EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC., an Ohio corporation, d/b/a Abercrombie Kids, Defendant-Appellant, 731 F.3d 1106

HOLMES, Circuit Judge. Abercrombie & Fitch (“Abercrombie”) appeals from the district court’s grant of

summary judgment in favor of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the court’s denial of

summary judgment in favor of Abercrombie, on the EEOC’s claim that Abercrombie failed to provide a reasonable religious accommodation for a prospective employee, Samantha Elauf, in contravention of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e to 2000e-17. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we reverse the district court’s grant of

summary judgment to the EEOC. Abercrom-bie is entitled to

summary judgment as a matter of law because there is no genuine dispute of material fact that Ms. Elauf never informed Abercrombie prior to its hiring decision that she wore her headscarf or “hijab” for religious reasons and that she needed an accommodation for that practice, due to a conflict between the practice and Abercrombie’s clothing policy. Accordingly, we remand the case to the district court with instructions to vacate its judgment and enter judgment in favor of Abercrombie, and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I A Abercrombie is a retail clothing company that operates stores across the United States under a variety of brand names, including Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrom-bie (“Abercrombie Kids”), and Hollister. Abercrombie requires employees in its stores to comply with a “Look Policy.” That policy is intended to promote and showcase the Abercrombie brand, which “exemplifies a classic East Coast collegiate style of clothing.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 5. The Look Policy applies to every Aber-crombie employee.

Under the circumstances of this case, however, our central concern is the policy’s application to sales-floor employees, whom Abercrombie referred to as “Model[s].” ApltApp. at 372 (Dep. of Chad Moorefield, taken Mar. 16, 2011). Employees must dress in clothing that is consistent with the kinds of clothing that Abercrombie sells in its stores. Notably, the policy prohibits employees from wearing black clothing and “caps,” although the policy does not explicate the meaning of the term “cap.” Aplee. Supp. App. at 69 (Abercrombie Store Associate Handbook, dated Sept. 2006).

An employee is subject to “disciplinary action ... up to and including termination” for failure to comply with the Look Policy. Id. Abercrombie contends that its Look Policy is critical to the health and vitality of its “preppy” and “casual” brand. See Aplt. Opening Br. at 5 (quoting ApltApp. at 375; id. at 63 (Dep. of Kalen McJilton, taken Jan. 20, 2011)) (internal quotation marks omitted). This is so, Abercrombie maintains, because it does very little advertising through traditional media outlets (e.g., print publications or television); instead, it relies on its in-store experience to promote its products.

Consequently, Abercrombie expends a great deal of effort to ensure that its target customers receive a holistically brand-based, sensory experience. See, e.g., ApltApp. at 70 (Dep. of Deon Riley, taken Mar. 17, 2011) (“Abercrombie has made a name because of the brand. It’s a fact that you walk into an environment, and it’s not just the smell or the sound, it’s the way the merchandise is set up. It’s the lighting. Most of all, it’s the stylish clothing....”). The “main part” of a Model’s job is to “represent [Abercrom-bie’s] clothing[,] first and foremost.” Id. at 376.

To Abercrombie, a Model who violates the Look Policy by wearing inconsistent clothing “inaccurately represents the brand, causes consumer confusion, fails to perform an essential function of the position, and ultimately damages the brand.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 8. The interviewing process plays an important role in furthering Abercrombie’s objective of ensuring that employees adhere to its Look Policy. Managers assess applicants on appearance and style during the interview. They are supposed to inform applicants of various aspects of the job, including the Look Policy.

New Models typically receive a copy of the policy in an employee handbook and sign an acknowledgment that they have received it, when they start work. Abercrombie instructs its store managers not to assume facts about prospective employees in job interviews and, significantly, not to ask applicants about their religion.

If a question arises during the interview regarding application of the Look Policy, or if a prospective employee requests a deviation from the policy (for example, based on an inflexible religious practice), the store manager is instructed to contact Abercrombie’s corporate human resources department (“HR”), or his or her direct supervisor. HR managers may grant accommodations if doing so would not harm the brand. B Samantha Elauf claims to be a practicing Muslim. In mid-2008, Ms.

Elauf, then seventeen-years old, applied for a Model position at the Abercrombie Kids store in the Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She had previously purchased and worn Abercrombie clothes. Prior to her interview, Ms. Elauf discussed with a friend who worked at Aber-crombie’s Woodland Hills location, Farisa Sepahvand, whether wearing a hijab to work would be permissible. Ms. Elauf has worn a hijab since she was thirteen and testified that she does so for religious reasons. The Quran — the “sacred scripture” of the Islamic faith, Aplee. Supp.App. at 5 (Dep. of John L.

Esposito, taken Feb. 22, 2011) — counsels women to protect their modesty, and some religious scholars “believe that the Qu[]ran does require an hijab” to be worn by Muslim women, “but there are many who disagree with that

interpretation,” id. at 2. As the EEOC’s expert, Dr. Esposito, testified, although some Muslim women wear hijabs for religious reasons, those are not the only reasons that Muslim women wear hijabs; for example, some do so for cultural reasons or in order to demonstrate a personal rejection of certain aspects of Western-style dress. Dr. Esposito testified that, in understanding the reasons why people maintain certain styles of dress, “it really is, the question is, what is their motivation.” Aplt.App. at 292; see id. at 472 (noting, as to why a hijab is worn, “it really depends on the woman”). In responding to Ms.

Elaufs inquiry about wearing a headscarf, Ms. Sepahvand testified that she had raised the issue with assistant manager Kalen McJilton, who knew Ms. Elauf from her prior visits to the store. Noting that he had previously worked at Abercrombie with someone who wore a white yarmulke, Mr. McJilton suggested that he did not see any problem with Ms. Elauf wearing a headscarf, “especially if she didn’t wear a headscarf that was black.” Aplee. Supp.App. at 181 (Dep. of Farisa Sepahvand, taken Mar. 31, 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). Ms. Sepahvand then communicated to Ms.

Elauf that, although a headscarf would be permitted, because of Abercrombie’s no-black-clothing policy, she would not be able to wear a black one. Ms. Elauf seemed agreeable to that restriction. Ms. Elauf met with assistant manager Heather Cooke to interview for the Model position. Ms. Cooke was already familiar with Ms. Elauf, having observed her in the Abercrombie store chatting with Ms. Se-pahvand and working elsewhere in the Woodland Hills Mall. Ms. Cooke had seen Ms. Elauf wearing a headscarf prior to the interview. Ms. Cooke “did not know” Ms.

Elaufs religion, but she “assumed that she was Muslim,” Aplt.App. at 365 (Dep. of Heather Cooke, taken Jan. 19, 2011), and “figured that was the religious reason why she wore her head scarf,” Aplee. Supp. App. at 48. In the interview, Ms. Cooke did not ask Ms. Elauf if she was a Muslim. Ms. Elauf was familiar with the type of clothing Abercrombie sold and knew that Models were required to wear similar clothing. During the interview, Ms. Elauf wore an Abercrombie-like T-shirt and jeans. She also wore a headscarf (i.e., hijab); it was black. According to Ms. Elauf, Ms.

