Chapz

I can only imagine they treat their employees the same way. Here is the keyword of a task you should do, don't ask us any questions and get to work.

@hlovdal I mean the primary task he needs to manage. Yes, he also has to manage people, but not in this context where two people have personal issues between them. As a manager, I would try to mediate, but it would ultimately not be my task, to get 2 people to like each other. This is more an issue for HR to solve.

A managers job is to manage work, not people. The employees have issues with one another and not with work, meaning to resolve the conflict they don't need a manager, they need a kindergarden teacher or their parents.

@Buffy No, it's a simple to understand example what the consequence is of awarding people for being wrong. It may be a quite radical example, but it can be applied to anything else where one needs to rely on the expertise of others, and that expertise is non-existent.

@Buffy Would you accept to be operated by a doctor that got his degree based on funny answers instead of correct ones?

@Araucaria-Nothereanymore. Yes, team culture is like a knife, it can be a kitchen tool or a weapon. Depends on the user what will it be. In this case you could also argue that diversity may cause team issues and drop in productivity. The OP could talk with the candidate to explain the current situation in the team, and that religion is a personal thing and must not be the cause any conflicts. That way the candidate can asses is he willing to work in such an environment and has been warned that if religious conflicts arise there will be consequences.

Experience is not the only thing that should be judged when someone is applying for a job but also how well does he/she fit into the team (culture). If you think, and obviously do, that this person might cause tensions in the team and wouldn't fit well in the team culture that a good enough reason not to hire them as they might negatively impact the rest of the team and therefore productivity. We had plenty senior developers denied because they left the impression of a know-it-all-best and would probably try to force their decisions onto others instead of finding a common ground as a team.