March 8, 2021 – Los Angeles and Washington DC – In honor of International Women’s Day, Empower Women Media and the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation announce their 4^th annual International Film Competition. The goal of the competition is to challenge filmmakers around the world to produce short films that explore how freedom of belief in the workplace and community empowers women and leads to innovation and thriving communities.

“Freedom of religion or belief gives a woman the right to choose for herself what she believes in and how she wants to live her life according to those beliefs,” explains Mariya Dostzadah Goodbrake, last year’s Grand Prize winner.

The competition offers $5,000 in prize money, and the winning 3-minute films will screen before world-class CEOs, UN partners and NGO leaders at the Global Business & Peace Symposium in Tokyo (link).

The submission deadline for the film competition is June 1, 2021.

To submit a short film to the 2021 competition, all participants must complete the free 60-minute eCourse, LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE (link).

“We’re excited to share our eCourse, LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE, with everyone involved in our film competition,” says, Shirin Taber, the Iranian-American director of Empower Women Media. “We want them to understand the important correlation between freedom of belief and women’s empowerment.”

In preparation for the film competition, Empower Women Media offers coaching and free monthly film training webinars. The next webinar is Monday, March 22^nd at 9:00 a.m. PST. To register for the film training or for more information about the film competition, contact Shirin Taber at shirin@visualstory.org.

Contacts:

• Shirin Taber, Empower Women Media (Los Angeles)
• shirin@visualstory.org – 949-235-5148
• http://empowerwomen.media/
• Brian Grim, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (Washington DC)
• media@religousfreedomandbusiness.org – 814-574-8672
• https://religousfreedomandbusiness.org/film-competition-2020

by Kent Johnson, J.D., Senior Corporate Advisor, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation

Part of the blog series, Authenticity & Connection

In some companies, it seems the lawyers are there to simply tell employees what they can’t do. These lawyers rarely tell us why we shouldn’t do it, or how it might be done lawfully and ethically. This post argues that you should ask questions, especially when the issue involves perceived constraints on freedom to be yourself at work. Lest here be any mistake about what I’m saying in this post: You should listen to your lawyers! But don’t be shy about asking why or how. 

Despite the recent advances of faith in the workplace in leading companies noted by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation (see the REDI Index), many companies still say they can’t openly embrace faith in the workplace because their lawyers are against it. Employees and managers often misunderstand their lawyers’ counsel or take it out of context. Sometimes, a leader’s bias against faith will influence him or her to avoid the topic rather than investigate it. In all these cases, you should push back respectfully with questions.

Sharon Fast Gustafson, General Counsel of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provided incisive and practical inputs on this topic at RFBF’s second Faith@Work Conference. Among other things, she pointed out that a culture that discourages religious expression is problematic. Here are just a few of her observations:

• — “Many employees of faith feel unwelcome and fear retaliation, such as losing their job, if they express their religious beliefs, especially in ways that may contradict company policies or values.”

• — “Title VII requires not only that an employer not discriminate and not permit harassment on the basis of religion. Title VII also requires employers to ‘reasonably accommodate’ an employee’s religious beliefs, observances and practices, unless an accommodation would create an ‘undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.’ The need for an accommodation arises when an employee’s religious beliefs, observances, or practices conflict with a specific job duty or with a neutral policy.”

• — “Title VII (of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) presumes that Americans who disagree with each other about important matters can nonetheless work side by side, and we know that this is most often not difficult. However, this need to work beside those with whom we may disagree sometimes calls on a worker to shoulder the burden of a disapproving co-worker. In return, we all get the freedom to live according to our own consciences. The alternative — allowing an employer to require consensus about anything and everything — would be unenforceable and un-American.”

As we’ve been pointing out week after week in these posts, in order for reconciliation and civility to flourish in a company culture (and in the world), people must be freed to openly live and speak at work in a manner that’s consistent with their core faith and beliefs. In the very rare cases where a person’s beliefs compel workplace behaviors that are toxic, it’s better to know of those beliefs than to be left in the dark. Fact is, the wisdom and insight that can flow from tapping into employees’ personal faith and belief is sorely needed at work. And a corporate culture that stifles faith expression conveys a message that is personally eviscerating: that employees’ core faith-related identities are irrelevant, and their expression would be dangerous.