Cooke never mentioned the Look Policy by name but she did describe some of the dress requirements for Aber-crombie employees, and informed Ms. Elauf that she would have to wear clothing similar to that sold by Abercrombie and, specifically, that she could not wear heavy makeup or nail polish. During the course of the interview, Ms. Elauf never informed Ms.

Cooke that she was Muslim, never brought up the subject of her headscarf, and never indicated that she wore the headscarf for religious reasons and that she felt obliged to do so, and thus would need an accommodation to address the conflict between her religious practice and Abercrombie’s clothing policy. Indeed, the topic of her headscarf never came up one way or the other. For example, Ms. Cooke did not tell Ms. Elauf that she “wouldn’t be able to wear [her headscarf] or anything like that.” ApltApp. at 55 (Dep. of Samantha Elauf, taken Jan. 4, 2011). After offering a description of the dress requirements, Ms.

Cooke asked Ms. Elauf at the end of the interview if she had any questions. Ms. Elauf did not ask any. Ms. Cooke assessed Ms. Elaufs candidacy using Abercrombie’s official interview guide. The guide requires the interviewer to consider the applicant’s “appearance & sense of style,” whether the applicant is “outgoing & promotes diversity,” and whether he or she has “sophistication & aspiration.” Aplee. SuppApp. at 61 (Model Group Interview Guide, dated June 26, 2008).

Each category is assessed on a three-point scale, and an applicant with a score in “appearance” of less than two, or a total combined score of five or less, is not recommended for hire. Ms. Cooke initially scored Ms. Elauf at a two in each category, for a total of six, which is a score that “meets expectations” and amounts to a “recommend[ation]” that Abercrombie hire her. See id. at 64. Although Ms. Cooke believed Ms. Elauf was a good candidate for the job, she was unsure whether it would be a problem for her to wear a headscarf as an Abercrombie Model, and whether the headscarf could be black in color. Ms.

Cooke ordinarily did not seek approval from a senior manager in evaluating or hiring new Models, but in this case she did. Ms. Cooke’s direct supervisor was unable to answer her question about Ms. Elaufs headscarf, so Ms. Cooke consulted with Randall Johnson, her district manager. Mr. Johnson said that Ms. Elauf should not be hired because she wore a headscarf — a clothing item that was inconsistent with the Look Policy. Notwithstanding Ms. Cooke’s contrary deposition testimony, Mr. Johnson denied being told by Ms. Cooke that Ms. Elauf was a Muslim and that she wore her headscarf for religious reasons. Ms.

Cooke testified that Mr. Johnson told her to change Ms. Elaufs interview score on the appearance

section from a two to a one, thereby bringing her overall score down to a five and ensuring that she would not be recommended for hire. With this understanding, Ms. Cooke threw away the original interview sheet and changed Ms. Elaufs score, thus implementing Mr. Johnson’s alleged instructions. Ms. Cooke did not extend a job offer to Ms. Elauf. A few days after the interview, Ms. Elauf learned from Ms. Sepahvand that she had not been hired because of her headscarf.

C The EEOC filed the instant action against Abercrombie on September 17, 2009, alleging violations of Title VII, on the grounds that Abercrombie “refused to hire Ms. Elauf because she wears a hijab” and “failed to accommodate her religious beliefs by making an exception to the Look Policy.” Dist. Ct. Doc. No. 2, at 2 (EEOC Compl., filed Sept. 17, 2009). It sought injunctive relief, back pay, and damages. Abercrombie disputed the EEOC’s allegations and argued that Ms. Elauf failed to inform it of a conflict between the Look Policy and her religious practices.

It further argued that the proposed accommodation-allowing Ms. Elauf to wear the headscarf — would have imposed an undue hardship on the company. Furthermore, it challenged Ms. Elaufs assertion that she possessed a bona fide, sincerely held religious belief, forming the basis for her purported conflict with the Look Policy. The parties filed cross-motions for

summary judgment on issues concerning liability. In addressing the motions and the religion-accommodation claim, the district court applied the burden-shifting framework of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under that framework, the court concluded that the EEOC had established a prima facie case through evidence that Ms. Elauf had a bona fide, sincerely held religious belief and a related practice that conflicts with the Look Policy. Specifically, the court found that Ms.

Elauf wore her “head scarf based on her belief that the Quran requires her to do so” and “this belief conflicts with Aber-crombie’s prohibition against headwear.” Aplt.App. at 575 (Op. & Order, filed July 13, 2011). Further, it reasoned that “Abercrombie had notice [that] she wore a head scarf because of her religious belief[,] and that it refused to hire her because the head scarf conflicted with its Look Policy.” Id. The district court rejected Abercrom-bie’s argument that the notice element of the EEOC’s prima facie case was not satisfied because Ms.

Elauf did not personally inform Abercrombie that she wore her hi-jab for religious reasons and would need an accommodation for it, because she was obliged to do so. The court reasoned that, while the Tenth Circuit had not directly addressed this issue, “[c]ourts in other circuits have held that the notice requirement is met when an employer has enough information to make it aware [that] there exists a conflict between the individual’s religious practice or belief and a requirement for applying for or performing the job.” Id. at 580.

It further stated that, “faced with the issue of whether the employee must explicitly request an accommodation or whether it is enough that the employer has notice [that] an accommodation is needed[,] the Tenth Circuit would likely opt for the latter choice.” Id. at 581 (footnote omitted). Applying its formulation of the notice requirement, the district court observed that “it is undisputed that Elauf wore her head scarf at the interview with assistant store manager Heather Cooke, and Cooke knew she wore the head scarf based on her religious belief.” Id. (emphasis added).

It added that, while a fact question may yet exist as to whether Ms. Cooke told Mr. Johnson that Ms. Elauf wore her headscarf because of her religion, that question was immaterial “because the knowledge of Cooke — who had responsibility for hiring decisions at the Abercrombie Kids store— is attributable to Abercrombie.” Id. at 581 n. 11.

The district court stated that “there could be no bilateral, interactive process of accommodation because, although Aber-crombie was on notice that Elauf wore a head scarf for religious reasons, it denied [her] application for employment without informing her [that] she was not being hired or telling her why.” Id. at 582 n. 12. The district court also rejected Aber-crombie’s contention that, even if the EEOC had established its prima facie case, Abercrombie had demonstrated that it would suffer undue hardship.

The court observed that, despite speculative testimony to the contrary, Abercrombie had provided no “studies or ... specific examples” to support its opinion that granting Ms. Elauf an exception “would negatively impact the brand, sales[,] and compliance [with the Look Policy].” Id. at 582. In that vein, it emphasized that Abercrombie had made numerous exceptions to the Look Policy over the past ten or so years — most significantly, “[e]ight or nine head scarf exceptions.” Id. at 583. The parties went to trial on damages. The jury awarded the EEOC $20,000 in compensatory damages.

