Can Someone Send a Non-Jewish Worker Into a Church?

Rabbi Yosef Kushner

Question:  A Jew who purchases a building that contains a church may not enter the church. Is he allowed to send his worker to enter the church in his stead? 

Answer: If the worker is Jewish, he would also not be permitted to enter the church; so the owner would also not be allowed to send him there and cause him to transgress. 

This halacha is sometimes relevant in senior living homes. These homes often contain churches. If the workers are Jewish, they cannot be allowed to wheel or escort the residents into the church. 

If the worker is not Jewish, there is no prohibition for him to enter a church for an unrelated matter; therefore, if the owner is only sending him in to check the place out and do an inspection, it would be permitted. 

On the other hand, a Jew is also forbidden to do anything to beautify a church (as we will discuss in a future segment). He also is not allowed to have a non-Jewish worker do so on his behalf. Therefore, it would not be permitted to send a non-Jewish worker into a church to beautify it in some way, such as installing decorative light fixtures or the like.