While some companies like Intel have been promoting religious diversity for decades — Intel launched its faith-based employee resources groups in 1996 — the topic of religious inclusion has long been off-limits in the corporate world. This reality is highlighted by the REDI Monitor, which lists over 200 companies with no publicly available information about religious diversity efforts. But in the years since the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation has been offering its benchmark assessment, the taboo on religion in the workplace has begun to wane.
“The companies themselves are sort of socializing this idea among their peers,” Grim observed. “Four years ago, it was like, ‘Whoa, no, we can’t talk about that. We do that, but we’ve never talked about that outside our walls.’”
This week, the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation is hosting its Dare to Overcome Conference on Faith@Work in Washington, D.C. What began as a conference with five participating companies has transformed into a three-day event with leaders from roughly 25 Fortune 500 companies in attendance. Representatives from Uber and Toyota, who have not yet opted in to the REDI Index, will also attend the conference, which will feature plenaries and breakout sessions hosted by leaders from Dell, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, Google and the State Department.
This year, the conference theme is “love heals,” a message Grim hopes highlights the connection between spiritual and physical health.
“When people think of faith at work, it’s not merely so someone can bring their whole soul to work, and have their identity there, but that it provides additional resources for resiliency and stress,” said Grim. “When you open the door to faith, it brings in resources people sorely need.”
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This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