The EEOC’s request for prospective injunctive relief was denied. This timely appeal followed. II In

summary, we conclude that the district court erred in denying

summary judgment to Abercrombie. More speeifi-cally, we hold that, under the governing substantive law, Abercrombie is entitled to

summary judgement because there is no genuine dispute of material fact regarding this key point: Ms. Elauf never informed Abercrombie prior to its hiring decision that her practice of wearing a hijab was based on her religious beliefs and (because she felt religiously obliged to wear it) that she would need an accommodation for the practice, because of a conflict between it and Abercrombie’s clothing policy. Furthermore, it follows ineluctably from the logic and reasoning of our decision that, in granting partial

summary judgment to the EEOC, the district court erred. A Our review of a district court’s

summary judgment ruling is de novo; we “apply[] the same standard as the district court.” Helm v. Kansas, 656 F.3d 1277, 1284 (10th Cir.2011). “[S]ummary judgment is appropriate ‘if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’ ” Morris v. City of Colo. Springs, 666 F.3d 654, 660 (10th Cir.2012) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a)). In assessing a motion for

summary judgment, “[w]e view the facts, and all reasonable inferences those facts support, in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Simmons v. Sykes Enters., Inc., 647 F.3d 943, 947 (10th Cir.2011). Succinctly put, we must “examine the record to determine whether any genuine issue of material fact [i]s in dispute; if not, we determine ... [the correct application of the] substantive law ..., and in so doing we examine the factual record and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” Oldenkamp v. United Am. Ins.

Co., 619 F.3d 1243, 1246 (10th Cir.2010) (quoting McKnight v. Kimberly Clark Corp., 149 F.3d 1125, 1128 (10th Cir.1998)) (internal quotation marks omitted); see Morris, 666 F.3d at 660; City of Herriman v. Bell, 590 F.3d 1176, 1180-81 (10th Cir.2010). As pertinent here, we construe the facts in the light most favorable to the EEOC. B 1 To properly assess Ms. Elauf s Title VII religion-accommodation claim, we must first understand the meaning that the term “religion” takes on in the Title VII context.

Under Title VII it is “an unlawful employment practice for an employer ... to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s ... religion.” Thomas v. Nat’l Ass’n of Letter Carriers, 225 F.3d 1149, 1154 (10th Cir.2000) (second omission in original) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l)) (internal quotation marks omitted). “The term ‘religion’ includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief....” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j).

As the EEOC has recognized, “[r]eligion is very broadly defined under Title VII.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-I(A) (emphasis omitted), available at http://www. eeoc.gov/policy/docs/religion.html; see also Bushouse v. Local Union 2209, United Auto., Aerospace, & Agric.

Implement Workers, 164 F.Supp.2d 1066, 1076 n. 15 (N.D.Ind.2001) (noting that Title VII has a “broad definition of ‘religious belief”). “Religion includes not only traditional, organized religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, but also religious beliefs that are new, uncommon, not part of a formal church or sect, only subscribed to by a small number of people, or that seem illogical or unreasonable to others.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12 — 1(A)(1).

However, while recognizing a broad concept of religion, the EEOC acknowledges that the substantive content of religious beliefs is distinctive: Religious beliefs include theistic beliefs as well as non-theistic moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views. Although courts generally resolve doubts about particular beliefs in favor of finding that they are religious, beliefs are not protected merely because they are strongly held. Rather, religion typically concerns ultimate ideas about life, purpose, and death.

Id. (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added) (quoting 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1 (internal quotation marks omitted); United States v. Meyers, 906 F.Supp. 1494, 1502 (D.Wyo.1995) (internal quotation marks omitted), aff'd, 95 F.3d 1475 (10th Cir.1996)); see also 3 Lex K. Larson, Employment Discrimination § 54.05[4], at 54-13 (2d ed. 2013) (“[A] definition of religion often invoked by the courts is a belief based on a theory of ‘man’s nature or his place in the Universe’ or a belief that ‘relates to a Supreme Being.’ ”).

Consequently, “[s]o-cial, political, or economic philosophies, as well as mere personal preferences, are not ‘religious’ beliefs protected by Title VII.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-I(A)(1). In the EEOC’s view, religion is a uniquely personal and individual matter. This view was shaped in no small part by how courts have defined religion for purposes of the First Amendment and other related contexts. See id. at § 12-I(

A) nn. 18-28 and accompanying text (relying heavily on case law from the First Amendment and other contexts to define “religion” for Title VII’s purposes); see also 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1 (setting forth the EEOC’s definition of “religious practices” and noting that it is in accordance with the standard developed by the Supreme Court in United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163, 85 S.Ct. 850, 13 L.Ed.2d 733 (1965), and Welsh v. United States, 398 U.S. 333, 90 S.Ct. 1792, 26 L.Ed.2d 308 (1970)); cf. EEOC v.

Union Independiente de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de P.R., 279 F.3d 49, 56 (1st Cir.2002) (relying on First Amendment jurisprudence to define “religion” for purposes of Title VII); Redmond v. GAF Coyp., 574 F.2d 897, 901 n. 12 (7th Cir.1978) (relying on Seeger and Welsh to interpret “religious” for purposes of Title VII). . In these First Amendment-related contexts, courts consistently focus on the individual’s belief system rather than the beliefs of a religious group with which the individual may (or may not) be associated. See Frazee v. Ill.

Dep’t of Emp’t Sec., 489 U.S. 829, 834, 109 S.Ct. 1514, 103 L.Ed.2d 914 (1989) (“[W]e reject the notion that to claim the protection of the Free Exercise Clause, one must be responding to the commands of a particular religious organization.”); [Eddie ] Thomas v. Review Bd. of the Ind. Emp’t Sec. Div., 450 U.S. 707, 715-16, 101 S.Ct. 1425, 67 L.Ed.2d 624 (1981) (“[T]he guarantee of free exercise is not limited to beliefs which are shared by all of the members of a religious sect.

Particularly in this sensitive area, it is not within the judicial function and judicial competence to inquire whether the petitioner or his fellow worker more correctly perceived the commands of their common faith. Courts are not arbiters of scriptural

interpretation.”); Seeger, 380 U.S. at 173, 185, 85 S.Ct. 850 (interpreting the phrase “religious training and belief’ in a conscientious-objection statute to require courts “to decide whether the beliefs professed by a registrant ... are, in his own scheme of things, religious” (emphasis added)); La-Fevers v.

Saffle, 936 F.2d 1117, 1119 (10th Cir.1991) (holding that a Seventh Day Adventist prisoner’s religious belief that he must adhere to a vegetarian diet, if sincerely held, was entitled to protection under the First Amendment even though the district court found that not all Seventh Day Adventists are vegetarian and that the “faith does not require ” such a diet); see also Erwin Chemerinsky, Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies 1235 (4th ed. 2011) (“[RJeligion is inherently personal ... and an individual might have a sincere religious belief that departs from the dogma of his or her religion.

In fact, for this reason, the [Supreme] Court has said [in the First Amendment context] that the dominant views in a faith are not determinative in assessing whether a particular belief is religious.”). Apparently guided by such authorities, the EEOC’s Compliance Manual notes: [A] person’s religious beliefs need not be confined in either source or content to traditional or parochial concepts of religion.

