Resources
Session Three: May 14, 2008
Struggling with Religious Diversity: Rekindling Respect
Purpose of this session:
The purpose of this session was for participants to explore religious bias, prejudice, and discrimination that could lead to lost opportunities in both business and personal environments.
Grove Harris, Former director of the Harvard Pluralism Project, speaker, writer and consultant from Cambridge, Massachusetts and special guest Jamal Rahman, a Muslim Sufi and co-minister at Interfaith Community Church and adjunct faculty at Seattle University facilitated this session.
Throughout the session, Grove explored religious diversity in Seattle and the United States through the context of the legal lens, current cases, and current solutions. Questions and comments from the audience framed much of the discussion.
Session outcomes:
Survey the landscape of religious diversity in Washington State relative to the rest of the country. Investigate how further developing a corporate culture of inclusion in regard to religious diversity could be good for business.
Consider the benefits of respecting religious differences for yourself personally, and in relationships with your colleagues.
Experience deep listening about the tensions and values inherent in religious differences in our work places and in our society.
Practice using dialogue skills as a tool for respectful discussions about religious differences in the workplace—for now and for the future.
Take away references for the legal framework, corporate strategies and current cases on religious differences in the workplace.
Process:
The session began with an overview of the agenda and session outcomes. Grove then went over the resource packet, briefly discussing topics such as:
- Accommodation issues by religious tradition;
- Religious diversity in Seattle and the US;
- The legal context of religious diversity, including constitutional amendments, Washington State law, federal workplace guidelines, and a comprehensive guide to religious legal rights and responsibilities;
- Current cases concerning religion in the news; and
- Current solutions, including interfaith network and religious affinity group resources.
The session then moved into an activity in which participants wrote down various pending questions they had on religious diversity. These questions ranged from personal experiences to general questions about a particular religion. For example:
- How do you deal with proselytizing?
- How do you address a boss who opens meetings with prayer and favors employees from her church without being excluded? and;
- How do you end the silence around religious diversity without opening ourselves up to litigation or disrupting the workplace?
- The questions were then collected for use as discussion prompts later in the session, and Grove opened up the floor to Q&A. The questions above were addressed, as well as topics such as:
- Is it inappropriate to address everyone with Merry Christmas during the holidays?
- Can you talk more about or give an example of reasonable accommodation concerning Muslim prayer time?
While Grove provided suggestions and information on the above questions, participants also voiced their own solutions and answers, and some shared personal anecdotes concerning their experiences with religion in the workplace.
After a break, a short DVD clip was shown. This clip was an informational presentation currently shown to Chicago policemen during training. Several Muslim interviewees discussed how they do not mind being asked to de-robe or unwrap their turban, as long as it's for a justified security reason, are asked with respect, any reasonable requests are considered (such as a Muslim woman asking if she could unveil away from the public eye) and they are treated like an American during the process. The clip stressed that in order to efficiently provide security services, tensions revolving around religion should be kept to a minimum by showing a polite and respectful attitude to those of all cultural backgrounds.
After the clip, participants divided up into dialogue groups. The purpose of dialogue is to share experiences and views in order to better understand each other. Dialogue is not a debate where the purpose is to persuade and win. Participants were asked to dialogue the following questions:
- UNDERSTANDING: What would you want your co-workers/colleagues to know about your religious traditions or your moral perspectives?
- RESPECT: How could your co-workers/colleagues respect your religious traditions or your moral perspectives?
- CURIOSITY: What questions would you like to ask your co-workers/colleagues about their religious traditions or their moral perspectives?
Participants then regrouped and Grove Harris addressed any last questions.
Comments about the session:
- "The session was not long enough to cover the meat of the subjects."
- "Not a fan of the question format. The main facilitator did not answer some questions clearly. She is obviously a SME in this area but she didn't seem to do well giving a clear answer. Good examples though not always relevant to the question."
- "I would have enjoyed having the literature before hand and be able to ask questions negating the literature."
- "Facilitator was great. Liked the interactive approach."
- "Excellent facilitator! Extremely articulate, educated, knowledgeable and approachable."
- "Of all the sessions I've attended so far, this has been the most interactive and informative—Grove was a fantastic speaker and facilitator."
Applying this information:
- How can you utilize the information you acquired during the session?
- Suggestions for your personal development:
- Attend an interfaith event.
- Visit a religious center of a tradition that is unfamiliar to you.
- Make a point of learning a bit about other religious traditions, perhaps by reading articles when you see them in the newspaper, or seeing films, or reading novels.
- Explore Web resources on religious diversity.
- Ask questions of people you know, perhaps about a religious holiday they observe.
- Ask yourself which religious traditions you are least comfortable with, and your basis for this. Then formulate open ended questions to explore your assumptions, and look for safe places to ask them.
- Collect personal anecdotes about encountering religious difference.
Encouraging others' development:
- Talk about what you've learned from this session.
- Seek out interested others and share your questions, concerns, information and resources.
- Invite others to join you in attending an interfaith event or visiting a local religious center.
- Look for opportunities for informal, informational conversation on religious difference. Share personal anecdotes.
- Find out about local interfaith groups and consider what parts of their work you could support.
Impact the organization's culture:
- Assess the organizational position in terms of flexible holiday policy, religious accommodations to dress code, and atmosphere in general.
- Find out whether religious diversity is included in corporate diversity statements.
- Consider allies, structural resources, and finding a champion as means of creating change.
- Consider suggesting small, concrete changes such as expanding the list of holidays included in the corporate calendar for informational purposes.
- Pay attention to the calendar of religious holidays and aim to be considerate of colleagues' observances.
- Consider the demographics of workers, customers, suppliers, and international branches and the likely religious demographics. Consider what knowledge might improve understanding, and where to obtain it.
Session Six: Thu, Nov 13, 2008
Confronting Global Diversity: Imagining a Wide Circle of Inclusion
Patricia Digh
David Robinson