The laws in the US and in most developed nations provide far greater leeway for companies to promote expressions of faith and belief than many realize (though there are significant exceptions in some restrictive countries). This can be done in ways that respect people of all faiths, and atheists. Done well, such encouragement can help enable deeper connection and trust among people of diverse faiths and beliefs. The Religious Freedom and Business Foundation – and a growing number of companies and others that have walked this path – can help your company navigate it.

So, what should you do if your company resists religious expression at work? Share this article with your attorneys. Ask them questions about the why and the how. Ask specifically what companies are required to do and permitted to do in order to accommodate employees’ various faiths. Ask about what constitutes unlawful “religious harassment” (and what doesn’t); how the legal framework affects atheists and people who reject traditional religious beliefs; and why so many leading companies are now embracing religion as an integral part of their formal Diversity and Inclusion programs. And give them the following links:

• — Video of Sharon Gustafson’s remarks
• — Attorney reflections on Gustafson’s remarks
• — The EEOC’s 2021 Guidance on Religious Discrimination.

A final thought: The business benefits of pursuing freedom of religious expression at work are significant. By welcoming faith and belief into the dialogue, companies are strengthening recruitment, retention, employee engagement, creativity, teamwork and ethics, to the great benefit of the workers, the teams, the companies and the world. Companies and nations that fail to embrace this freedom are arguably increasingly at a competitive disadvantage. Most importantly, standing for religious freedom is simply the right thing to do.

by Paul Lambert

“You’ve enabled me to be who I am and I want to use that whole self and give it back to you.”

While this may sound like something said to a loved one, this quote is actually a statement made by an employee about their employer, Texas Instruments! What employer wouldn’t want to hear this kind of company loyalty?! The statement came during a conference hosted at Texas Instruments (TI) in 2019 to highlight the company’s efforts to proactively seek religious accommodation for all its employees.

Corporate America has, for several decades now, made big strides in recognizing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and their impact on employee satisfaction and productivity, particularly around gender, sexual orientation, and race. But what about faith and belief? For many, faith and belief is the most foundational aspect of who they are and how they work.

However, the U.S. has a long way to go in terms of religious accommodation at work. A recent Tanenbaum survey found that 36% of American workers (50 million people) have experienced or witnessed religious discrimination in the workplace. The EEOC found that workplace religious discrimination complaints were nearly twice as high as complaints regarding sexual orientation in 2018. These are alarming data and reflect, in addition to a concerning void of human dignity for many, a tremendous loss of productivity.

Many of corporate America’s most successful companies are recognizing that problem and taking action. Examples include Salesforce’s employee resource group (ERG) focused on faith and belief, Faithforce, which is the company’s fastest growing ERG since its establishment in 2017. Alphabet/Google’s Inter Belief Network has been a huge success and a core component of Alphabet’s DEI initiatives and strategy. American Airlines has established various ERGs focused on faith to ensure employees feel comfortable and empowered at work, including Christian Jewish, Muslim ERGs.

Many more companies, including, TI, Tyson Foods, Dell, Intel, and Netflix have taken similar steps to ensure those of all faiths or none are able to bring their whole selves to work! These companies are leading their industries, in large part due to a culture of employee satisfaction. They’ve recognized that creating environments where employees feel whole and empowered create loyal, dedicated, productive employees.

Simply put, employees that feel accommodated and see others accommodated at work, including their faith, are better employees. And as Craig Carter from Intel noted at the 2020 Faith@Work ERG Conference, accommodation of faith and belief also has a significant impact on the three Rs, recruitment, retention, and revenue!

Is your company making the right steps to create an environment of accommodation for those of all faiths or none at all? Here at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, our goal is to support companies that are seeking to create faith- and belief-friendly workplaces through data, gathered lessons learned from other companies, and training. Let us know how we can help you!

Come learn more from our session on March 10 at the Forum for Workplace Inclusion, titled, “Inclusivity, Faith, and Belief: How to navigate faith and belief in a way that creates a more inclusive and accommodating workplace.” Register here.

by Kent Johnson, J.D., Senior Corporate Advisor, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation

Part of the blog series, Authenticity & Connection

Today, business leaders are directing programmers and technologists to construct Artificial Intelligence systems that have global ethical impact. “AI” is enabling enormous medical, economic and social advances – and also enabling some alarming incivility and intolerance. Its impact on society is huge and expanding rapidly. Problem is: AI lacks the capacity for moral or spiritual discernment. We need perspectives of faith and belief in the rooms where AI decisions are being made. 

