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I recently moved to a Nordic country in an academic position. For my first grant application, I collaborated with other researchers at the university. As I was submitting the proposal along with the CVs, I noticed that two of the researchers had mentioned their religion. I have never seen this in academia, at least in South-east Asia where I spent majority of my work life.

Here are other details that I think are relevant:

  • Our research domain is engineering, not humanities or social sciences.
  • Both researchers are Muslim.
  • The funding agency is a private one that favors industrial collaborations.

My questions:

  • Is it appropriate to mention one's religion in an academic CV?
  • Does mentioning one's religion help in grant proposals or academic positions? I think in a fair world it shouldn't.
  • Do western countries, especially European, favor candidates who are Muslim?
Prometheus
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    Is it perhaps common in your current country of residence to have the religion listed in the CV? If yes, this may be the reason. Putting stuff into a CV that is not commonly included is however risky - it conveys the message that the writer thinks that the information is somewhat of relevance - and what this means in this case is open for interpretation. – DCTLib Nov 25 '15 at 11:54
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    It is not common in the country in question. Of the 15 CVs I submitted (company partners and university researchers), only these 2 mentioned their religion. – Prometheus Nov 25 '15 at 12:01
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    @Prometheus: Have you also considered the timespan within which these CVs were created? In other words, is it possible it used to be common in the country in question? I am asking because customs change, and, for instance, back when I was taught how to write a CV in highschool I was taught the current set of guidelines of that time in my place, which turned out to be already quite dated by the time I graduated from university and wrote my very first CV. – O. R. Mapper Nov 25 '15 at 12:10
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    Related, especially for your last point: Will ISIS attacks hurt my PhD application as a Muslim? – Stephan Kolassa Nov 25 '15 at 12:30
  • @O.R.Mapper You have a point. But in this case, most of the researchers involved (including me and the two I mentioned) are in our early (post-PhD) academic career. So the CVs were created not more than 3-5 years ago. In this Nordic country, customs haven't changed much in this timespan. – Prometheus Nov 25 '15 at 12:51
  • Would it be weird to just ask them why they did that, and whether you should? – ognockocaten Nov 25 '15 at 15:41
  • @charginghawk I am not that close with them yet. May be after the proposal gets accepted! (crosses fingers) – Prometheus Nov 25 '15 at 16:16
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    Why would European countries prefer Muslim candidates? I hope they just simply do not discriminate in any direction, although I am afraid that some would illegally discriminate against Arabs/Muslims. – Quora Feans Nov 25 '15 at 19:53
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    Concerning your second relevant detail: are-they muslim residents of the Nordic country? Or muslims from another country that rather recently moved in Northern Europe as you did? In the second case, it may not be the norm to include religion in a CV in the country you are currently living, but in their country of origin? There are countries with official religion where people of the other religions may be disadvantaged. There are also countries where being religious is considered is a sign of good morality. They may have done that to show they are respectable person, worthy of the grant. – Taladris Nov 26 '15 at 09:41
  • I just want to point out that it could be very likely that your name already implies that you are Muslim, in that case I don't think there is any reason really to mention it explicitly. – Mohamed Khamis Dec 02 '15 at 15:07
  • If you were applying for a position as a member of the faculty of a theological seminary, then I imagine your CV would normally mention your religion, but I haven't heard of it being done otherwise. – Michael Hardy Oct 02 '20 at 03:12

5 Answers5

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There are some situations where religion could limit someone's ability to do their job. For example, a Muslim professor may require prayer breaks, which could limit the times at which they can give lectures.

Religion should be mentioned only on a "need to know" basis, unless it's common practice to include it in the country you're applying to. Similarly to if you have a disability, you shouldn't mention it on your CV. It is more appropriate to explain such caveats in the cover letter, during a job interview, or prior to accepting the interview.

We should be judging people on their ability to do the job, not their personal beliefs. Such beliefs are only relevant if they interfere with their work. Unfortunately, particularly as a result of increases in extremism, Muslim candidates in Western Europe are more likely to be at an unfair disadvantage, rather than being favoured for a position.

