Our Story

Following the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation’s Faith@Work ERG Conference and Interfaith America’s (formerly Interfaith Youth Core) Alumni Convening in 2021, Angie, Breanne, Parth, David, and Kent began to meet on Zoom to discuss the current status of religion and business as members/leaders of their respective affiliate organizations, the USC Marshall School of Business and the Wharton School, Interfaith America, AI and Faith, and the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation.

Through these conversations, they discovered a gap, specifically in graduate business schools, where religion remained a taboo topic, meaning future business leaders were not only not receiving any training about Title VII and religious accommodation, but also didn’t have any safe spaces in the classroom to discuss faith and belief, which are the core tenets of values and ethics formation.

Understanding the critical role of religion in addressing the most pressing humans rights and evolutionary challenges of our time, they offered their time, talent, and gifts to create the Interfaith Business Network and podcast.

Two years later, this original founding team no longer regularly meets, but they do check in from time to time and actively support and participate in each others’ initiatives, frequently crossing paths in the small but growing world of religion and business.

Our Progress

The Interfaith Business Network community has grown to over 30 members and continues to accept new members.

We are currently in the process of reimagining what community and podcast stewardship will look like in the future, through collaborations with Interfaith America’s Interfaith at Work Cohort and conversations with MBA student hosts of the First Annual Faith & Belief @ Work MBA Case Competition hosted at BYU Marriott School of Business from Feb 15-18, 2023.

Some Noteworthy Accomplishments From our Original Team Include:

• Hosting the Religious and Racial Equity Training Series in February 2021 with over 30 participants from the USC Marshall School of Business, the Wharton School, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount University, and St. Mary’s College of California. Read about it here and watch the episode about Employee Resource Groups here.

• Establishing Interfaith at Wharton for MBA students and hosting the Wharton Interfaith Day of Prayer on March 26, 2021.

• Moderating and presenting on the “Crossroads of Business and Faith” at the 2021 Parliament of the World Religions.

We can’t wait to see what incredible things our members will continue to do from here!

Get Involved.

Whether you’re just getting started on this journey, or have decades of experience behind you, with open arms, we welcome you and hope you’ll feel inspired to contribute your own time, talent, and gifts to wherever this religion and business road leads you. We are here to connect you to the right people, initiatives, and resources and to help you find your home as a business leader for whom faith and belief matter.