Like all transformative technologies, AI capabilities that were originally intended for good can be diverted to serve destructive purposes. Computer algorithms that were designed to relentlessly improve efficiency and short-term profitability, if not informed also by ethical considerations, lead to moral, ecological and social disaster. Some AI has been designed to steer popular search engines so that sensational and divisive content is amplified, in order to increase “hits” and advertising revenue at the expense of civility. AI is increasingly being leveraged to “automatically” monitor, target, investigate, censor and even punish people who make presumably undesirable statements, including expressions deemed by those in power to be “hate speech” or “fake news.” In some countries, government officials use AI to monitor and control publicly accessible discourse by broad categories of people whom they presume to be “suspect,” without any avenue for appeal. AI has been commandeered to enable hacking and theft, to perpetrate fraud and enable hate crimes. The threat to freedom and civility is real.

In an effort to advance thinking worldwide on how to navigate the emerging world of AI, the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation enlisted several highly qualified experts on the topic of AI and Faith to speak at its second Faith@Work ERG Conference in February, 2021. At the end of this article there’s a link where you can learn more about the specific topics covered, and RFBF videos of these eminent speakers.

Our purpose in this conference (and this blog) is not to advocate any particular faith’s perspectives on the ethical ramifications of AI, but rather to draw attention to the work that’s already underway to connect faith to work in this crucial arena, and to encourage leaders throughout commerce to purposefully and systematically seek out and thoughtfully consider perspectives of religiously diverse people on the ethical implications of AI.

• – Rear Admiral Margaret Grün Kibben, Chaplain of the US House of Representatives and a founding member of the influential group AI and Faith.
• – Zahra Jamal, PhD, Associate Director of the Boniuk Institute at Rice University.
• – Michael Paulus, PhD, Director and Associate Professor of Information Studies at Seattle Pacific University.
• – Frank Torres, Director of Public Policy in Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI.
• – David Brenner, Esq., Board Chair of the group AI and Faith, and contributor to a Statement of Principles on “How AI can listen to religion and get better.”
• – Cory Andrew Labrecque, PhD, Director of the Master of Arts in Bioethics Program at the Center for Ethics at the University of Laval, and also a founding director of AI and Faith.
• – Patricia Shaw, Esq., CEO and Founder of Beyond Reach Consulting Ltd, which supports organizations in the delivery of ‘ethics by design’ across the AI lifecycle.
• – Nicoleta Acatrinei, PhD, an economist and Project Manager at Princeton University’s Faith and Work Initiative and also a founding member of AI and Faith.
• – Paul Taylor, a founding member of AI and Faith and a teaching pastor and elder at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto with a degree in industrial engineering from Stanford, who blogs on tech and theology.
• – Deborah Rundlett, DMin, founder of Poets & Prophets, a global community of change leaders.
• – Michael Quinn, PhD, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Seattle University, Director of Seattle University’s Initiative in Ethics and Transformative Technologies and author of the seminal book Ethics for the Information Age.
• – Yaqub Chaudhary, PhD, a former/recent Research Fellow in AI, Philosophy and Theology at Cambridge Muslim College who has researched AI, cognitive science and neuroscience in connection with Islamic conceptions.

We at RFBF hope these eminent speakers’ reflections will influence companies to think more deeply about the ramifications of their use of AI, and to purposefully and systematically enlist the perspectives of their religiously diverse workforces. We stand at a turning point for humanity. People’s faith and core beliefs carry much wisdom to help navigate the world of Artificial Intelligence. We should tap into that wisdom.

Check out the Sessions featuring the above.

Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index, 2021 

Others:

Sight Magazine: Intel leads tech-dominated list of religiously inclusive workplaces (22 February 2021)

AP News: Intel leads tech-dominated list of religiously inclusive workplaces (February 19, 2021)

Rocket News: Intel leads tech-dominated list of religiously inclusive workplaces – Posted by Editor (Feb 19, 2021)

This week our blog celebrates America’s most religiously inclusive companies; those which have embraced faith and belief as an integral part of their larger diversity efforts. Bravo to all of the finalists, and especially to Intel and Texas Instruments #1 Worldwide!

Read the full story from Kathryn Post, Religion News Service.

We Must Replace Cancel Culture with Forgiveness Culture

By Steven A. Hitz

Steve Hitz is former CEO of U.S. Reports (now Affirm) and a co-founder of Launching Leaders Worldwide. Launching Leaders, a partner of Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, has engaged participants in 43 countries on six continents through a faith-based personal leadership curriculum which empowers participants everywhere. This piece originally appeared in Deseret News on February 9, 2021.

