ABSTRACT
How can healthcare institutions offer equitable services to a culturally and religiously diverse population of service users? The rights of nursing home residents to practise their religion and life stance are regulated through formal policies. However, the policies do not indicate how employees should develop their ability to meet these rights. In this chapter, developing cultural and religious literacy among staff in healthcare institutions is suggested as a path to strengthen employees’ ability to respond to the religious needs of service users. Through a case study of three nursing homes in Oslo (Norway), this chapter explores the role of cultural and religious literacy in the everyday work of healthcare employees. By sharing experiences and addressing cultural and religious differences in the everyday conversations of the multicultural work group, the workplace becomes a site for developing cultural and religious literacy. Organizational structures, coupled with a culture and an atmosphere that foster psychological safety, are factors that favour the development of cultural and religious literacy in the workplace. Healthcare workers’ cultural and religious literacy strengthens their ability to fulfil the rights and meet the needs of residents with a minority background.
