Covenantal Pluralism & Business
Theory of progress: We believe that covenantal Pluralism transforms religious diversity into a powerful business asset, rather than a troublesome fact merely to tolerate.
Covenantal pluralism, according to RFBF Board Member Chris Seiple, “entails the obligation, the responsibility, and intentional pledge to engage, respect, and protect the other’s liberty of conscience, without necessarily lending moral equivalency to the other’s resulting beliefs and behavior.”
The modern corporate workplace is a compelling example of covenantal pluralism in practice. This is in large part because the business world is placing greater emphasis on including faith and beliefs as part of their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
You can learn more by watching the videos below and reading “Corporate religious diversity, equity, and inclusion as covenantal pluralism” by Brian J. Grim and Kent Johnson (Chapter 13 in The Routledge Handbook of Religious Literacy, Pluralism, and Global Engagement).
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The commonalities between DEI and covenantal pluralism emerge because DEI initiatives are a recognition that to be competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s marketplaces, companies need to tap into the full identity, strength and potential of their employees by including religion as a full-fledged part of their DEI commitments. What are the commonalities? Watch the video above from Dare to Overcome 2021 for an in-depth discussion.
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For an example of Covenantal Pluralism in practice, watch the short video Google premiered at our 2021 Faith@Work conference to introduce their IBN Network. Its is produced by an Emmy Award-winning director at Google. “Our mission does not include watering down of any religion or faith group … we strive to highlight the beautiful differences that each one of our faith groups have.”