Moriarty
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    "Muslim candidates in Western Europe are more likely to be at an unfair disadvantage, rather than being favoured for a position." - I agree. However, it could work out the other way around, with Muslims or other groups perceived as disadvantaged (e.g., women) getting preferential treatment in the interest of diversity. If a large part of the student body is Muslim, for instance, a Muslim applicant for a professorship may be perceived as allowing for a better rapport to students, or simply as a good role model. – Stephan Kolassa Nov 25 '15 at 12:28
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    @StephanKolassa The secularist in me is not comfortable with the idea of preferentially hiring someone based on their personal beliefs. You cannot choose whether you have a disability or what sex you were born as, but you can choose your religion. When it comes to diversity, they're very different things. – Moriarty Nov 25 '15 at 13:06
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    How is it unfair disadvantage if it interferes with your ability to do your job? – Davor Nov 25 '15 at 14:29
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    @Davor it is unfair when compared with, for example, a Christian that wants to attend mass every Sunday mornings. In countries of Christian tradition, Sunday is a festivity, and he is not expected to work. This is, of course, assuming the limitations are minor. – Davidmh Nov 25 '15 at 14:42
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    @Davidmh - he specifically said Western Europe, and if a Christian tried asking for special privileges that interfere with his work because he's a Christian in W.E. he'd be laughed out of office. – Davor Nov 25 '15 at 14:46
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    @Davor it's an unfair disadvantage if someone is discriminated against because of their faith and it does not interfere with their ability to do their job. – Moriarty Nov 25 '15 at 14:49
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    @Moriarty - ah, OK, I thought you were continuing on the previous sentence. In that case, yeah, I agree. As long as it doesn't influence their job and they don't bother other people they should be able to believe whatever they like. – Davor Nov 25 '15 at 14:51
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    @Davor The western academic system comes out of the Christian tradition, so things like resting on Sundays and important holidays are already (more or less) accounted for. – Kimball Nov 25 '15 at 15:30
  • @Kimball - resting on Sunday comes from Abrahamic tradition, of which Islam is also a part together with Judaism. But where it comes from is hardly important since Sunday being a free day has become almost absolutely universal. – Davor Nov 25 '15 at 16:04
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    @Davor Not on topic here, but Sunday was not the Abrahamic rest day. Might want to brush up on the topic. – called2voyage Nov 25 '15 at 17:23
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    @Davor According to Wikipedia, it appears you are incorrect about the universality of Sunday as a day off from work.The linked article lists 21 countries that do not have Sunday as part of their weekend, two having Friday as the only weekend day and 19 having Friday - Saturday weekends. Plus "most Israelis" work Sundays, according to the article. – Todd Wilcox Nov 25 '15 at 19:02
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    @Moriarty (somewhat off-topic) and certainlly far off what you want to say here, but I' very cautious with arguments of the structure you can choose your religion vs. you cannot choose a disability/sex. I've encountered them where they were the starting point in order relativize/qualitfy basic rights (choice of something you're free to choose $\leadsto$ didn't need to choose to be x; so someone who violates your basic right because you chose x is less bad than someone who violates your basic right because of something you cannot choose). – cbeleites unhappy with SX Nov 25 '15 at 19:50
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    @cbeleites In a secular society, being a member of a religion not give a person the right to practise their faith during work hours. If it's of little inconvenience to the employer, then it would be reasonable to accommodate the employees' request. But you cannot get a job as a judge and demand to wear a colander instead of a wig in court. It's not a basic right. The whole point of secularism is that it doesn't give or take away anyone's rights beyond the right to practise their beliefs in their own private space. – Moriarty Nov 25 '15 at 20:10
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    @Moriarty, I don't get the connection between my comment and your answer. We could continue in chat, though, if you want to explain. The basic right I refer to is just a non-discrimiation based on religion (between persons who are equally suitable for the job - of course, if you'll be fried if you don't wear the colander you should not apply for a uniformed job that does not include the colander. Just as if you are opposed to animal experiments you should not apply for a job in an animal experiment facility, or, if you're blind you should not apply for a job as bus driver). – cbeleites unhappy with SX Nov 25 '15 at 20:52
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    @cbeleites I guess I misunderstood your comment. Of course, you shouldn't be discriminated against because of what religion you practise at home – my only point is that it's not a basic right to bring your religion into the workplace. On which we seem to agree, so I don't think there's anything to discuss. – Moriarty Nov 26 '15 at 10:27
  • @ToddWilcox - I'd say 170/196 is as universal as it is possible for humanity. – Davor Nov 26 '15 at 12:52
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    Folks, please keep the discussion civilized – and preferably on topic. – Moriarty Nov 26 '15 at 17:34
  • @Moriarty: While that may be true, this is about what is not what should be. – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 27 '15 at 10:18
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I would leave it away. It is probably some relict from older days when it was common to include it, so some people might still do it, but it is most likely neither expected nor actually wanted. For example, I vaguely recall that when I was attending high school in the 1990s in Germany, when we learned how to write a CV (from an older teacher, so it might have been outdated already), we still included our religious affiliation. In fact, it was also common to include the occupation of your parents. I highly doubt anyone still would expect information like this any more, and in fact, it seems to be of highly questionable value with a lot of possibilities for discrimination attached. [BTW, in Germany, your religious affiliation has some tax implications, which is why you would have to tell your employer anyway; but the CV is not the place to do it, I guess]

