Religious discrimination in the workplace: What a new Tanenbaum Center survey says
With Labor Day upon us, a new survey by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding shows that more than one-third of workers report observing or being subjected to religious bias at work, according to the “What American Workers Really Think About Religion: Tanenbaum’s 2013 Survey of American Workers and Religion” released Friday.
Here are some of the key results of the survey:
- Over half of employed Americans agree that there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S.
- One in three American workers have actually experienced or personally seen incidents of religious bias when they go to work.
- Six in ten white evangelical Protestants agree that discrimination against Christians has become as big a problem as discrimination against other religious minorities.
- 60% of atheists believe that people look down on their beliefs, as do nearly one-third of non-Christian religious workers (31%) and white evangelical Protestants (32%).
“This survey puts employers on notice,” said Tanenbaum CEO Joyce Dubensky. ”American workplaces increasingly reflect the makeup of the country; they’re more and more diverse. Work is the place where people with extremely 
different beliefs interact on a regular basis. But where there’s more diversity, the survey shows that we can expect to find more conflict.”
“Religion is one key way that people define themselves,” revealed Dubensky. “Being harassed at work be-cause of your religion, or not being allowed to follow basic beliefs such as observing a required prayer is painful. Such experiences affect morale and, ultimately, impact a company’s ability to attract talent. The good news is that the survey shows that this can be turned around through smart policies that address employees’ diverse religious needs. Do that and you increase the likelihood of having happier employees and less turnover.”
The survey polled over 2,000 American workers about their experiences with religious discrimination at work and more generally.
[…] Religious discrimination in the workplace: What a new Tanenbaum Center … “Religion is one key way that people define themselves,” revealed Dubensky. “Being harassed at work be-cause of your religion, or not being allowed to follow basic beliefs such as observing a required prayer is painful. Such experiences affect morale … Read more on The Global Dispatch […]
[…] Religious discrimination in the workplace: What a new Tanenbaum Center … The Global Dispatch ”American workplaces increasingly reflect the makeup of the country; they're more and more diverse. […]
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