A belief is religious for Title VII purposes if it is religious in the person’s own scheme of things, i.e., it is a sincere and meaningful belief that occupies in the life of its possessor a place parallel to that filled by ... God. An employee’s belief or practice can be religious under Title VII even if the employee is affiliated with a religious group that does not espouse or recognize that individual’s belief or practice, or if few — or no — ■ other people adhere to it.

EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-I(A)(1) (omission in original) (emphases added) (footnotes omitted) (quoting [Eddie ] Thomas, 450 U.S. at 716, 101 S.Ct. 1425 (internal quotation marks omitted); Redmond, 574 F.2d at 901 n. 12 (internal quotation marks omitted); Seeger, 380 U.S. at 176, 85 S.Ct. 850 (internal quotation marks omitted)); see also EEOC, Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace [hereinafter EEOC Q & A], available at http://www. eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_religion.html (“An employer also should not assume that an employee is insincere simply because some of his or her practices deviate from the commonly followed tenets of his or her religion.”).

Therefore, determining “[w]hether a practice is religious depends on the employee’s motivation. The same practice might be engaged in by one person for religious reasons and by another person for purely secular reasons.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-I(A)(1) (emphasis added). Indeed, the EEOC recognizes that the motivation of employees may change over time; they may engage in a practice for religious reasons during one phase of their lives and for secular reasons during another.

See EEOC Q & A, supra (“[A]n individual’s beliefs — or degree of adherence — may change over time, and therefore an employee’s newly adopted or inconsistently observed religious practice may nevertheless be sincerely held.”). These general principles have significant implications for the enforcement of Title VU’s proscription against religious discrimination. A couple of points are worth underscoring. First, an applicant or employee may engage in practices that are associated with a particular religion, but do so for cultural or other reasons that are not grounded in that religion. Cf.

Larson, supra, § 54.04, at 54-7 (noting that “one person’s political view may well be another’s religious conviction”). If so, an employer’s discrimination against that individual for engaging in that practice— though possibly reprehensible and worthy of condemnation — would not contravene Title VU’s religion-discrimination provisions. That is true of course because, despite the practice’s customary association with religion, the applicant’s or employee’s motivation for engaging in the practice would not be religious.

Second, because religious beliefs have a distinctive content related to ultimate ideas about life, purpose, and death, logically, even if an applicant or employee claims to be acting for “religious” reasons, if those reasons actually do not pertain to such ultimate ideas, then that person’s conduct would fall outside the protective ambit of Title VII — viz., the conduct would not truly relate to religious matters. See EEOC Compliance Manual § 12 — 1(A)(1), Ex. 6. (“Personal Preference That is Not a Religious Belief’); see also Reed v.

Great Lakes Cos., 330 F.3d 931, 935 (7th Cir.2003) (“[A]n employee is not permitted to redefine a purely personal preference or aversion as a religious belief.”); Vetter v. Farmland Indus., Inc., 120 F.3d 749, 751 (8th Cir.1997) (“An employer need not accommodate a purely personal preference .... ” (internal quotation marks omitted)); cf. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 216, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972) (discussing in the free exercise context the necessity of distinguishing between choices that are “philosophical and personal rather than [ones that are] religious”); United States v.

Meyers, 95 F.3d 1475, 1483-84 (10th Cir.1996) (determining, for purposes of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, whether a belief qualifies as a “religious belief’ by assessing, inter alia, whether the belief “address[es] fundamental questions about life, purpose, and death”); id. at 1484 (agreeing with the district court’s conclusion that the defendant’s beliefs were not religious in nature despite their being “deeply [held]” and “sincere[ ]” because they were “derived entirely from his secular beliefs,” and collecting cases). 2 The EEOC has presented a religion-discrimination claim based upon Aber-crombie’s alleged failure to accommodate Ms.

Elaufs conflicting religious practice of wearing a hijab. Title VII’s implementing regulations “impose[ ] an obligation on the employer ‘to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless the employer demonstrates that accommodation would result in undue hardship on the conduct of its business.’” Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1155 (quoting 29 C.F.R. § 1605.2(b)(1), (2)); accord 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j); 29 C.F.R. § 1605.2(b)(1); see Trans World Airlines v.

Hardison, 432 U.S. 63, 74, 97 S.Ct. 2264, 53 L.Ed.2d 113 (1977) (“The intent and effect of [Title VII’s] definition [of ‘religion’] was to make it an unlawful employment practice ... for an employer not to make reasonable accommodations, short of undue hardship, for the religious practices of his employees and prospective employees.”); see also Sanchez-Rodriguez v. AT & T Mobility P.R., Inc., 673 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir.2012); Walden v. Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, 669 F.3d 1277, 1292-93 (11th Cir.2012) (Seymour, J., sitting by designation).

Religion-accommodation claims are a subset of the types of religion-discrimination claims that an applicant or employee may present under Title VII. See Peterson v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 358 F.3d 599, 603 (9th Cir.2004) (“A claim for religious discrimination under Title VII can be asserted under several different theories, including disparate treatment and failure to accommodate.”); Chalmers v. Tulon Co., 101 F.3d 1012, 1018 (4th Cir.1996) (“[A]n employee is not limited to the disparate treatment theory to establish a discrimination claim.

An employee can also bring suit based on the theory that the employer discriminated against her by failing to accommodate her religious conduct.” (emphasis omitted)); see also EEOC Q & A, supra (describing the kinds of religious discrimination that “Title VII prohibits”). The EEOC has described the specific nature of the claim as follows: A religious accommodation claim is distinct from a disparate treatment claim, in which the question is whether employees are treated equally.

An individual alleging denial of religious accommodation is seeking an adjustment to a neutral work rule that infringes on the employee’s ability to practice his religion. The accommodation requirement is “plainly intended to relieve individuals of the burden of choosing between their jobs and their religious convictions....” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-IV (quoting Protos v. Volkswagen of Am., Inc., 797 F.2d 129, 136 (3d Cir.1986)).

The reasonable-accommodation principle is implicated only when there is a conflict between an employee’s religious practice and the employer’s neutral policy; only then does a need to accommodate arise. See id. § 12-IV(A)(1) (noting the need for the employer to be on notice “both of the need for accommodation and that [the accommodation] is being requested due to a conflict between religion and work ” (emphasis added)).

For there actually to be a conflict, logic dictates that an applicant or employee must consider the religious practice to be an inflexible one— that is, a practice that is required by his or her religious belief system. It is only in such a situation that applicants or employees would be placed in the position that Title VII was designed to protect them from — the spot where they must choose between their religious convictions and their job. See Tiano v. Dillard Dep’t Stores, Inc., 139 F.3d 679, 682-83 (9th Cir.1998) (granting

summary judgment to the employer on the employee’s Title VII religion-accommodation claim because there was no “conflict between [the employee’s] religious belief and employment duties” since her religious belief, as she described it, only required her to go on a pilgrimage “at some time” rather than at the specific time she preferred to go); cf. Reed, 330 F.3d at 935 (holding that the employee failed to make a prima facie showing on his Title VII religion-accommodation claim because, inter alia, he “refuse[d] to indicate at what points [his] faith intersected] the requirements of his job”).

