Religion in the Workplace: Freedoms and Functions

Recent social science work shines a light on religion and spirituality in the lives of workers—how it can contribute to a sense of meaning and purpose at work, but also how it can be a source of conflict and discrimination—within an increasingly pluralistic workplace. Yet there has been little empirical attention in the field of religious studies about how religion and work intersect. This multidisciplinary roundtable seeks to open critical conversation about workplaces as sites of lived religion; to explore the functions of religion in the contemporary US workplace; and to consider questions of religious freedom and intersectional struggles for human flourishing, using the workplace as a case study. We will explore why the workplace is a crucial site for examining issues of religious freedom in a multi-racial, multi-religious democracy and discuss key  questions, debates, and theoretical and methodological tools needed to better understand religion’s role in the workplace.