Fired for Her Faith

In mid-October 2025, Paige Rogers received a text message from her workplace stating:

"After careful review and investigation, we have determined that your behavior has violated Heine Bros’ policies regarding respectful workplace conduct and anti-discrimination. It was reported and confirmed that you engaged in conversations in the workplace where you expressed religious beliefs in a manner that was unwelcome and offensive to others. These conversations created discomfort among team members and contributed to a work environment inconsistent with our company values and code of conduct. As per our internal policies and after a thorough investigation, we have decided to terminate your employment with Heine Bros effective immediately.” (Courtesy of Fox News)

Rogers is a sophomore at Boyce College, a Christian college affiliated with the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2024, she took a job as a barista at Heine Brothers coffee shop to help pay for her educational expenses. 

On October 1, 2025, Rogers was having what seemed to be a normal, if awkward, conversation with her coworkers. They learned she attended a Christian college and initiated questions about her faith. The questions immediately turned toward how her faith informs her sexual ethics, including asking if she was saving herself for marriage and what she believed about how one coworker in a same-sex partnership would have to change her behavior if she became a Christian.

Rogers answered the questions honestly and felt it was no different from other conversations that end in respectful disagreement. Twelve days later, on October 13, 2025, she received the termination text message. When Rogers asked whether the policy applied even if the other parties initiated the questions, Heine Brothers said yes. Rogers received no warning and no progressive discipline, despite the “thorough investigation” mentioned in the text message.

Now, First Liberty Institute is representing Rogers in a charge filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Heine Brothers for religious discrimination.

“Paige clearly believed she had been targeted based on the substance of her faith. We investigated whether to see the facts lined up with that assumption. Based on the text message she received, it was clear that they had terminated her based on her beliefs. Her conduct during the conversation based on answering questions was in line with the standards of employee conduct at Heine Brothers,” said Cliff Martin, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute.

Martin says Title VII of the Civil Rights Act calls for employers to accommodate religious beliefs. “That freedom is real, and it applies to the workplace and to schools. Employers need to learn that respecting religious beliefs is not optional, it’s mandatory,” he said.

Martin added that the case is significant not only for its legal ramifications but also for the example it sets for how individuals can live out their faith in a country that protects religious freedom.

Worldview Roundup:

Paige Rogers’ story is one that clearly shows a culture at odds with the Christian worldview, particularly as it relates to identity. In a culture that increasingly treats biblical convictions on sexuality and human identity as inherently harmful or bigoted, Paige’s experience highlights how even polite, invited conversations about faith can be reframed as “offensive.”

The coworkers who prompted the conversation with her went immediately to the most debated issue of the day, sexual ethics. Rather than legitimately engaging in mutual dialogue, the response was swift termination, revealing a worldview that cannot tolerate dissent on matters of identity.

In the face of that questioning, Paige’s story is different from what we often see in the world. She demonstrated that faithfulness doesn’t require hostility or evasion. By answering honestly when asked, she embodied the call to be ready to give a reason for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15), even at personal cost. Her story reminds us that the Christian worldview offers clarity and compassion where culture often delivers confusion and coercion.

These are the kinds of conversations where cultural confusion usually holds the most sway. But in addition to the legal importance of her case, Paige’s ability to articulate and rest in her faith is an encouragement that all Christians can find encouragement in. Her willingness to stand firm points to the beauty of living out an integrated Christian worldview: one that values truth, grace, and the ultimate hope found in Christ over cultural approval.

When a religious person is asked for a religious opinion and it’s an environment and situation where employees are free to talk about other things, religious employees are equally allowed to air their opinion alongside the nonreligious person’s opinion. 

I would hope that young people that are learning about Paige’s experience would learn that a person can stand up for their faith, and they might suffer discrimination or persecution, and they might have to tell a person or institution that something is wrong, but the beautiful thing about America is that we protect religious freedom. That freedom is real, and it applies to the workplace and to schools. Employers need to learn that respecting religious beliefs is not optional, it’s mandatory. 

First Liberty Institute exists to safeguard religious freedom in the marketplace and in the public sphere. If anyone out there is experiencing persecution or discrimination, there are lawyers out there who want to help you. You can reach our organization at firstliberty.org.