Introduction
Over twenty years ago I was working in my first office job after running the children’s department of a retail bookstore that went bankrupt. It was a small company of diverse employees; most of us got along well in the shared space. However, one young woman made it her personal mission to inform me and other coworkers (ranging from agnostics to Catholics to Muslims) that we were all “going to hell” whereas her rewards for being a devout Christian awaited in heaven… this was my introduction to religion in a professional setting.
I carried the sting of this situation with me throughout the years, along with the frustration that only Christian holidays were officially observed, even when I switched to a different company. I would question why there was just a Christmas tree in the office lobby during the winter season. No menorah? Surely not everyone in the building was a Christian. Even as I became active in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), as well as completing a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies, I held a firm conviction that religion should not be present in a professional context. I felt that faith was too nuanced, too sensitive, too loaded, and too risky to play a role in the workplace.
As awkward, vulnerable, and uncomfortable as it can feel, I actually appreciate being proven wrong. It deflates the overbearing ego just enough to let the light in, illuminating the alternate realities that exist all around us. In this humbling state of awareness, I can see that there is so much more beyond the confines of rigid frameworks and reductive storylines that I construct to keep me feeling self-righteous. I went into Professor Hans Gustafson’s course “Religion in Public and Professional Life” at the University of St Thomas absolutely certain that religion has no place at work (and expressed as much in early assignments) only to learn as the lessons proceeded that faith is an inextricable aspect of one’s identity; part of the whole self that businesses encourage their employees to bring to work. It is only by showing up authentically and completely (faith included) that employees can bridge cooperation, respect, and empathy between their fellow team members and the customers they serve. I now firmly attest that a company cannot practice DEIB without including religion.
Understanding & Navigating Religious Diversity
“Diversity” can be understood in two key ways: a state of variety and a practice of including people from different backgrounds. So when we consider religious diversity, we can see it as not only different belief systems, traditions, and practices, but also the involvement of myriad faiths in collective settings. But merely focusing on differences is not enough. According to Harvard Professor Diana Eck, we must respond to religious diversity by creating space with intention and engagement; communicating using “constructive dialogue to reveal both common understandings and real differences” – this is the heart of pluralism.
Professor Eck attests that religious freedom is a crucial component of religious pluralism. This is supported by the First Amendment allowing for “free exercise” of religion. When considering the rocky road toward religious liberty in America, it’s clear that religious diversity does not guarantee tranquility. Where there is difference, there will always be conflict (which is natural and to be expected in any human relationship) – but disagreement does not have to mean disrespect or disharmony.
American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg established the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) framework and method of using observations, feelings, needs, and requests to express oneself honestly and receive feedback with humility. Rabbi Rachel S. Mikva recommends the NVC approach as a useful tool in the process of conflict transformation, helping us determine “what changes… the various stakeholders seek” so we can facilitate constructive communication that aims to hear, understand, collaborate, and compromise.
We can apply pluralism and NVC in situations like the case study “Does Smudging Belong in the Workplace?” In this scenario, an employee of a tribal office that supports an Indigenous American community performed a “smudging” purification (which involves burning plants to produce smoke) inside the office. Other employees complained about the smoke and the smell, and expressed concern about the appropriateness of this religious ritual in the workplace. When the sacred and the secular are at odds in the workplace, we have an opportunity to practice Nonviolent Communication to observe the situation pragmatically, express feelings and needs (in this case, the employee who performed the ritual and those who were uncomfortable because of it), and propose requests to establish boundaries that respect and support all parties and their faiths. By refraining from judgment and connecting with empathy, we bridge conflict and diversity through the active practice of pluralism.
Exploring Intersections & Integrating Religious Pluralism
I recently polled three colleagues of diverse backgrounds, asking them: Does religion belong in a company’s DEIB efforts? Does religion belong in ERGs? The results were mixed, which did not surprise me. One responded affirmatively across the board – with the caveat that religious representation is optional and that all faiths have the opportunity to be equally represented. Another was unsure, sharing that their father worked for a small business whose founders were Christian; he was ostracized and made to feel uncomfortable when he did not participate in office prayers. The third colleague replied with an emphatic no to both questions, saying that religion should not be in the work culture or part of DEIB unless the organization itself was a religious institution.
My company has a robust ERG program which includes groups for people of diverse faiths. Both on our internal website as well as our public social media accounts, we acknowledge a variety of religious holidays and other meaningful events throughout the year. (Since we switched to permanent work-from-home during the height of the 2020 pandemic, the lone Christmas tree in the office lobby is now a moot point.) Our employees are all around the world, from Asia to the Americas; our customer base is just as expansive. Religious diversity is an essential part of my profession and an aspect that should not be overlooked. The beliefs, practices, and traditions of various faiths influence the dynamics of our company and team cultures, the policies of our organization, and the spirit in which we serve our customers. As with any facet of identity and lived experience, there are both challenges and opportunities in supporting religious diversity at work.
For example, when my company implemented a policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination requirements, there was push-back from a couple of colleagues demanding religious exemption. There were also a couple of dissenting (faith-based) remarks when my company made an announcement in support of women’s bodily autonomy in light of the Roe v Wade overturn. Considering that we have over 4500 employees worldwide, it would be easy to brush off these exceptions to the majority – but true inclusion means that we must create space and make reasonable accommodations for everyone. We cannot “rest on our laurels” simply because we have an anti-discrimination policy and ERG programs – we must actively examine, engage, and evolve our ethos and policies to ensure that pluralism is in play.
We can start by implementing programs that develop religious literacy – a practice that does not require in-depth knowledge of every facet of faith, but that is simply knowing enough to be aware, responsive, and respectful of diversity. This certainly worked for American Airlines, who recently was honored as the most faith-friendly Fortune 500 company by the Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Index. Taking a page from American’s book, my company can establish formal diversity training workshops and programs for spiritual care.
