Last week we recommended an article in the Wall Street Journal (page B1) about the increasing number of discrimination claims filed by employees based upon religion.

The reporter, Melanie Trottman, explained noted that “Part of the surge comes from employees – Muslims, Christians, Seventh-Day Adventists and others – who were denied requests to avoid work on Sabbath days. Conflicts also have erupted over workers’ appearance, particularly in jobs requiring uniforms, involving food preparation and in image-focused fashion retailing.”

She also says that “Experts on religion and the law attribute the rising conflict to immigration, a more open discussion of religion and workers’ growing assertiveness.”

Jim Jones, a customer support executive from the Chicago area, added his analysis as to the reason for this “surge”:

“Unfortunate, but not unexpected.  Gallup and the Pew Forum have released poll after poll showing that the percentage of ‘religious’ people in the US is declining. It’s still the majority but becoming slimmer by the year. As the percentage of non-religious people increases, the religious traditions of our country become less and less part of our social fabric – put another way, the more non-religious people we have in the country, the more expected it will be that religious people are excluded from public and business decisions.”