In other words, even if applicants or employees engage in a practice for religious reasons, so long as they do not feel obliged to adhere to the practice (that is, do not consider the practice to be inflexible), then there is no actual conflict, nor a consequent need for the employer to provide a reasonable accommodation. Cf. Turner v. Boy Scouts of Am., Inc., No. CIV-09-180C, 2009 WL 2567962, at *2 (W.D.Okla.

Aug. 17, 2009) (“[Although Plaintiff informed [his employer] he was meeting with his pastor, there is no evidence in the record suggesting that Plaintiff informed [his employer] that his religious beliefs required a meeting with his pastor at that time or that the meeting was anything other than a personal preference.” (emphasis added)).

Notably, however, the EEOC discourages employers from making inquiries in the first instance regarding the religious beliefs or practices of applicants (and presumably employees) because “an applicant’s religious affiliation or beliefs ... are generally viewed as non job-related and problematic under federal law.” EEOC, Pre-Employment Inquiries and Religious Affiliation or Beliefs [hereinafter EEOC Pre-Employment Inquiries], available at http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/ inquiries_religious.cfm; see also Prise v.

Alderwoods Grp., Inc., 657 F.Supp.2d 564, 597 (W.D.Pa.2009) (noting that questioning applicants concerning their religious beliefs could, “under some circumstances, permit an inference to be drawn that an employer engaged in improper religion-based discrimination”); EEOC, Best Practices for Eradicating Religious Discrimination in the Workplace [hereinafter EEOC Best Practices ], available at http:// www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/best prae-tices_religion.html (“In conducting job interviews, employers can ensure nondiscriminatory treatment by ... inquiring about matters directly related to the position in question.”).

Furthermore, in the religion-accommodation context, the EEOC has specifically cautioned employers to “avoid assumptions or stereotypes about what constitutes a religious belief or practice or what type of accommodation is appropriate.” EEOC Best Practices, supra; see id. (noting that “[mjanagers and employees should be trained not to engage in stereotyping based on religious dress and grooming practices”).

Thus, it is only after an employer is put on notice of the need for a religious accommodation that the EEOC’s policy materials encourage it to actively engage in a dialogue with applicants or employees concerning their conflicting religious practice and possible accommodations that the employer might provide for it. Cf. Larson, supra, § 56.05, at 56-21 (“Indeed, it would seem unreasonable to require an employer to accommodate the religious practices of an employee when the employer is unaware of the need to do so.” (emphases added)).

In this regard, the EEOC has counseled: “Once the employer becomes aware of the employee’s religious conflict, the employer should obtain promptly whatever additional information is needed to determine whether an accommodation is available that would eliminate the religious conflict without posing an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-IV(A)(2); see Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1155 (noting that religious accommodation “involves an interactive process that requires participation by both the employer and the employee”); EEOC Q & A, supra (commenting that “once on notice that a religious accommodation is needed” an employer is obliged under Title VII “to reasonably accommodate an employee”); EEOC Best Practices, supra (noting among “[e]mployer [b]est [practices” that “[m]anagers and supervisors should be trained to consider alternative[,] available accommodations if the particular accommodation requested would pose an undue hardship” (emphasis added)); see also EEOC Q & A, supra (“[I]f the employer has a bona fide doubt about the basis for the accommodation request, it is entitled to make a limited inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the employee’s claim that the belief or practice at issue is religious and sincerely held, and gives rise to the need for the accommodation.”). 3 In religion-accommodation cases, we apply a version of McDonnell Douglas ’s burden-shifting approach.

See Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1155; see also Dixon v. Hallmark Cos., 627 F.3d 849, 855 (11th Cir.2010). Specifically, to survive

summary judgment on such a claim, “the employee initially bears the burden of production with respect to a prima facie case.” Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1155. The prima facie case requires the employee to “show that (1) he or she had a bona fide religious belief that conflicts with an employment requirement; (2) he or she informed his or her employer of this belief; and (3) he or she was fired [or not hired] for failure to comply with the conflicting employment requirement.” Id. (emphasis added); accord Dixon, 627 F.3d at 855.

If the employee makes out a prima facie case, “[t]he burden then shifts to the employer to (1) conclusively rebut one or more elements of the ... prima facie case, (2) show that it offered a reasonable accommodation, or (3) show that it was unable reasonably to accommodate the employee’s religious needs without undue hardship.” Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1156 (footnote omitted). An accommodation is not reasonable if it would require the employer “to bear more than a de minimis cost.” Trans World Airlines, 432 U.S. at 84, 97 S.Ct. 2264; see Bruff v. N. Miss. Health Servs., Inc., 244 F.3d 495, 500 (5th Cir.2001); Lee v.

ABF Freight Sys., Inc., 22 F.3d 1019, 1023 (10th Cir.1994); Toledo v. Nobel-Sysco, Inc., 892 F.2d 1481, 1492 (10th Cir.1989). And, “if an employer has provided a reasonable accommodation, we need not examine whether alternative accommodations not offered would have resulted in undue hardship.” EEOC v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Co., 515 F.3d 307, 312 (4th Cir.2008); see Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1156 n. 7 (“The employer does not have to demonstrate that the particular accommodation , requested by the employee would result in an undue hardship.”). We conclude that Abercrombie is entitled to

summary judgment because the EEOC cannot establish the second element of its prima facie case. As discussed below, under the controlling law, the EEOC cannot establish this element because there is no genuine dispute of material fact that Ms. Elauf never informed Abercrombie before its hiring decision that her practice of wearing a hijab was based upon her religious beliefs and that she needed an accommodation for that practice, due to a conflict between it and Aber-crombie’s clothing policy. C In reaching our conclusion that Aber-crombie is entitled to

summary judgment, we resolve a question vigorously contested by the parties: specifically, whether, in order to establish a prima facie case under Title VII’s religion-accommodation theory, a plaintiff ordinarily must establish that he or she initially informed the employer that the plaintiff adheres to a particular practice for religious reasons and that he or she needs an accommodation for that practice, due to a conflict between the practice and the employer’s neutral work rule. We answer that question in the afSrmative. Consequently, because Ms.

Elauf did not inform Abercrombie prior to its hiring decision that she engaged in the conflicting practice of wearing a hijab for religious reasons and that she needed an accommodation for it, the EEOC cannot establish its prima facie case. Our conclusion naturally rests, first, on our own express articulation of the plaintiffs prima facie burden, which is bolstered by a similar linguistic formulation of that burden found in rulings of several of our sister circuits.

Second, we are fortified in our conclusion because the concepts of religion and interactive accommodation — as they are given substance in the Title VII context — virtually oblige us, as a logical matter, to insist that ordinarily the applicant or employee must initially provide the employer with explicit notice of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation for it, in order to have an actionable claim for denial of such an accommodation.

Third, we discern support for our conclusion in the plain terms of the EEOC’s own regulatory pronouncements on the notice obligations of applicants or employees in the religion-accommodation setting. Lastly, we are bolstered in our position by the fact that our reading of the statute’s notice requirement is entirely consistent with the approach toward notice that the courts have taken, for purposes of assessing an employer’s duty to accommodate, in the un-disputedly analogous context of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213.

