Impactful Inclusion Toolkit

ACTIVITY 9Respect the Beliefs of Others

“An inclusive world starts with each of us choosing to respect perspectives other than our own, treating everyone with respect and choosing to stand up for others who need our support. More than anything else, this is what going beyond diversity truly means.”

—Rohit Bhargava

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Chances are you have co-workers who ascribe to organized religion as well as ones who consider themselves atheists, agnostic, or nonreligious. The Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center surveyed more than 35,000 Americans from all 50 states about their affiliations, beliefs, and practices. The study revealed that almost 71 percent self-identified as Christian, almost 6 percent belonged to other faiths, and roughly 23 percent were nonreligious. I find that people who ascribe to a particular religion or spirituality are usually uninterested, judgmental, or even hostile toward other religions, and sometimes justifiably so. The extremist Muslim terrorists' attacks on September 11, 2001, will forever be a part of history. Consider the numerous child sex abuse allegations in the Catholic church, the scandals of Evangelicals like Peter Popoff, a debunked faith healer, or the ABC News investigation revealing how Robert Tilton's ministry discarded prayer requests without reading them, keeping only the money or valuables sent by viewers. Christianity isn't alone when it comes to conflicts of what's espoused and what's actually practiced. In the midst of the ...