Unity and trust cannot exist without forgiveness. If “unity” is a new buzz phrase to create a sense of peace and bridge gaps of misunderstanding, it cannot succeed without forgiveness.

Martin Luther King said, “He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power of love.” (Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 44).

Think about that next time you hear a leader preach unity.

I have voted for politicians who put values, including the values of love and unity, as their center piece. They campaigned about governance in a bi-partisan way. Then they took my money and immediately took their self-righteousness to a new level. I’m not talking about politics per se, no I’m speaking of the seeming inability of any of those we elect to represent the people whose hopes for a better life were pinned on that person’s ability to change the tide.

They call for unity; but they manufacture harm from hate. Because they can’t forgive, the walls of hate and division grow higher. What will it take for forgiveness to rise above partisanship and allow healing to take root?

Perhaps nothing models the antithesis of forgiveness more in our day than the “cancel culture.” Here, people and groups are erased because of conflicting ideologies. What could take us further from the “unity” we seek than to attempt to erase others voices and harm those with opposing views?

I once was involved in a legal matter that took seven years to resolve. My attorneys were confident of our position, and I spent half a million dollars based on their confidence. In the end, only the attorneys made money. I lost the battle. I was very bitter for years as the entire ordeal nearly cost me my livelihood and I certainly allowed it to destroy my peace for way too long. Thankfully, it didn’t tarnish my reputation or diminish my honor. I would later have nightmares of the ordeal. It didn’t happen overnight, but there came a time that I realized the only one that bitterness was hurting was myself.

Again, from Martin Luther King:

“The words ‘I will forgive you, but I’ll never forget what you’ve done’ never explain the real nature of forgiveness. Certainly one can never forget, if that means erasing it totally from his mind. But when we forgive, we forget in the sense that the evil deed is no longer a mental block impeding a relationship. Likewise, we can never say, ‘I will forgive you, but I won’t have anything further to do with you.’ Forgiveness means reconciliation, a coming together again. Without this, no man can love his enemies. The degree to which we are able to forgive determines the degree to which we are able to love our enemies.” (Ibid., 45)

When I finally forgave the party who sued me, I also let the issues wash over me and decided that perhaps I had some culpability in the matter. I decided to give them props for thinking better than I did, for hiring better attorneys than I did, and eventually chalked it up to lessons learned the hard way. I really did like the opposing party; I just didn’t like the pain they were causing to me and my business. Still, they had a right to the path they took, and I had to respect that. When I finally forgave, I even wrote letters to the opposition seeking their reconciliation and forgiveness for any harm I had caused.

What good does it do to carry ranker and hate? Those we hold this animosity toward are seemingly not affected by our pain—so why should we keep building the wall? I will add parenthetically to what Dr. King said, that forgiveness is required of us because we depend on it. Because I have been forgiven of significant things, I cannot self-righteously judge another and hold that grudge forever. No one is without fault. No one lives a perfect life. Everyone needs second and third and fourth chances—regardless of your faith convictions or even none at all. It’s a part of human dignity. Akin to being willing to forgive, is gratitude for being forgiven ourselves; for being the ones who receive chances to right wrongs and move beyond our past. Gratitude is, quite simply, a contempt killer.

When I was visiting South Korea a couple of years ago for an international business and peace conference, the former Japanese Prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, stood before the Korean people and an audience of leaders from around the world and expressed a sincere apology for the atrocities of his nation on the Korean people during the years of war. He said, “We will say I’m sorry until there is no need to continue to say, ‘I’m sorry’.” Think of this, an apology that stands as long as it is needed to heal the wounds of the past (see video below).

In closing, Martin Luther King continued:

“….we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding. At times we are able to humiliate our worst enemy. Inevitably, his weak moments come and we are able to thrust in his side the spear of defeat. But this we must not do. Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill that have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hate.” (Ibid., 46)

We can’t wait decades before apologies are extended and forgiveness is given and accepted. Choosing to cancel someone instead of forgiving does not remedy, it only hurts – both sides. Instead, we can model the practice of forgiveness NOW and we need look only as far as Dr. King for this modeling.

If forgiveness spawns trust, then let’s all take the position that forgiveness is the only path forward, even though we might feel WE have been wronged.

There’s Hope! Authentic Connection is on the Move!

by Kent Johnson, J.D., Senior Corporate Advisor, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation

Part of the blog series, Authenticity & Connection

A recent conference of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation featured hugely diverse presenters and audience members, focused on advancing “Authenticity and Connection” in workplaces worldwide.

