Church and Franchise at Christmas

It seems the battle between church and franchise rages in the South. A Raleigh, McDonald's restaurant has written a religious message for the season on its sign.

The sign reads, "Merry Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season."

One local woman thinks it is offensive to her Jewish views and has asked the company to take the sign down. However, the majority of the community does not seem to mind. The store manager said that church groups were frequenting the restaurant and others were being drawn in by the sign.

Private business owners are still free to write and preach religious messages. No law has been broken here. After all, T Jefferson created no such wall between church and business. A good guideline for business, especially quick service restaurants, is to focus marketing messages to include all religious groups in order to maximize profits rather than exclude a few based on a message from a specific religious group. Messages like "Shakes now 50 cents" or "Win a free prize" tend to do that.

I'm the first to admit that not all store owners want to maximize profits. Some are called to more celestial purposes than what the corporate head office have in mind. And, some of us do enjoy a political jab, a good chuckle or sublime message from time to time.

Sources: WRAL.com and W & D Franchise Law Blog