Wall Street Journal op-ed:  Silicon Valley’s Secret Christians, by Peter Rex (Founder/CEO, Rex)

HBO’s Silicon Valley won praise during its six-season run for accurately satirizing Northern California’s tech startup culture. A classic episode depicts a meeting in which one of the main characters accidentally “outs” a colleague, leaving the gathered tech leaders uncomfortable. But they’re not upset that their potential partner is gay—rather, they’re shocked to learn that he goes to church. Another character later admits that Christianity “freaks people out in the Valley.”

There’s truth in the show’s satire. Having held tech jobs in Silicon Valley and Seattle, I’ve experienced a combination of hesitation and hostility toward my Catholic faith. Eastern Orthodox, Mormon and Protestant colleagues at my company have had similar experiences, leading them to worry about being open with their religious beliefs. The fear is valid. For all its talk of diversity, the tech industry has little room for devout believers. This discomfort with faith cuts off much of tech from the moral foundation it needs. …

The dearth of faith-driven tech workers and leaders leads many in the industry to view believers with suspicion. When Google employees discovered that some of their Christian colleagues hold a weekly prayer group, some responded by asking “we employ people who pray?” and “is that really appropriate to do at work?” But people of faith can be seen as much worse than oddballs. …

Tech needs an infusion of faith. It could make the industry more humane and enlightened and morally grounded, helping lift up those it currently pushes down. This transformation may already be under way, thanks to the swarm of tech companies moving from the West Coast to Texas, Florida, Tennessee and other states where religious belief still runs high. Yet with most of tech still centered in Silicon Valley and Seattle, this trend needs to accelerate. Tech isn’t a god, nor are tech leaders, but they do need God.