Religious Freedom & Business Institute has released their annual index measuring the commitment of corporations to religious inclusion in the workplace. The latest index covers all U.S. Fortune 500 companies, while last year’s covered only the 200 largest corporations.
The report is compiled from information published by the companies on their diversity and inclusion initiatives and faith-and-belief employee resource groups. In addition to the external assessment, employees were surveyed asking questions ranging from what chaplaincy services are offered within the organization to whether the company makes donations to faith-based organizations commensurate with those made by their employees.
Tyson Foods stands out with their chaplaincy program, having 100 chaplains available to support their staff, available at all times of the day or night every day of the year and encompassing Muslim and many Christian traditions. The corporate commitment states: “At Tyson Foods, we celebrate the diversity of our team members, customers, stakeholders and consumers and are proud to have built a culture where everyone is valued for their unique backgrounds, experience, thoughts and talents. We also welcome respectful religious expressions and are proud to be a faith-friendly workplace – because our team members’ beliefs matter. Tyson’s chaplaincy program makes dedicated chaplains from a wide array of faiths and religions available at our plants and facilities to listen, offer support, and talk to team members about daily life.”
Equinix, an Internet connection and data center company, supports a program where they will make donations matching their employees’ donations to faith-based and religious organizations up to $1,000 per employee annually. In 2021, their employees donated $42,000 to 71 different religious organizations. Dell similarly has a nonprofit giving program which matches staff donations up to $10,000 annually.
The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation began creating this annual report in 2020. The foundation is dedicated to educating the business community on the benefits of faith and religious freedom to the workplace and the economy.
Originally published at World Religion News
