Corporate Giants Like Alphabet and Microsoft Slammed for Stifling Religious Liberty and Free Expression

A new report has highlighted troubling trends among some of America’s most beloved companies. According to the latest Business Index released by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Inspire Insight, major corporations such as Airbnb, Amazon, and Disney are among the worst offenders in terms of disregarding religious freedom and free speech.

ADF, a legal organization dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights, collaborated with Inspire Insight, an investment tool that evaluates companies on their alignment with religious values, to produce the second annual Business Index. This ranking evaluates companies based on their Viewpoint Diversity Score, which measures corporate respect for free speech and religious freedom.

Top Offenders in Corporate America

Of the 75 companies assessed, the top 10 for failing to uphold these fundamental freedoms are Airbnb, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, eBay, Microsoft, PayPal, Pinterest, Twitter, Disney, and Adobe. These companies received low scores across three key categories: market, workplace, and public sphere.

“Across all three categories, our methodology evaluated whether companies treat customers, vendors, employees, and nonprofits equally regardless of their political or religious views,” ADF stated in their press release. “We also look at whether companies are using their business resources or their brands to support public figures or causes hostile to fundamental freedoms.”

Key Findings

The findings of the report are concerning:

• Employee Resource Groups: Only 7% of the evaluated companies allow employees to form faith-based Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), despite 90% of Fortune 500 companies allowing ERGs for other affinities like race and sexual orientation.
• Charitable Donations: A staggering 78% of the ranked companies prohibit employees from donating to certain charities based on their religious status, practices, or related advocacy.
• Grants to Faith-Based Organizations: 57% of companies refuse to provide grants to faith-based organizations due to their religious beliefs.
• Political Donations: Over half of the ranked companies allocated approximately 45% of their political donations to legislation or court cases considered harmful to free speech or religion.
• Support for Harmful Legislation: 63% of companies used their brands and resources to support legislation that curtails free speech and religious freedom protections.

Detailed Breakdown of Top Offenders

1. Airbnb: With an overall rating of 2%, Airbnb ranked the lowest. Despite having policies against religious discrimination, Airbnb failed to promote and respect diverse religious beliefs in the workplace, respect employees’ charitable choices, and support free speech across different sectors.
2. Alphabet: Alphabet, the parent company of Google, received a 4% rating. The company forbids claims that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change and lacks policies respecting employee charitable choices and supporting free speech.
3. Amazon: Tied with Alphabet at 4%, Amazon does not recognize any religious employee resource groups but supports other affinity groups like the Black Employee Network and Glamazon (an LGBTQ+ group). Amazon also backs entities that do not support free speech or religious freedom.
4. eBay: With a 5% rating, eBay claims non-discrimination based on religious beliefs but only acknowledges non-faith-based employee resource groups such as United in Pride and Women at eBay.
5. Microsoft: Despite acknowledging ERGs for various groups, Microsoft did not acknowledge faith-based groups for employees and supports entities that do not back free speech or religious freedom, earning a 5% rating.
6. PayPal: Also rated at 5%, PayPal claims to allow religious ERGs and celebrates all faiths and worldviews. However, it discriminates against charities not in good standing with states like California and fails to protect free speech.
7. Pinterest: With a 5% score, Pinterest appears to support resource groups for religious employees, at least for Muslims. Despite being considered unlikely to endorse litigation harmful to speech or religion, Pinterest does not specifically defend these freedoms.
8. Twitter: Receiving a 5% rating, Twitter does not support entities defending religious freedom and free speech and actively supports court cases and laws that harm both.
9. Disney: Scoring 5%, Disney does not support religious charities. According to its matching gifts PDF, Disney excludes faith-based organizations primarily promoting a particular religious faith from eligibility. However, Disney does not discriminate against religious beliefs in hiring.
10. Adobe: Adobe received a 6% rating, diverging from others by not supporting court cases that curb free speech and religious freedom and including “viewpoint diversity” on its webpage.

Conclusion

The Business Index underscores a significant issue in corporate America: the widespread disregard for religious freedom and free speech. These findings should prompt consumers, investors, and policymakers to consider the values and practices of the companies they support. As these companies continue to wield significant influence, it’s crucial to hold them accountable for respecting fundamental freedoms that form the bedrock of American society.