Black Americans are more likely than other racial groups to express their faith in the workplace

(The Conversation) — Nearly 40% of Black workers feel comfortable talking about their faith with people at work, the highest of any U.S. racial group, our two recent studies found. But they also risk facing religious discrimination.

For the past 15 years, we have been studying religion in workplaces. Recently we conducted two studies, including two online surveys involving 15,000 workers and in-depth interviews with nearly 300. Our respondents included Christian, Jewish, Muslim and nonreligious individuals.

The majority of Black Americans – nearly 8 in 10 – identify as Christians. And we found that Black workers from all faiths are more likely than other racial groups to use their traditions to find meaning and purpose in their work and to feel “called” to their work.

Although not all Black Americans are religious or want their faith to intersect with their work, we found that many Black Americans very much want to bring their religious beliefs to work. This goes beyond just talking about them at work, such as their holiday celebrations or the importance of their church in their lives. In addition, Black Americans are more likely than other racial groups to display or wear religious symbols, such as jewelry or head coverings.

Why it matters?

Scholars have often focused on racial discrimination in workplaces. However, the potential overlap between racial and religious marginalization has not been studied as much.

Some Black Christians told us that when they mention faith at work, they fear they will be discriminated against because of their race and because of their faith – what we call “double marginalization.”

For example, we interviewed a Black Christian woman who worked as an assistant professor of English. She told us she was reluctant to describe the challenges she faced in academia as religious discrimination but said the humanities “tend to not always be welcoming toward religious people and Christians specifically.” She recalled several instances when she was treated differently due to her faith.

Black people can feel negatively judged on account of their faith.
Andrey Popov/iStock Getty Images Plus

Black Christians we interviewed said that co-workers stereotyped them as narrow-minded or sanctimonious in ways that felt marginalizing. For example, some said the term “holy” – which might seem positive in certain kinds of contexts – can be applied in pejorative ways to Black Christians. A man we interviewed who attends a majority Black congregation said he talks about his faith openly in the workplace and often feels negatively judged.

Members of minority religions may feel even more at risk. The largest group of Muslims in the U.S. are Black Americans. Black Muslim female workers, for example, feel three times marginalized – feeling at risk for gender, racial and religious discrimination – our study found.

Their faith sometimes makes Black Americans less likely to address inequality in their workplaces. We found they sometimes draw on religious values like forgiveness and their belief that “God is in control” to justify remaining quiet about religious and racial discrimination.

What’s next

This contrasts with our previous work, where we argued that religion can be used to address inequalities at work. We need more research that examines the inextricable link between religion and race in workplaces. Workplace leaders who care about lessening inequality need to understand that racial and religious identities are often deeply intertwined.

The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

Christopher P. Scheitle receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation.

Denise Daniels receives funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc.

(Elaine Howard Ecklund, Professor of Sociology, Rice University. Christopher P. Scheitle, Associate Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University. Denise Daniels, Chair of Entrepreneurship, Wheaton College (Illinois). The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)