The EEOC has vigorously contested this possible outcome. As the district court put it, “The EEOC urges a less restrictive approach, asserting that although Aber-crombie is required to have had notice that Elauf needed an accommodation, the notice need not have been strictly in the form of Elauf verbally requesting such an accommodation.” ApltApp. at 580.

More specifically, the EEOC has succinctly made the point before us: “The employer’s obligation is to attempt reasonable accommodation (where no undue hardship would result) when it has notice — be it from an affirmative statement by the individual, or some other source — of an individual’s religious belief that conflicts with a work requirement.” Aplee.

Br. at 41 (emphasis added); see also id. at 32-33 (“[W]hen the facts indicate that notice of an individual’s religious belief was provided by some means other than the individual affirmatively ‘informing’ the employer of the belief, the prima facie notice requirement should be flexibly interpreted to conform to such factual situations.”).

For the reasons discussed below, we are unpersuaded by the EEOC’s position. 1 a First of all, we construe our precedent (by its plain terms) as placing the burden on applicants or employees to initially inform employers of the religious nature of their conflicting practice and of the need for an accommodation. See, e.g., Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1155 (noting that the employee (or prospective employee) must establish that “he or she informed his or her employer of this [religious] belief’ that conflicts with the employer’s work requirement); accord Toledo, 892 F.2d at 1486.

Insofar as the plain language of our precedent leaves room for doubt on the question, construing it to require the applicant or employee to initially inform the employer of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation aligns our court with a substantial body of circuit precedent that we find persuasive. See, e.g., Wilkerson v. New Media Tech. Charter Sch.

Inc., 522 F.3d 315, 319 (3d Cir.2008) (outlining a prima facie showing that obliges the employee to demonstrate that “she told the employer about the conflict” between her religious belief and the employer’s work rule); Reed, 330 F.3d at 935 (“Title VII imposes a duty on the employer but also a reciprocal duty on the employee to give fair warning of the employment practices that will interfere with his religion and that he therefore wants waived or adjusted.”); Chalmers, 101 F.3d at 1019 (“As [the plaintiff] recognizes, a prima facie case under the accommodation theory requires evidence that she informed her employer that her religious needs conflicted with an employment requirement and asked the employer to accommodate her religious needs.”); Johnson v.

Angelica Uniform Grp., Inc., 762 F.2d 671, 673 (8th Cir.1985) (noting that under the second element of the religion-accommodation prima facie case, the plaintiff must establish that “he has informed his employer about the conflict” between his religious belief and the employer’s work requirement); cf. Xodus v. Wackenhut Corp., 619 F.3d 683, 685 (7th Cir.2010) (noting that the plaintiff “had to prove” during a bench trial “that he brought his religious practice to the company’s attention”). And our view of the notice requirement also has been endorsed by respected secondary authority.

See Larson, supra, § 55.01, at 55-3 (“One must begin with the well-known McDonnell Douglas description of the plaintiffs prima facie case, though, with religious discrimination, an important addition to the prima facie case is the requirement that the plaintiff communicate his or her bona fide religious belief to the employer.” (emphasis added) (footnote omitted)); id. § 56.05, at 56-21 (“Note that in establishing a prima facie case an employee is required to notify an employer of the need for accommodation.”). b The EEOC seeks to escape the effect of our decisions in Toledo and Thomas— which, on their face, seem to require an employee (or prospective employee) to establish that “he or she informed his or her employer of this [religious] belief’ that conflicts with the employer’s work requirement.

Thomas, 225 F.3d at 1155; accord Toledo, 892 F.2d at 1486. The EEOC maintains that these cases “did not address whether the only permissible source of the employer’s awareness of the subject religious belief was the employee or applicant herself.” Aplee. Br. at 36-37; see id. at 36 (“In Thomas this Court was not faced with the question of whether to establish a prima facie case, the plaintiff had to produce evidence that the employer’s awareness of her religious belief came from her and not some other source.”).

The district court agreed that our precedent, and notably Thomas, did not resolve this notice question. See Aplt.App. at 580 (citing Thomas and noting that “the Tenth Circuit has not addressed the question of whether notice must be explicitly requested by the employee”). Even under the linguistic formulation of the second element of the prima facie case found in Toledo and Thomas, reasons the EEOC, “the critical fact is the existence of the notice itself, not how the employer came to have such notice.” Aplee. Br. at 31.

As support for its broader view of the notice requirement, the EEOC relies on the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Dixon, 627 F.3d 849, and the district court’s decision in Hettinger v. Eckerd Corp., 67 F.Supp.2d 1359 (S.D.Fla.1999). See Aplee. Br. at 30-31. The district court in the instant case reached a similar conclusion regarding the notice requirement.

See Aplt.App. at 581 (“[F]aced with the issue of whether the employee must explicitly request an accommodation or whether it is enough that the employer has notice [that] an accommodation is needed[,] the Tenth Circuit would likely opt for the latter choice.” (footnote omitted)). In doing so, it cited the same authorities as the EEOC, and additional ones. See id. at 580-81 (citing, in addition, Brown v. Polk Cnty., 61 F.3d 650, 654 (8th Cir.1995) (en banc)); Heller v. EBB Auto Co., 8 F.3d 1433, 1439 (9th Cir.1993). However, as a general matter, we are not persuaded by the EEOC’s position.

To begin, we are not convinced that we are at liberty to disregard the plain terms of our Toledo and Thomas decisions, which place the prima facie burden on the plaintiff to establish that the applicant or employee has initially informed the employer of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation.

Moreover, even if the plain language of our precedent left the resolution of the question unclear, construing that language to require the applicant or employee to initially inform the employer of the conflicting religious practice and the need for accommodation aligns our court with a substantial body of circuit precedent. And, for the reasons that we explicate in

Part II.C.2-4, infra, we believe that these authorities embody the sounder legal view. Furthermore, even were we to assume that Toledo and Thomas would permit a plaintiff to establish a prima facie case without demonstrating that the applicant or employee was the source of the employer’s notice of the need for a religious accommodation, the EEOC could not prevail here. That is because such notice would need to be based on an employer’s particularized, actual knowledge of the key facts that trigger its duty to accommodate.

And, as explicated below, there is no genuine dispute of material fact that no Abercrombie agent responsible for, or involved in, the hiring process had such actual knowledge — ;from any source — that Ms. Elaufs practice of wearing a hijab stemmed from her religious beliefs and that she needed an accommodation for it. The authorities that the EEOC and the district court have relied upon clearly have predicated then' notice holdings on the employer’s particularized, actual knowledge.

We need not (and do not) endorse their specific holdings and, in particular, their conclusions about how much actual knowledge is sufficient to put an employer on notice of the need to accommodate; yet, there is no doubt that these cases settled for nothing less than some significant measure of particularized, actual knowledge. In Dixon, for example, the plaintiffs “presented evidence that they are sincere, committed Christians who oppose efforts to remove God from public places.” 627 F.3d at 855.

