FAITH-BASED DISCRIMINATION OF WORKERS IN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS IN MBALE, UGANDA

Abstract

 

The recruitment of workers belonging to the Christian or Muslim faith by religious institutions has an impact on their relationships in Mbale. The existence of job opportunities in these institutions usually draws large numbers of applicants from all walks of life and faiths. Despite these expectations, religious institutions have scaled down their selection criteria from regular processes to a faith-affiliation basis. Hence, this study assesses the implications of faith-based discrimination of workers on Christian-Muslim relations in Mbale. A mixed-methods triangulation design was applied, with both qualitative and quantitative tools on a population of 1320 workers. 132 employees from 12 institutions out of 60 were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. 36 Questionnaires were used on 12 Managers, 12 Institutional heads, and 12 Human resource officers. 96 interview guides were applicable on non-management workers. The findings from the questionnaires and interview guides were analysed using SPSS, with percentages displayed in tables and figures based on concepts, themes, and sub-themes. The results suggest that there is higher faith-based discrimination in Christian than Muslim institutions. There are more destructive than constructive implications on Christian-Muslim relations in Mbale, such as non-compliance and the spread of misinformation about certain institutions, arousal of insecurity concerns, and limited provision of social services. The study recommends that religious policies hindering workers’ opportunities need to be changed to inclusive recruitment policies for Christian-Muslim relations. Choosing and identifying desired people and even hiring or not hiring them based on preferences according to social identity and Taste-based discrimination theories, respectively, can delay such a move since its impact is highly destructive.