Religious Diversity Growing, Growing
At a global level, religious diversity is growing, with the U.S. on the forefront of the trend. "The United States is the most religiously diverse nation in the world," religious scholar Diana Eck writes in A New Religious America.
So far, few have grasped the extent and significance of U.S. religious diversity, which is largely the result of a 1965 immigration law that eliminated quotas linking U.S. entry to national origins. A tide of immigrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa has flowed in – many of them adherents to Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and forms of Judaism and Catholicism previously uncommon in the U.S.
In 2001, 76.5% of the adults living in the U.S. identified themselves as Christian, according to the "American Religious Identification Survey 2001" (ARIS2001), a decennial census produced by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. That marks a big shift from the 86.2% figure of a similar 1990 survey. During that decade, according to the survey, people identifying with non-Christian faiths rose from 5.8 million to 7.6 million. The Pluralism Project at Harvard University estimates that the number of U.S. residents practicing non-Christian religious traditions is closer to 17 million.
Yet, growing religious diversity is neither confined to the U.S. nor driven solely by immigration. In fact, David B. Barrett, editor of the authoritative World Christian Encyclopedia, says, "The main thing we've discovered is that there is enormous religious change going on across the world, all the time... We have identified nine thousand and nine hundred distinct and separate religions in the world, increasing by two or three religions every day." This growing diversity may well continue. In a February 2002 Atlantic Monthly article, senior editor Toby Lester explores contemporary history and forecasts an explosion of new religious movements in the 21st century.
At the same time, however, there's also been an increase in the percentage of U.S. residents who do not identify with any particular religious tradition, according to ARIS2001. And some sources suggest that declining church attendance is a trend in all industrialized nations. So, even as religious diversity grows, there may also be movement away from certain religious traditions, especially in Europe.
The changing religious culture in the U.S. and many other countries produces new challenges for HR managers. Charges of religious discrimination in the workplace filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) grew about 40% from 1992 to 2000. Although still small in number compared with race or sex discrimination, such claims are likely to show a large jump in 2001, as a backlash following the September 11 attacks sparks incidents against people perceived to be Muslim. Muslims filed 85 complaints of religious discrimination in the eight weeks after the attacks, up from 39 in the same period in 2000 and 33 in 1999. Moreover, ethnic or racial bias and religious discrimination often combine. The EEOC reported 69 discrimination complaints filed in the eight weeks immediately after September 11 by people of Arab, Afghan or Middle Eastern descent.
"Religious diversity is an emerging issue in the workplace, driven by powerful demographics," emphasizes Georgette F. Bennett, president of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. "HR professionals are beginning to take steps," but "now is the time to be proactive," she urges. Guided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, state laws and case law, HR managers must be ready to recommend whether and how to accommodate religious differences. Any number of religion-related factors may cause discomfort, disputes and claims of discrimination. They include things such as dress and personal grooming habits that deviate from established policies or norms, requests for taking off differing religious holidays or Sabbaths, workplace discussion of beliefs, and the wearing or displaying of religious symbols on desks or office walls. Companies will need to carefully walk the line between accommodating growing religious differences and maintaining a corporate culture that treats everyone in a fair and equal manner.
The "American Religious Identification Survey 2001" is available online and in printable format at
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/studies_index.htm#aris_1
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University is another source of information about U.S. religious trends and has up-to-date informative news links on the topic at
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/
The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding has many resources for dealing with religious diversity in the workplace. Its Web site is at
http://www.tanenbaum.org/workplace.htm
So far, few have grasped the extent and significance of U.S. religious diversity, which is largely the result of a 1965 immigration law that eliminated quotas linking U.S. entry to national origins. A tide of immigrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa has flowed in – many of them adherents to Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and forms of Judaism and Catholicism previously uncommon in the U.S.
In 2001, 76.5% of the adults living in the U.S. identified themselves as Christian, according to the "American Religious Identification Survey 2001" (ARIS2001), a decennial census produced by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. That marks a big shift from the 86.2% figure of a similar 1990 survey. During that decade, according to the survey, people identifying with non-Christian faiths rose from 5.8 million to 7.6 million. The Pluralism Project at Harvard University estimates that the number of U.S. residents practicing non-Christian religious traditions is closer to 17 million.
Yet, growing religious diversity is neither confined to the U.S. nor driven solely by immigration. In fact, David B. Barrett, editor of the authoritative World Christian Encyclopedia, says, "The main thing we've discovered is that there is enormous religious change going on across the world, all the time... We have identified nine thousand and nine hundred distinct and separate religions in the world, increasing by two or three religions every day." This growing diversity may well continue. In a February 2002 Atlantic Monthly article, senior editor Toby Lester explores contemporary history and forecasts an explosion of new religious movements in the 21st century.
At the same time, however, there's also been an increase in the percentage of U.S. residents who do not identify with any particular religious tradition, according to ARIS2001. And some sources suggest that declining church attendance is a trend in all industrialized nations. So, even as religious diversity grows, there may also be movement away from certain religious traditions, especially in Europe.
The changing religious culture in the U.S. and many other countries produces new challenges for HR managers. Charges of religious discrimination in the workplace filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) grew about 40% from 1992 to 2000. Although still small in number compared with race or sex discrimination, such claims are likely to show a large jump in 2001, as a backlash following the September 11 attacks sparks incidents against people perceived to be Muslim. Muslims filed 85 complaints of religious discrimination in the eight weeks after the attacks, up from 39 in the same period in 2000 and 33 in 1999. Moreover, ethnic or racial bias and religious discrimination often combine. The EEOC reported 69 discrimination complaints filed in the eight weeks immediately after September 11 by people of Arab, Afghan or Middle Eastern descent.
"Religious diversity is an emerging issue in the workplace, driven by powerful demographics," emphasizes Georgette F. Bennett, president of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. "HR professionals are beginning to take steps," but "now is the time to be proactive," she urges. Guided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, state laws and case law, HR managers must be ready to recommend whether and how to accommodate religious differences. Any number of religion-related factors may cause discomfort, disputes and claims of discrimination. They include things such as dress and personal grooming habits that deviate from established policies or norms, requests for taking off differing religious holidays or Sabbaths, workplace discussion of beliefs, and the wearing or displaying of religious symbols on desks or office walls. Companies will need to carefully walk the line between accommodating growing religious differences and maintaining a corporate culture that treats everyone in a fair and equal manner.
The "American Religious Identification Survey 2001" is available online and in printable format at
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/studies_index.htm#aris_1
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University is another source of information about U.S. religious trends and has up-to-date informative news links on the topic at
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/
The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding has many resources for dealing with religious diversity in the workplace. Its Web site is at
http://www.tanenbaum.org/workplace.htm