Monthly Archives: May 2022

At the opening lunch of the 2022 Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s Dare to Overcome annual conference, a new survey report was unveiled from Deseret News and The Marist Poll focusing on the relationship between religion and business.

While the poll looked at percentages of U.S. adults, when those are turned into population numbers, the findings are even more illuminating as our analysis shows.

A large majority of American adults (85%, or 220 million people) feel comfortable sharing their religious beliefs with coworkers. The survey found that people who practice a religion and those who don’t were nearly as likely to feel comfortable (90% vs. 82%). Being able to express one’s faith at work is thus a shared American value.

A large majority of Americans also report praying for their coworkers (70%, or 181 million), and more than one-in-three report praying for their companies (37%, 98 million). Similarly, more than one-in-three Americans (37%, 98 million) report that faith plays a role in their decision about where to work.

These findings provide evidence that the growing corporate embrace of faith-friendly workplaces has more room to grow in the years to come. See our 2022 REDI Index report for latest trends among corporations in the U.S. and now worldwide.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Washington DC: American Airlines is the most faith-friendly workplace among the Fortune 500, according to 2022 Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index

American Airlines is the most faith-friendly corporate workplace among the 500 largest companies in America, according to the 2022 Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index.

The other top faith-and-belief friendly companies among the U.S Fortune 500 include the Intel Corporation, Dell Technologies, PayPal, and Texas Instruments, taking the second through fifth spots. Equinix, Target, Tyson Foods, AIG, and Alphabet/Google round out the top ten. Other top faith-and-belief friendly companies are American Express, the Ford Motor Company, and Intuit, tying for the eleventh spot in the latest edition of the annual REDI Index.

Among the U.S. Fortune 500, Ameriprise Financial Group, Cigna, Meta Platforms (Facebook), Securian Financial, CVS Health, Goldman Sachs, Aramark, Clorox, and Salesforce scored in the top 25 on the REDI Index.

Global Fortune 500 companies also opted in to the REDI Index survey this year, including SAP and Accenture, both making the Top Faith Friendly list, with Accenture scoring within the top 10 companies overall. Also, smaller companies including Italy-based TeaPak, a Yogi Tea partner, and Utah-based Qualtrics both opted in to the survey and scored highly on the REDI Index, showing that companies of all sizes are joining this workplace religious inclusion benchmarking initiative.

These companies will be honored at a gala dinner ceremony this evening in Washington DC at the Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, co-sponsoring with the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, the 3rd annual National Faith@Work ERG Conference, Dare to Overcome.

This is the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s third annual benchmark assessment of corporate America’s inclusion of religion as an integral part of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. It is the most comprehensive report on the state of religious inclusion in U.S. and global corporations, and it provides specific information about religious DEI practices being implemented in companies today.

This year’s assessment breaks new ground in two ways. First, RFBF researchers carefully assessed all U.S. Fortune 500 corporate diversity websites. Previous years looked at the Fortune 100 and 200. Second, this year’s assessment included an opt-in survey in which corporations at the forefront of workplace religious inclusion shared best practices.

General Fortune 500 Findings:

• 202 companies (40%) mention, refer to or illustrate religion on their main diversity landing page
• 37 companies (7.4%) publicly report having faith-oriented ERGs

Key Survey Findings Among Top Faith-Friendly Fortune 500 Companies:

• Company-sponsored, employee-led, faith-oriented employee resource groups (ERGs) give religious employees an official voice in the company
• Companies with such ERGs commonly encourage and support ERG chapters worldwide
• These ERGs often lead strategic company & community allyship and service initiatives
• Companies enthusiastically share best faith@work practices with other companies (incl. competitors) through direct consultations, seminars, roundtables, and/or conferences
• Literacy training on religious DEI is seen as a benefit to a wide range of stakeholders, contributing to positive workplace cultures and a better understanding of customers & markets
• Companies commonly provide staff access to company chaplains or other forms of spiritual care
• Companies embracing religious DEI have clear procedures for requesting religious accommodations and for reporting instances of religious discrimination
• Companies often match employee donations to faith-based charities

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT: Measuring the Fortune 500’s Commitment to Workplace Religious Inclusion

ABOUT THE REDI INDEX
The Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index developed by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) is a benchmarking measure of a company’s commitment to including religion as part of its overall diversity initiatives.

Brian Grim
Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
+1 410-268-7809
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Breaking News

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation is pleased to announce today that American Express joins as a corporate sponsor of Dare to Overcome, our annual Faith@Work ERG conference.* In 2022, Dare to Overcome will be an in-person gathering where Fortune 500 faith-and-belief employee resource groups (ERGs) come together to share best practices and build supportive, intersecting networks nationally and globally.

“I’m thrilled to have American Express come on board as a Gold Sponsor of Dare to Overcome,” said RFBF President Brian Grim. “Their faith-based employee resource groups (ERGs) have been operating for more than 25 years and played an instrumental role bringing interfaith understanding during challenging times, especially during the pandemic. I’m looking forward to their participation.”

Other sponsors of Dare to Overcome include American Airlines, Dell Technologies, Coca-Cola Consolidated, DMC, PayPal, Equinix, Intel, Tyson Foods, Ford, Texas Instruments, Google and SAP.