Speakers included C-suite executives and members of the “rank and file” of some of the world’s largest and most influential companies, and small companies; Muslims, Jews, Atheists, Humanists, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Evangelical Christians and “Nones,” among others. There were chaplains and other clergy representing a wide spectrum of belief systems. Legal experts, philosophers, poets, HR experts, ethics experts, military leaders, business school deans and other educators… all gathered to consider how freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) in our increasingly diverse workforces can enable deep, authentic and warm connections.

A whole lot of amazing and compelling data and information was shared in this three-day conference, and it’ll take time to digest it and consider the implications, including reports about positive impact of FoRB on the “three R’s” of Recruitment, Retention and Revenues. But most impactful (I think) were the many personal stories of warm, trusting friendships that are being forged across deep cultural, racial, religious, ideological and even political divides.

We heard of tears, earned respect, warmed hearts, and unlikely connections… many unlikely connections, made without compromising individuals’ core values and beliefs. We heard of many “aha” moments. We heard how FoRB is emboldening companies’ “rank and file” to appropriately speak truth to power… and influencing “bosses” to listen and invite new perspectives. FoRB is affirming human connectedness everywhere.

These weren’t exceptional instances involving just a few.

We learned that this spirit of authenticity and connection is on the move in companies like Intel Corporation and Texas Instruments, tied for first place honors in the 2021 REDI index. As they create, make and market the useful products and services for which they’re best known, companies like these also offer a compelling cultural “product”, a way of relating that ennobles humanity. This is “catching.” It’s inspirational.

The conference featured so many, representing such a broad spectrum of beliefs and areas of expertise, because the widespread ills of incivility, divisiveness and distrust can only be surmounted by purposeful efforts by many people, coming at it from all directions, through all disciplines.

At the close of the conference we asked participants and attendees to pause and reflect on what we’d all heard; to reflect personally, in their own hearts, on the WHY behind their work and their workplace relationships, and how their faith and core principles guide their work. Participants encouraged each other to listen deeply and respectfully to people who have beliefs that differ from their own; to speak authentically and thoughtfully to others about the things that matter to them. To be purposeful, and bold – and sensitive. And then to be accountable to their own expressed beliefs.

In the end, I think there was wide consensus on this: Though the business case for action to embrace religious diversity and inclusion is strong, it’s not JUST about the three Rs: Recruitment, Retention and Revenues. This is RIGHT. We’re at our best when we purposefully seek to engage from our hearts and souls on this deeper level.

Many of us left the conference with a fresh sense of optimism and hope. The world needs the authenticity and connection that we’ve seen in this conference. This MATTERS. And it’s possible.

In future weeks we’ll begin to unpack some of the specific learnings from the conference. As always, we invite your input.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Intel and Texas Instruments score highest on workplace religious inclusion among America’s 200 largest companies

Leaders from both companies as well as from Google, American Airlines, American Express, Tyson Foods, Dell Technologies, PayPal and Salesforce headline the second annual national Faith@Work conference, beginning today at 3pm EST.

(Washington DC, Feb. 9, 2021) – Intel and Texas Instruments are the most faith-and-belief friendly corporate workplaces among the 200 largest companies in America as measured by the 2021 Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Index.

Also among the top 100 companies on the U.S. Fortune 500 list, American Airlines, American Express, Google, Tyson Foods, Dell Technologies, Target, Cigna and Facebook take the second through ninth spots with Fannie Mae and Apple tying for the tenth spot to round out the top companies.

Texas Instruments takes the top spot among the Fortune 200 companies for including faith and belief as part of their overall efforts to support equality and inclusion in their workplace, with PayPal and Salesforce also earning very high marks. Aramark and Netflix have the next highest scores among the Fortune 200 group of companies.

This is the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s (RFBF) second annual benchmark assessment of the state of corporate America’s inclusion of religion as an integral part of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (see 2020 report and news coverage).

Companies earn scores on the REDI Index based on a careful content analysis of faith-related information on the company’s main diversity and inclusion web landing page – the public face of the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. This includes weighted scores for the number and variety of faith-and belief-based Employee Resource Groups (including atheist/agnostic ERGs) mentioned on the company’s website, as well as weighted scores for public training programs they offer to help other companies embrace workplace religious inclusion. (See Methodology and Topline for fuller discussion and notes on the development of the index.)