Story at a glance
- Members of three major world religions face discrimination in the workplace, but each experience it in different ways, according to new research.
- Each group described feelings of discomfort when asking for time offer to observe holidays, or when wearing religious clothing in the workplace.
- While Muslims, Jews and non-religious workers said they faced discrimination due to group-based stereotypes, Christians noted they experienced discrimination after taking a moral stand.
Members of three major world religions face discrimination in the workplace, but each experience it in different ways, according to new research.
Researchers from Rice University’s Religion and Public Life Program (RPLP) drew their conclusions from an analysis of 194 in-depth interviews with Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and non-religious employees to determine how members of each group perceived their experiences with workplace discrimination.
“When we conducted interviews, we were able to get much deeper into how people are experiencing religious discrimination,” Rachel Schneider, a postdoctoral research fellow in RPLP and lead author of “How Religious Discrimination is Perceived in the Workplace: Expanding the View,” said in a news release.
“We found that it’s not just about hiring, firing and promotion, which are the things that people usually think about,” Schneider added.
Authors identified through their interviews a variety of slights, including what they referred to as verbal microaggressions, stereotyping and social exclusion. Yet there were notable differences between the group experiences. While Muslims, Jews and nonreligious workers said they faced discrimination due to group-based stereotypes, Christians noted they experienced discrimination after taking a moral stand.
“Sometimes they were called ‘Ms. Holy’ or ‘Holy Roller,’ and many evangelical Christians felt like they were perceived as being judgmental, narrow-minded and/or right wing,” Schneider said.
“This was due to their co-workers’ presumptions about the kinds of conversations or outside-of-work events they would want to participate in,” she added.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Data was analyzed from interviews with 159 Christians, 13 Jews, 10 Muslims, and 12 nonreligious respondents.
Each group described feelings of discomfort when asking for time offer to observe holidays, or when wearing religious clothing in the workplace. But Muslims and Jews, according to the researchers, felt the greatest need to conceal their religious identity on the job.
“Identity concealment is often used by people who are part of stigmatized groups,” said co-author Deidra Coleman, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “It’s a proactive way to ‘manage’ anticipated religious discrimination, but it can have negative impacts on one’s mental health.”
Principal investigator Elaine Howard Ecklund said a takeaway for employers’ human resources departments is that inclusive spaces need more than “specialized foods and places to pray.”
“These day-to-day interactions among co-workers are incredibly important, but they’re harder to remedy without proper education,” Ecklund continued. “Workplace training must include exercises that specifically target all kinds of religious discrimination.”
How Religious Discrimination is Perceived in the Workplace: Expanding the View was first published January 24.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
WHY MILLIONS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED MOSQUITOES MAY BE RELEASED IN FLORIDA AND CALIFORNIA
FLORIDA SENATE APPROVES BAN ON LESSONS ABOUT HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT MAKE PEOPLE FEEL ‘GUILTY’
EXERCISE COULD TREAT SYMPTOMS OF LONG-COVID, RESEARCHERS SAY
FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY BILL’ HEADS TO DESANTIS’S DESK
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
