http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29122/3
"On 18 June CERN unveiled an unusual new landmark - a statue of the Indian deity Shiva. The statue is a gift from CERN's Indian collaborators to celebrate CERN's long association with India, which began in the 1960s. It was unveiled by His Excellency K M Chandrasekhar, ambassador (WTO Geneva), shown above signing the visitors' book, Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of the Indian Department of Energy, and CERN's director-general, Robert Aymar. The statue was made in India in the traditional style. The original sculpture was a wax model, around which a soil mould was made. Melting the wax left a hollow into which liquid metal was poured, and once cooled the mould was split and the statue polished and given its antique finish."
It's a gift in the spirit of cooperation, progress, and the betterment of all mankind. What's the problem? Does that go against your "Christian" upbringing?
The statue is a cultural thing, not so much a religious idol. In the Hindu culture, Shiva represents beneficial progress. Statues of Shiva carry an association of wishes for good luck in future endeavors. In the West, many people associate Shiva only with destruction, but only due to ignorance and an overabundance of poor translations.
Shiva is a member of the Hindu Trimurti, a trinity of supreme deities. Brahma creates, Vishnu maintains, Shiva destroys and transforms. But destruction in this sense is not a bad thing. For example, one of Shiva's manifestations is as Time itself and Time destroys all things. Destruction is also a necessary step in beneficial progress. Death and destruction are, somewhat ironically, essential to life and progress.
EDIT:
Oops, forgot to mention that this particular statue is what's known as a nataraja (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nataraja). The symbolism is perfect (read the article).