“There Is Discrimination Against Christians in Silicon Valley," Says Tech CEO
Soft discrimination against Christians does happen in Silicon Valley, says one CEO.
Ian Giatti of The Christian Post sat down with Peter Rex, the founder and CEO of Rex, a tech industry and real estate company now based in Austin, Texas.
Rex’s grandparents came from Ireland but Rex grew up in Upstate New York in an Irish Catholic family. Both his parents were teachers and he experienced what he calls a “typical American upbringing.”
As a teenager, he was deeply impacted by a reading of Matthew 25:31-46. It caused him to reflect on what he was doing “for the least of these” and led him to have an extensive conversation with a nun who was active in local ministry. She emphasized to him that the greatest source of happiness in life is serving others.
Just out of high school, he considered going into the priesthood but seminary didn’t fit with Rex’s independent temperament. He went on to Georgetown where he volunteered with Mother Teresa’s Sisters whose motto was “Serving Jesus in the poor” so he developed a motto of “Serving Jesus in Business.”
Despite not having a family background in it, God called him to serve others as an entrepreneur. “I’m not good at a lot of things but it’s the first thing I ever tried that just fit like a glove.”
Rex experienced a humbling time of struggle during the “Great Recession.” He took many lessons from that time and, as reported by The Christian Post, “Ultimately, Rex scaled the company to $2 billion in assets and more than 500 employees, and it was recognized as one of Fortune’s Top 20 Places to Work.”
His experiences in business, however, have demonstrated to him that there is “soft discrimination” against Christians. He says it’s not that Christians are completely unwelcome in Silicon Valley.
“Rex said while overt discrimination in Silicon Valley is rare, there is a level of ‘soft discrimination,’ where one thing is said in private and another in public.”
In an interview with Fox Business reporter Neil Cavuto, Peter explained that “faith, family, and freedom” moved him to uproot his business and relocate to Texas.
He said that once in San Francisco, “he was trying to build a team and encountered some surprise about his beliefs. ‘What would happen, people would come in my company, and then many months down the road, they would just be shocked that I’m Christian,’ he said.”
He attributes today’s “anti-Christian bigotry” to “the result of too many being simply uninformed.”
“They just don’t understand that when they think a Christian is uneducated or stupid, they’re actually the ones that are a bit uneducated, and they don’t understand that Christianity is the most open ideology. Period,” he said.
Rex visits religious centers around the world but no faith compares to the unique calling of Christ.
Jesus tells us to love even our enemies! “This type of thinking is not found anywhere in the world. It comes from Jesus Christ. That’s it …. and it has changed the game.”