In rejecting the employer’s contention that the plaintiffs had never advised them of their need for a religious accommodation, the Eleventh Circuit stated: [The employer] knew that the [plaintiffs] were dedicated Christians who had previously opposed policies prohibiting the public display of religious items.... [The employer] argues that the [plaintiffs] never expressly told [their supervisor] that they did not want to take down their artwork because they opposed efforts to remove God from public places.

However, we conclude that if [the supervisor] was aware of the tension between her order and the [plaintiffs’] religious beliefs' — and there is ample evidence that she was — her awareness would satisfy the second prong. Id. at 855-56. In other words, in concluding that the plaintiffs had satisfied the second element of their prima facie case related to notice, the Eleventh Circuit determined that the employer had actual knowledge of the religious beliefs of the particular plaintiffs and of the actual conflict between those beliefs and the employer’s work rules.

As to the latter point, based upon the plaintiffs’ prior affirmative and open opposition to the employer’s pok-cies regarding the display of religious items, the employer had actual knowledge that the plaintiffs’ beliefs about the removal of God from public places were inflexible and not simply a personal preference. The district court in Hettinger (the other case upon which the EEOC relies) put an even finer point on the actual-knowledge issue.

The plaintiff there was “an Orthodox Jew” who “applied for a part-time position with [the employer] as a pharmacist.” 67 F.Supp.2d at 1361. “Although Plaintiff cannot sell condoms due to his religious beliefs, he did not list any religious restrictions on his application or make any request for an accommodation. Nor did he inform [the employer’s hiring agent] about his religious beliefs or restrictions at the time he dropped off his application.” Id.

It was undisputed that the employer’s hiring agent was “informed” by another of its employees, who was listed as “one of the Plaintiffs references,” “that the Plaintiff refused to sell condoms due to his religious beliefs” and that the hiring agent, consequently, “decided not to pursue the Plaintiffs application for employment.” Id. Nevertheless, the employer “arguefd] that the Plaintiff cannot establish a prima facie case of religious discrimination because the Plaintiff did not inform the Defendant of his religious restriction or his need for accommodation.” Id. at 1360.

The district court would have none of that argument. Although the district court cautioned that it was “not placing] the burden of inquiry on the employer,” id. at 1364, it held “that the Plaintiff sets forth a prima facie case of religious discrimination because [the employer] had actual knowledge of the Plaintiffs religious beliefs and decided not to pursue the Plaintiffs employment application based on that information,” id. at 1360.

Furthermore, the additional authorities that the district court relied upon in the instant case are of the same or similar effect in that they insist on nothing less than the employer’s particularized, actual knowledge to satisfy the second element of the prima facie case. See Brown, 61 F.3d at 654 (“[W]e reject the defendants’ argument that because [the plaintiff] never explicitly asked for accommodation for his religious activities, he may not claim the protections of Title VII....

Because the first reprimand related directly to religious activities by [the plaintiff], we agree with the district court that the defendants were well aware of the potential for conflict between their expectations and [the plaintiffs] religious activities.”); Heller, 8 F.3d at 1436, 1439 (holding that the plaintiff established the second element of his pri-ma facie case for failure to accommodate his “religious practice of attending the ceremony in which his wife and children were converted to Judaism,” where the plaintiffs supervisor “knew” that he was Jewish, “knew” that his “wife was studying for conversion,” and “when [the plaintiff] requested the time off, he informed the [supervisor] why he needed to miss work”).

In other words, even were we to assume that an employer may be put on notice from a source other than applicants or employees, that source would need to provide the employer with sufficient information such that the employer would have actual knowledge that the conflicting practice of the particular applicants or employees is based upon their religious beliefs and that they need an accommodation for it.

Thus, even under this broader view of the notice requirement, a plaintiff — that is, an applicant or employee — should not be able to impose liability on an employer for failing to accommodate his or her religious practice on the ground that the employer should have guessed, surmised, or figured out from the surrounding circumstances, that the practice was based upon his or her religion and that the plaintiff needed an accommodation for it.

Accordingly, even were we to adopt the EEOC’s position, as supported by its authorities, the employer’s notice would need to be based upon its particularized, actual knowledge of the key facts that trigger its duty to provide a reasonable religious accommodation — that is, based upon actual knowledge that the conflicting practice of the particular applicant or employee stems from his or her religion and that the applicant or employee needs an accommodation for it (because the practice is an inflexible one).

The EEOC cannot make this showing here: there is no genuine dispute of material fact that no Abercrombie agent responsible for, or involved in, the hiring process had particularized, actual knowledge — -from any source — -that Ms. Elaufs practice of wearing a hijab stemmed from her religious beliefs and that she needed an accommodation for it. Therefore, the EEOC cannot prevail. In particular, we conclude that the record offers absolutely no support for the district court’s determination that Ms. “Cooke knew [that Ms. Elauf] wore the head scarf based on her religious belief.” Aplt.App. at 581 (emphasis added).

The EEOC also is clearly mistaken on this point. See Aplee. Br. at 46 (“It is uncontested that Cooke was aware of Elaufs religious belief and its conflict with the Look Policy....”). At best, when viewed in the light most favorable to the EEOC, the record indicates that Ms. Cooke assumed that Ms. Elauf wore her hijab for religious reasons and felt religiously obliged to so — -thus creating a conflict with Abercrombie’s clothing policy. More specifically, Ms. Cooke testified as follows: that she had seen Ms. Elauf wearing a headscarf prior to the interview, but “did not know” Ms. Elaufs religion, Aplt.

App. at 365; that she “assumed that she was Muslim,” id. (emphasis added), and “figured that was the religious reason why she wore her head scarf,” Aplee. Supp. App. at 48 (emphasis added), and she assumed that, if Ms Elauf were hired by Abercrombie as a Model, she would continue to wear her headscarf, see id. at 46 (answering “Yes, I did.” to the question, “And you assumed if [Ms. Elauf] worked at Abercrombie, she would still be wearing [a headscarf]?”). In the interview, Ms. Cooke did not ask Ms. Elauf if she was a Muslim. And for reasons that we have explored at length, see

Part II.B.l, supra, given Title VII’s conception of religion as a uniquely personal and individual matter, Ms. Cooke’s knowledge that Ms. Elauf elected to wear a hijab would be far from sufficient information to provide her with the requisite notice that would trigger an employer’s duty to accommodate.

See Wilkerson, 522 F.3d at 319 (“[Sjimply announcing one’s belief in a certain religion, or even wearing a symbol of that religion (i.e., a cross or Star of David) does not notify the employer of the particular beliefs and observances that the employee holds in connection with her religious affiliation.” (emphasis added)); Reed, 330 F.3d at 935-36 (“A person’s religion is not like his sex or race — something obvious at a glance.

Even if he wears a religious symbol, such as a cross or a yarmulka, this may not pinpoint his particular beliefs and observances .... ” (emphasis added)); see also Aplt.App. at 292 (indicating that the EEOC’s expert offered, as an explanation for why people maintain certain styles of dress, “it really is, the question is, what is their motivation”). In sum, Ms. Cooke’s testimony does not even come close to establishing that Ms. Cooke possessed particularized, actual knowledge that Ms.