damian
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    I only now realize that @o-r-mapper already mentioned this in his comment to the OP – damian Nov 25 '15 at 13:30
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    +1 for the fascinating points on obsolete instructions and also on German tax law! Really, you were supposed to include your parents' occupations? That seems custom built for discrimination (positive and negative) and nothing else! – jakebeal Nov 25 '15 at 13:52
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    Yes, indeed, it is bizarre. Triggered by your comment, I just looked it up again, and even Wikipedia still mentions the possibility to include the parents' occupation as an optional element: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebenslauf – damian Nov 25 '15 at 13:57
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    At least it's relatively easy to tell if you fall into one of the listed religions. In present day America you often have to tell your race or "ethnicity" on forms, which from a non Anglo-Saxon context is very puzzling. – Cape Code Nov 25 '15 at 14:31
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    @CapeCode - I'm not American but AFAIK race is always optional and it would be a violation of law to require it, as that is obviously discriminatory. Not that it still doesn't happen. – Davor Nov 25 '15 at 14:53
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    @CapeCode it gets weirder for white Spaniards, we are considered of ethnicity "white-hispanic" (or so I was told). – Davidmh Nov 25 '15 at 14:55
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    @Davor I'm not saying it's mandatory, I'm saying it's puzzling because unless one grew up in a culture with racial groups, one struggles to know which one to tick. – Cape Code Nov 25 '15 at 15:47
  • @Davidmh I know, I wondered what I should chose since I speak a bit of Spanish. But I think if you're from Spain, you're not "Hispanic" in America. Go figure. – Cape Code Nov 25 '15 at 15:49
  • @CapeCode That's not correct. The de facto legal definition of "Hispanic" in the United States is "self-identifies as Hispanic". http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/ – JeffE Nov 25 '15 at 18:31
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    (off topic) @jakebeal: Here's an even more fascinating point with the German church tax: the Humanist Association of Germany would be allowed to collect such a church tax (always from members only, though). It needs to be said that the tax (as opposed to membership fees) mostly refers to a law that allows certain religious or Weltanschauungs communities to bind their membership fees e.g. to income tax. That the normal tax office collects these fees is due to service contracts between community and state (and the respective communities pay service fees to the tax office for that service). – cbeleites unhappy with SX Nov 25 '15 at 19:20
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    (slightly offf topic) I once applied for a job in the US and in the space for Race I wrote "homo sapiens". My conscience would not allow me to write anything else. I didn't hear from them again. – RedSonja Nov 26 '15 at 13:48
  • There is a quite strong qualification regarding the profession of the parent's info in Wikipedia though. Namely that this is intended for applications for an "Ausbildungsplatz" (apprenticeship position) in case it is relevant to the position. I am not quite sure I find this all that strange in this context. Would it also be strange to mention in the letter of motivation that you want to become a plumber because your parents own a plumbing business and you intend to continue it? If no, I do not really see the difference. – quid Nov 26 '15 at 17:50
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    @RedSonja: Next time write "homo sapiens superior" and see if you get any response. – Pete L. Clark Nov 26 '15 at 23:10
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It should be mentioned here that local practices are important. For instance, applicants for positions based in the US should never list factors such as religious affiliation, marriage status, and birth date in a CV, as this runs afoul of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination regulations.

Religion, however, I think is something that is best left off in all cases. There really isn't a valid reason to list it that isn't outweighed by the potential for problems created by leaving it on.

