika is the oldest cross design in the world, and has been used for centuries by people as diverse as the ancient Greeks, the Chinese, and American Indians, among numerous others. Through the ages, it was the benevolent symbol of good luck, much like the four-leaf clover, which is the exact reason why it was adopted by the Nazis. Yet, it only took one ugly corruption of the meaning to completely change the swastika's impact on people over the entire world.

Believe it or not, the advertising of a religious symbol is highly offensive to many people the world over who would never dream of debasing their beliefs by using them in commerce. While your agent(s) might be surprised at the notion that the fish should not be used as a marketing tool, ask them to imagine handing a card with a fish symbol on it to a Jew, a Muslim, or a Buddhist, and ask what reaction they might get. How do they think that person is going to feel? Will that person be just a little confused about what the agent is selling -- real estate or religion? Do they think they'll convert that person into a customer?

Selling real estate is about making homeownership available to anyone who wants it, not promoting religious beliefs that have the potential to make some segments feel uncomfortable or segregated.

Published: November 11, 2005

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