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SALT LAKE CITY — As the American workplace becomes more religiously diverse, employers can expect a rise in religious-related conflicts — including discrimination — a new study says.
Six in 10 white evangelical Protestants say discrimination against Christians has become just as big of a problem as discrimination against minority religions, according to the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding's study.
It also shows more than half of employed Americans agreed that there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S.
Additionally, one in three said they have actually experienced or personally seen incidents of religious bias when they go to work, with 36 percent reporting some form of non-accommodation, such as policies prohibiting religious clothing or beards, requiring employees to work on sabbaths or religious holidays or not providing an area for employees to pray.
Deseret News:
Religious discrimination in the workplace increases with diversity
Consultants agree there is an upside to the trend of religious diversity in the workplace. Employers who adapt to religious diversity and reduce conflict not only improve morale but improve performance by attracting the best talent from a broad range of backgrounds that can help the company appeal to a larger customer base."There's a clear sense in the data, especially among white evangelicals, that other workers' needs are being taken care of and theirs are not," Robert P. Jones, head of the Public Religion Research Institute, told Religion News Service.
The survey of more than 2,000 American workers also found that 60 percent of atheists believe other people look down on their beliefs. Nearly one-third of non-Christian religious workers and 32 percent of white evangelical Protestants felt the same way.
The study also noted that Evangelicals are much more likely to talk about their faith at work than other religious and nonreligious groups.
Half of white evangelical Protestants said they share their beliefs with co-workers, compared to 22 percent of workers overall.
The poll has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.
