Representation of Invisible Identities in the Workplace: Faith, Spirituality, or Religious Beliefs Among Female Civil Servants in Federal Law Enforcement

Abstract

Decades of scholarship exist on passive representation and visible identities such as gender, race, and ethnicity. However, literature on passive representation and invisible identities such as religion is practically non-existent in the public administration domain. Drawing on survey data from 427 female civil servants representing 47 federal law enforcement agencies in the United States, this study introduces a religious profile of the federal workforce, while investigating faith, spirituality, and religious diversity. Findings suggest that the federal workforce is broadly representative of the U.S. population that identify as religious or spiritual (82.5%). However, when examining for specific religions or faiths, the percentage that identify as Catholic and spiritual but not religious are notably higher than the national average. Likewise, the percentage that identify as Protestant and non-religious are notably lower than the national average. Furthermore, this profile of the federal workforce that reports faith, spirituality, or religion as “very important” in their life (47%), with another 24.3% reporting that it is “somewhat important,” is also notably higher than the national average. These findings are important because they extend the discourse for capturing invisible identities such as faith, spirituality, or religion in the federal workforce and have implications regarding passive representation for other organizations in public service.