Large US companies rated on respect for free speech, religious freedom

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 27, 2022 / 10:58 am (CNA).

With some American companies able to have a profound impact on the exercise of free speech and religious freedom, Alliance Defending Freedom and Inspire Investing have launched a Business Index to rate their commitment to these values.

“CEOs and business leaders have positions of considerable power. They shouldn’t weaponize their influence or the companies they run to divide Americans or engage in speech censorship or anti-religious bigotry,” ADF Senior Vice President for Corporate Engagement Jeremy Tedesco said in a May 26 statement.

“Instead of using the cultural power of their brands to drive polarization, business leaders should commit to respecting everyone, regardless of their religion or ideology. Businesses should respect viewpoint diversity at every level of their organizations, from the shop floor to the board room, and externally as well.”

The 2022 Business Index rates 50 companies on the Fortune 1000 list according to a “Viewpoint Diversity Score” in the market, the workplace, and the public square. The 50 companies examined were organizations in the banking, payment processing, and cloud services industries.

Companies that “serve as platforms for third-party expression in the digital space” were also examined, ADF stated. The report said that only companies in “specific sectors of concern” were considered for rankings.

The statement said that “Viewpoint Diversity Score will provide companies with workable solutions through model polices, research, toolkits, polling, and constructive dialogue.”

Robert Netzly, CEO of Inspire Investing, a Christian investment firm, commented that “By adopting the model policies and strategies we recommend, companies can cement their reputations as tolerant businesses that respect free speech and religious freedom as a standard part of doing business.”

In a May 25 op-ed at the Wall Street Journal, Tedesco and Netzly wrote that “the time is ripe to restore a business culture that respects American freedoms and ideals as well as diverse views among employees, customers, shareholders, and the general public.”

Businesses in the U.S., they said, have become captive “to a left-wing political agenda that many of their employees, customers, and shareholders don’t support, and that many Americans don’t want imposed on them by powerful governments or private actors.”

“Companies that respect diverse viewpoints are better equipped to serve people and communities with diverse values, recruit and retain top talent, and contribute to a public culture that supports liberal democracy and open markets,” Tedesco and Netzly stated.

The 50 corporations on the Business Index were given an average Viewpoint Diversity Score of 12%, with a range from 2% to 35%.

While no industry performed well, according to ADF, certain industries scored “particularly poorly.”

Computer software industries were given a score of 6%, while internet services and retailing scored 7%. The financial and data services industry garnered an 8% rating.

Companies that have come under fire for encroaching free speech, such as Twitter, Meta, and Alphabet, are all on the list.

Among the members of the Viewpoint Diversity Score Advisory Council are Andrew Abela, Dean of The Bush School of Business at Catholic University of America; Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals & Institutions at Princeton University; and Andrew Olivastro, Vice President for Outreach at The Heritage Foundation.