We need diversity and equity in American schools—and inclusion that integrates our whole selves including faith.
One recent October, Khyati Joshi received two requests to attend diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) meetings at work. Both were scheduled for Diwali (aka Deepavali), the South Asian Festival of Lights celebrated each fall by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Brahma Kumaris, and others. Unsure how to deal with religious differences, she notes, many schools and workplaces avoid recognizing any faith, but this offends some religious communities, particularly Christians, without making other groups feel any less excluded. And for religious minorities, the message is still: “You are invisible, and you don’t really matter.” Faith is as important as race and gender in building justice, Dr Joshi, New Jersey based co-founder of the Institute for Teaching Diversity and Social Justice, wrote in an article on Religion News Service in October 2022.
Ami Chander, a Hindu who teaches in New Jersey, has had a similar experience. She appreciates DEI efforts in public schools, but she wrote in ‘The Commons’ (Association for Public Religion and Intellectual Life) in April 2023:
Many fear inadvertently offending others while trying to teach about religious traditions they know little about. Some mistakenly believe that teaching about religion is synonymous with proselytizing for religion, and is therefore impermissible in public schools. Or they might feel that religion is too private and personal to engage with effectively in the classroom. It is simply easier and safer, they conclude, to “keep religion out of it.”
Faith is as important as race and gender in building justice, those implementing Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) policies should remember, according to Dr Khyati Joshi, co-founder of the Institute for Teaching Diversity and Social Justice.
Because few DEI programs in public schools have addressed religion, they have done little to reduce antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hostility toward other faith communities. They also have faced fierce political criticism in recent years—and attacks on them are certain during the months leading up to another rancorous presidential election. DEI initiatives might be welcomed, however, if they recognized and respected religious differences, since nearly everyone feels that their beliefs and practices are widely misunderstood, argues David A. Armstrong in the article, “What We Need Is Religious Acceptance Training” published by National Catholic Reporter June 5, 2024.
Many corporations have realized that they must be religiously inclusive to attract the staff they need. A recent report by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation found that the number of Fortune 500 companies paying serious attention to faith in their diversity and inclusion programs had doubled in a single year. In Silicon Valley, workers commonly gather in specific-faith affinity groups during breaks to study Scripture and request prayer from colleagues as they anxiously await the results of medical tests and similar challenges, reported Jennifer Miller in the article, “At Work, ‘Whole Selves’ Increasingly Include Religion” for The New York Times on Sept. 24, 2023.
Interreligious literacy is good not only for business but also for our families, our communities, and our nation. We need diversity and equity in our schools—and inclusion that includes our whole selves.