aeismail
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    "Never" is a bit strong; there are classes of jobs (particularly those involving a degree of pastoral care) for which discrimination (or at least preference) based on religious affiliation is not only permitted but expected. They are exceptional, though, and pretty clearly delineated. – Stan Rogers Nov 25 '15 at 15:16
  • @StanRogers: Those such jobs generally lie outside of academia. – aeismail Nov 25 '15 at 17:27
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    To be fair, I did see an academic job offered at a Christian College, which was primarily a teaching job but had a faith development aspect. But these types of jobs should be pretty obvious. – Richard Rast Nov 25 '15 at 18:01
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    I don't think mentioning your religious affiliation, marriage status, or anything else really on your CV "runs afoul" of any regulations. An employer cannot ask about such details, but as far as I know a job candidate can legally volunteer any information they want to. That doesn't make it a good idea to do so, but the wording of the "runs afoul" comment is highly misleading in my opinion. – Dan Romik Nov 25 '15 at 18:15
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    @DanRomik: It puts the employer in a difficult situation. How do they show that the information that they're not allowed to consider in their decision-making process didn't influence the decision? You've made everyone's lives a lot harder if you include information you're not supposed to. – aeismail Nov 25 '15 at 21:51
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    @aeismail I'm not at all sure you are correct. I think one could very reasonably argue that it puts the employer in a less difficult situation, by shifting the burden on the job candidate to explain why they volunteered irrelevant information they were not asked about and then decided to complain about being discriminated against based on that information. It certainly casts some doubts about the motivation of said candidate IMO. But I am not a lawyer so can't say authoritatively which one of these theories is correct. Interesting question, though. – Dan Romik Nov 25 '15 at 22:09
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    ... With that said, I agree that it's highly inappropriate, unprofessional, and suboptimal for a job candidate to include information about religious affiliation on their CV for an academic job. I just don't think it "runs afoul" of anything other than common sense. – Dan Romik Nov 25 '15 at 22:10
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    @DanRomik - In my experience on the admin side of US hiring, we would definitely have a problem if a candidate volunteered that information. We would likely try to keep that information from being known by the hiring committee. If any information is known to the hiring committee, it is assumed to be a factor in hiring. It doesn't matter if the information was requested or volunteered, it still presents a problem (in the US). Regulations in your institution may vary. – indigochild Nov 26 '15 at 02:37
  • @DanRomik: Worst case, an employer can take the view that forcing information on them that puts them into a difficult situation is something that can be held against you. "We won't hire anyone who tells us their religion in their CV". – gnasher729 Nov 26 '15 at 20:01
  • @indigochild that makes a lot of sense; certainly if the hiring committee can be shielded from the irrelevant information then that is a good idea. I was thinking of a situation where I as an interviewer am directly given irrelevant information by the candidate. Personally I would just nod politely, ignore whatever they said and move along. I don't see it as a reason for stressing out on my part ("assumed to be a factor": assumed by whom?). But possibly I am naive about such things. – Dan Romik Nov 26 '15 at 20:33
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Some applicants perform significant volunteer work through their places of worship; I would never expect them to elide that on their CVs or résumés. Similarly, attendance at a faith-aligned institution of higher education, or work for a faith-based organization.

Aside from clearly-relevant material such as that, however -- and volunteer work will not be appropriate to mention for all graduate departments; it is for us because we're a professional school for various service professions -- I would not find it appropriate and it would not help the applicant.

D.Salo
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  • It's nice to know a candidates' interests in order to judge how well they will fit in at the workplace, but what people do in their spare time is ultimately their own business. I wouldn't expect anyone to include such volunteering in their CV purely because it is faith-based work. For example, if the candidate mentors a youth group from their church, they can just state that they mentor a youth group and not even mention the faith component. A person's religion is only a problem if they make it one. – Moriarty Nov 25 '15 at 13:25
  • @Moriarty So you advocate excluding religion even when appropriate. I favor the opposite approach: mentioning whenever possibly relevant. I can also take the opposite position: A person's religion is only a problem if other people are non-accepting, and make it a problem. As my example, I (actually do) lead a ministry that delivers essential supplies to homeless people. The organization is religious and so are its goals; ripping religious details out would leave the remaining details ("leading drivers around town in dark cold") so uninspiring that it would seem senseless and irrelevant. – TOOGAM Nov 26 '15 at 12:51
  • @Moriarty Your statement is also slightly unclear... are you saying that "it is faith-based work" is not sufficient reason (by itself) to go onto a CV (and so the work should only be on a CV if there is additional reason), or that being faith-based somehow excludes the work's eligibility to be on a CV? Surely such details may be extremely relevant for a position at a faith organization. For environments so hostile to religion that people actually discriminate against the religious, it may benefit all parties if the CV is just silently skipped, rather than waste everyone's time. – TOOGAM Nov 26 '15 at 13:03
  • Volunteer work can definitely be relevant; if it's religious or not should matter less. Especially early on in ones career there might not be much professional experience to show, but religious work can be a good way to show abilities as a leader for example. – jswetzen Nov 26 '15 at 13:28
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    It was a response to "I would never expect them to elide [faith-based volunteer work] on their CVs or résumés". I simply disagree with the implication that faith-based volunteer work must be disclosed to any employer. If the faith element of the work is irrelevant to the job, then the inclusion or omission of the faith part should be entirely up to the applicant, and mentioned only briefly. – Moriarty Nov 26 '15 at 13:36
  • Yes. My children and I do volunteer work while remaining atheist. I would always put the volunteering on the form, but not the Weltanschauung. – RedSonja Nov 26 '15 at 13:51
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    I certainly didn't mean to imply that applicants are somehow required to disclose; they're not. I'm just saying, I wouldn't expect them to hide that they volunteered for a faith-based organization. – D.Salo Nov 26 '15 at 21:19
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As the ethics require the professor to be religion - neutral, mentioning the religion will not have any impact. As helpful as mentioning your favorite color, the name or your pet or anything the like.

It is generally better to avoid including uninformative stuff into CV, better to use that space for something that may represent you positively.

algorithmic_fungus
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