The 2022 theme is “Better Together,” reflecting an emphasis on being strong allies of others — with a special focus on those with differing abilities. Dare to Overcome will be held in Washington DC in partnership with the Busch School of Business, May 23-25, 2022, and then move onwards to India in 2023.

* Dare to Overcome is the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s annual in-person gathering for Fortune 500 faith-oriented employee resource groups (ERGs) and corporate chaplains to come together to share best practices and to build supportive, intersecting networks nationally and globally at the three-day event. All faiths and beliefs are welcome. American Airlines is the global partner and official airline of Dare to Overcome. The Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America is co-host of Dare to Overcome 2022.

Deseret News Event at Dare to Overcome: Workshop on Attitudes, Insights and Behaviors Around the Issues of Faith in Society & Media

Please join us at Dare to Overcome for a networking luncheon followed by an executive briefing and data workshop on Attitudes, Insights and Behaviors around the issues of faith in society and media.

The workshop will feature industry experts discussing the topic of faith in society and media. The discussion will include relevant research from the Faith and Media Initiative and results from a Deseret News survey conducted by The Marist College Poll.

REGISTRATION FOR DARE TO OVERCOME REQUIRED
Monday, May 23 noon-1:45pm
Catholic University of America
Fr. O’Connell Hall
597-599 Michigan Ave NE
Washington DC 20064

We have an unsurpassed lineup of speakers and corporate panels, all looking at the next big thing – religion is being equitably included in corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Speakers from major corporations will share how they have opened their workplaces to faith, and what that looks like. It not only means that people of diverse faiths and beliefs have a seat at the table, but it also means that the compassionate care that is exemplified in the Golden Rule have an expanded space to make a contribution.

These contributions range from addressing human trafficking to seeing that people with disabilities are not disabled, but uniquely enabled. They also include increasing revenue, decreasing attrition, and sparking innovation.

Join us to learn how faith works at work!

How can corporations provide the same quality of spiritual care for members as the military does?

Life doesn’t stop when work starts. Pains and joys from outside affect what’s inside – inside a person and inside the workplace.

Just as chaplains provide compassionate care for members inside the military, a growing number of companies provide chaplain care for their members inside the workplace.

This ranges from full-time chaplains on staff (such as at Tyson Foods) or provided by a third party (such at at Coca-Cola Consolidated) to spiritual care provided as an option in employee assistance programs. Even faith-oriented employee resource groups (ERGs) at times provide chaplain-like care.

In addition to Tyson Foods’ and Coca-Cola Consolidated’s presentations on their chaplaincy programs at Dare to Overcome, you won’t want to miss the keynote by retired Rear Admiral Alan ”Blues” Baker, former chief chaplain of the U.S. Marine Corps and now CEO of veteran-led ChaplainCare: How can corporations provide the same quality of spiritual care for members as the military does?

To see whether your company or organization could benefit from having chaplains, join us at Dare to Overcome in Washington DC, May 23-25!

Stuttering Does Not Stop Him – Finding a Voice Through Art

Join us at Dare to Overcome to hear Tom & Gayle Holdman share their passion for faith, love and unity.

The anxiety and struggle of having a life-long stuttering problem can seem insurmountable. Not having the ability to speak fluently affects so many aspects of your life. It’s like words randomly get caught in your throat. Your mouth seizes and doesn’t respond as you’d like. You lean your head back, close your eyes and muster all your effort to finally form a word.

For Tom Holdman, stuttering will always be part of his story. But through many obstacles and hard work, it hasn’t stopped him from finding his voice. Even though he was plagued with anxiety as a child and had to endure jabs from peers in his youth, this weakness led him to his art. Today Tom’s work in impeccable stained-glass windows has attracted international attention and admiration.

Tom has always had a slow tongue and he needed to find ways to speak with others. He discovered that through art he could express himself. This proved to be a powerful tool for a man who was desperate to express himself. Ultimately, his true release was found through his art. He emerged passionate, triumphant and fulfilled.

For years, Tom and his team of artists at Holdman Studios have created stained-glass windows for government offices, libraries, hospitals, churches, temples, and airports.

At Dare to Overcome, participants will be the first to be able to view Tom’s latest masterpiece, The Pillars of Humanity.

These seven stained glass panels illustrate seven key, noble characteristics that humans are capable of: Knowledge, Creativity, Faith, Love, Unity, Freedom, and Courage. Examples from across the world are included in each scene. This artwork will travel to locations around the globe to inspire and unify individuals everywhere.

This is a project of the Roots of Humanity Foundation, which works through art and education to foster esteem, connection, and creativity within individuals while unifying and inspiring communities. Humanity’s history is replete with examples of individuals, whether well known or lesser known, who understood their duty to pass on a legacy of excellence. The sacrifice of our progenitors was life, limb, freedom and leisure lost so that we, their decedents, could have opportunity. Our inheritance of life binds us to this same duty, and we have the responsibility to pass on to our children the stories, the strengths, and the roots of our humanity.

Meet Gayle & Tom

Gayle is author of the children’s book, The Piece That is You. Meet the artists and see the art at Dare to Overcome!

(closed captions available)