Religious discrimination often relates to religious observances. Workers who wear religious iconography or clothing to work could face mistreatment from coworkers or supervisors. Requests for accommodations for religious observances can also lead to discrimination in the workplace.
However, sometimes discrimination relates to what a person does not believe instead. Professionals could find themselves facing mistreatment or a loss of opportunities because they do not believe what their co-workers or managers do.
Do atheists and agnostics have protection from religious discrimination?
Compelled belief violates individual rights
Employers cannot force workers to disavow their religions or violate the tenets of their faith for job responsibilities in most cases. Additionally, employers cannot force workers to adopt the beliefs of others.
The First Amendment protects the right to personal religious belief and expression. That right extends to those who do not belong to an organized religion or believe in a higher power. People in positions of career authority cannot compel workers to convert or punish workers who do not belong to a specific faith. Roughly a third of people polled in the United States believe that atheists face discrimination.
Workers experiencing organizational discrimination or a hostile work environment that management ignores may have legal rights under the law. A professional’s personal beliefs or decision not to participate in organized religion should not have any bearing on their professional opportunities. When employers treat workers differently due to their faith or lack thereof, those businesses may have violated the rights of the affected employees.
Documenting religious discrimination, including the mistreatment of those without religious beliefs, can help workers hold their employers accountable. Workers can seek damages for professional setbacks or even reinstatement to a position they lost because of their religious beliefs or lack thereof.