Ongoing learnings can highlight the rich nuances of diverse faith groups and focus on the positive aspects of the various religions and their contributions to society. Interfaith education can also be extended beyond us employees to our company’s customer base, when considering their religious backgrounds and how we can adjust our communication and support accordingly. Again, as exemplified in the success of American Airlines, religious diversity, literacy, and pluralism are as good for business as it is for employees – fulfilled workers result in satisfied customers, which translates to a positive reputation and healthy revenue.
Reflection
There is a black-and-white photograph pinned to a corkboard on my desk. It captures a moment of flow: a little girl, no older than five years – a long, dark, curl spiraling down the side of her face, lips pursed, fingers poised on the keys of a typewriter, eyes locked on the paper in front of her, fully absorbed in her creative task. That little girl is me.
That little girl was certain that she’d be a professional writer (and/or working with the Muppets) when she grew up. That little girl became an unsupported adolescent struggling at home and in Catholic school; became an unmoored teenager processing trauma through self-destruction; became an unmotivated adult who gave up on her childhood dreams and worked a desk job so she could pay the bills.
I now have a little girl of my own – an inquisitive, perceptive, emotionally intelligent preteen who knows that her mom’s career isn’t what she ever saw for herself, but that she compromises by finding a way to transform her occupation into a vocation – a “higher purpose” (Perry) in which skills contribute value to the greater good. As such, I’ve spent over a decade managing innovation and performance for diverse teams in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. I lead global workshops that focus on communication, emotional intelligence, empathy, mindfulness, and resilience. I’m also an active participant in ERGs that champion marginalized folks, women, and the LGBTQ+ community.
The little girl in that photograph is still inside of me, and I’m going to honor her by incorporating my dreams into occupational and vocational goals that “[leverage my] skill set to build a career that serves a larger purpose” (Perry). That means committing myself to a writing practice of creative nonfiction that explores meaningful subjects flowing from the intersection of world religions, psychology, and lived experience. That also means achieving my professional goal of working for Sesame Workshop (the nonprofit behind “Sesame Street”) where I can help to create an environment of embodied values and psychological safety in which people can get comfortable with discomfort and create, innovate, learn, and grow – all for the greater good. With a dedication to DEIB, I’ll also ensure that teams are staffed with diverse talent who feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work where they can flourish and thrive.
Where does religious diversity fit into all this? The whole self that we want to see at work is not complete without that component being supported in a safe space. I began “Religion in Public and Professional Life” with a firm conviction that religion does not belong in the workplace. (A statement I made verbatim in at least two case study analyses!) But the more that I engaged with the course content, from scholarly articles to real-life scenarios, the clearer it became that we cannot exclude this aspect of ourselves from our whole identity, nor should we be expected to.
A commitment to interfaith leadership requires and prioritizes an understanding of “the values that shape people’s vision of the good society and the good life within it” (McGraw). Understanding cultural-religious values can also lead to awareness of and respect for various traditions, customs, and motivations – a practice that we see in Sesame Workshop programs around the world and that I’m striving to be a part of. We already know from DEIB initiatives that when a company creates spaces that are brave and safe, employees feel empowered to ask questions, listen, share, learn, and grow – this can readily be applied to religious diversity.
By offering ongoing trainings that share practical knowledge of diverse faiths, employees can understand the basic facets such as food, language, space, and time that encompass interfaith considerations. Even though many companies, like my current employer, have shifted mainly to work-from-home, we still have opportunities to understand and support how religious traditions and practices play a role in everyday life – such as being flexible with work schedules to allow for prayer breaks and being mindful of fasting periods and holy days. Faith inclusion boosts morale and sustains trust in the workforce, and a welcoming environment strengthens all other intersecting aspects of inclusivity. Diversity without cooperation is just difference – but with appreciative knowledge and a culture built on inclusive practices, I can help my current and future companies flourish with faith-friendly initiatives.
Eboo Patel’s “Pour Over Session” with Starbucks focused on how companies can nurture religious diversity and provided a deceptively simple way for me to overcome my aversion to religion: shift from seeing it as a risk and instead focus on how it’s an asset. I can consider the myriad positive contributions of religions, from hospitals (like the one in which I both gave birth to my daughter and years later had life-saving procedures for my cancer treatments) to humanitarian aid. I can take steps to do this by using “radar” to proactively view diverse faiths while practicing appreciative knowledge for the myriad religious traditions in our employee and customer base – all in the spirit of welcoming, equitable inclusion, and true belonging. By dedicating my profession and vocation to DEIB initiatives that include religious diversity, I will embody the ethos that everyone can show up at work as their whole self.
Works Cited
Eck, Diana. “From Diversity to Pluralism.” The Pluralism Project, Harvard University: 2020. https://pluralism.org/from-diversity-to-pluralism
McGraw, Barbara. Interreligious Studies: Dispatches from an Emerging Field, ed. Hans Gustafson. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020.
Mikva, Rachel S. Interreligious Studies: An Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2023.
Patel, Eboo. “Nurturing Religious Diversity.” Starbucks Pour Over Session: https://vimeo.com/sbux/review/506331323/248cb5fca4
Perry, Elizabeth. “What’s a vocation? 8 tips for finding yours.” Better Up, 18 May 2023. https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-a-vocation
Rosenberg, Marshall. Nonviolent Communication. PuddleDancer Press, 2015.
Sawyer, Toby. “Does Smudging Belong in the Workplace?” Native Case Studies, https://nativecases.evergreen.edu/collection/cases/does-smudging-belong-in-the-workplace.