Religion in the Workplace

Employees are increasingly embracing the notion of ＂bringing their whole selves to work,＂ and many employers are encouraging them. Those whole selves often include religious identities, however, and that can make things complicated. Employers can be uncertain about how to respond to workers’ religious identities and afraid that such expression will lead to conflict.

Elaine Howard Ecklund, Denise Daniels, and Christopher P. Scheitle have conducted more than 15,000 surveys and 300 in-depth interviews on the subject of faith at work in the US. In this thoughtful exploration of religious identities in the workplace--the culmination of five years of research--the authors make the case for inclusion and argue that employers should accommodate religious self-expression at work. Their data-driven but accessible approach uses up-to-date research to show how a wide range of workers understand their work vis-a-vis their faith, and how religious identities overlap with--and may be key to fostering--other kinds of diversity. By looking at how workers from a variety of religious traditions and social groups are bringing their faith into the workplace, the authors identify why and how organizations can foster a diversity of religious beliefs and expressions in the workplace.

This book will help organizational leaders, workers, and scholars understand both the challenges and benefits of the integration of faith at work and to respond thoughtfully and respectfully to the presence of religion in the workplace.

Elaine Howard Ecklund is Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, and director of the Boniuk Institute at Rice University. She is the author of seven books, including Science Vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, and over 150 research articles. She is past President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and current President of the Religious Research Association. In 2018 she was a Gifford Lecturer and in 2022 won Rice’s Presidential mentoring award.

Denise Daniels is the Hudson T. Harrison Professor Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at Wheaton College and a sought-after speaker and consultant who serves on the outside board of a fintech company and two non-profit organizations. She has published dozens of peer-reviewed research articles and is the co-author of Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work.

Christopher P. Scheitle is an Associate Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University. He has authored over one hundred scholarly articles and five books including, most recently The Faithful Scientist: Anti-Religious Bias in Scientific Training. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and other agencies.