Elauf (and not some hypothetical Muslim female) wore a hijab because of her Islamic faith and felt religiously obliged to do so, and thus would require a religious accommodation in order to address the conflict with Abercrombie’s clothing policy. Moreover, even construing the facts (as we must) in the light most favorable to the EEOC, the fact that Ms. Cooke called Mr. Johnson to discuss the possibility of an accommodation does nothing to rectify this fundamental evidentiary deficiency in the EEOC’s case. Ms. Cooke’s conduct following the interview was all based on her admitted assumption regarding Ms.

Elaufs religious beliefs and required practices. See ApltApp. at 76-77 (“I was unsure about the head scarf_I told [Mr. Johnson] that I believed that [Ms. Elauf] was Muslim, and that was a recognized religion. And that she was wearing it for religious reasons.” (emphasis added)). She did not possess the requisite actual knowledge concerning these matters. And any awareness that Mr. Johnson had of Ms. Elaufs religious beliefs and required practices would have been derived solely from Ms. Cooke’s assumption; so, Mr. Johnson, too, possessed no particularized, actual knowledge.

Yet, the only two Abercrombie agents who could conceivably be deemed to have had any responsibility for, or involvement in, the hiring process regarding Ms. Elauf, were Ms. Cooke and Mr. Johnson. Therefore, even if the EEOC were permitted as a matter of law to establish the second element of its prima facie case by showing that the employer possessed particularized, actual knowledge from a source other than the applicant or employee of the key facts that trigger its duty to provide a reasonable religious accommodation, the EEOC could not do so here because neither Ms. Cooke nor Mr.

Johnson (i.e., the relevant agents of the employer) possessed such knowledge. Accordingly, even under the broader view of the notice requirement that the EEOC principally espouses here, it cannot prevail. We do recognize that in its briefing, the EEOC intimates that something less than an employer’s particularized, actual knowledge would suffice. See Aplee.

Br. at 34 (“[T]his is not to say that employers are required to inquire of applicants or employees as to whether there are any religious beliefs that need to be accommodated, absent some reasonable indication to the employer that an accommodation may be needed.” (emphases added)). However, it cites no authorities to support this proposition, and we are not aware of any. See Aplt.

Reply Br. at 2 (“Had courts intended that ‘reasonable indication’ (or some other sort of constructive notice) be sufficient to satisfy the prima facie case, they would have said so.”) In sum, we hold that, in order to establish the second element of their prima facie case under Title VII’s religion-accommodation theory, ordinarily plaintiffs must establish that they initially informed the employer that they engage in a particular practice for religious reasons and that they need an accommodation for the practice, due to a conflict, between the practice and the employer’s work rules.

As noted, we recognize that some courts have taken a different path on this question. However, we are confident that our approach is the sounder one. 2 Given Title VII’s conception of religion and the interactive nature of the religion-accommodation process, we are hard-pressed to see how we could logically reach another conclusion regarding the notice element of the prima facie case.

This is because the answers to the key questions that determine whether an employer has an obligation under Title VII to provide a reasonable religious accommodation ordinarily are only within the ken of the applicant or employee; because an employer’s obligation to engage in the interactive religion-accommodation process is only triggered when the employer has answers to those questions; and because, in implementing Title VII’s anti-discrimination mandate, the EEOC has expressly disapproved of employers inquiring in the first instance or speculating about the answers to such questions.

For example, recall that Title VII only obliges employers to provide a reasonable accommodation for practices that applicants or employees engage in because of bona fide, sincerely held religious beliefs. See, e.g., EEOC Q & A, supra (“Title VII requires employers to accommodate only those religious beliefs that are religious and sincerely held.... ” (internal quotation marks omitted)). As noted, those beliefs are defined broadly, but “typically con-cerní] ultimate ideas about life, purpose, and death.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-I(A)(1) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Title VII does not extend its protections to practices that are engaged in as a matter of personal preference or for cultural reasons, see, e.g., Reed, 330 F.3d at 935 (“[A]n employee is not permitted to redefine a purely personal preference or aversion as a religious belief.”), and no matter how strongly an applicant or employee believes in certain political, economic, or social ideas, if those ideas do not otherwise relate to the stuff of religion (e.g., ultimate notions about life, purpose, or death), then practices based upon them do not fall within Title VII’s protective ambit, see, e.g., EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-KAX1).

But how is an employer to know that applicants or employees are engaged in a practice for religious reasons, unless they inform the employer? Cf. id. (“Determining whether a practice is religious turns not on the nature of the activity, but on the employee’s motivation. The same practice might be engaged in by one person for religious reasons and by another person for purely secular reasons.”). To be sure, in certain instances, applicants or employees may engage in practices that are traditionally associated with a particular religion.

However, Title VII does not require employers to become knowledgeable about the customs and observances of religions. See, e.g., Wilkerson, 522 F.3d at 319 (“[W]e do not impute to the employer the duty to possess knowledge of particularized beliefs of religious sects.”); Reed, 330 F.3d at 936 (noting that “employers are not charged with detailed knowledge of the beliefs and observances associated with particular sects”); EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-IV(A)(1) (noting that an employee “cannot assume that the employer will already know or understand” “the religious nature of the belief or practice at issue”).

Furthermore, even if an employer was generally aware of the beliefs and observances that are traditionally associated with a particular religious group, and also knew that the applicant or employee displayed symbols associated with that group — or even that the applicant or employee specifically claimed to be a member of that group — ordinarily, the employer would still not know whether the conflicting practice in question actually stemmed from religious beliefs unless the particular applicant or employee informed the employer, because under Title VII, as we have discussed, religion is a uniquely personal and individual matter.

See, e.g., EEOC Compliance Manual § 12 — 1(A)(1) (“An employee’s belief or practice can be ‘religious’ under Title VII even if the employee is affiliated with a religious group that does not espouse or recognize that individual’s belief or practice, or if few — or no — other people adhere to it.” (emphasis added)); see also id. (“[A] person’s religious beliefs need not be confined in either source or content to traditional or parochial concepts of religion.

A belief is religious for Title VII purposes if it is religious in the person’s own scheme of things.... ” (emphasis added) (footnotes omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted)). In holding that Title VII places a “duty on the employee to give fair warning of the employment practices that will interfere with his religion,” Reed, 330 F.3d at 935, the Seventh Circuit succinctly and cogently touched on a like point. Specifically, the court in Reed stated: “A person’s religion is not like his sex or race — something obvious at a glance.

Even if he wears a religious symbol, such as a cross or a yarmul-ka, this may not pinpoint his particular beliefs and observances....” Id. at 935-36 (emphasis added). Similarly, in upholding the dismissal of the plaintiffs religion-accommodation claim because she failed to inform her employer of her need for an accommodation due to a conflict between her Christian beliefs and the employer’s “libation” or alcohol-drinking ceremony, the Third Circuit in Wilkerson rejected the plaintiffs suggestion that the employer’s knowledge that she was a Christian was enough to trigger its accommodation obligation.

Specifically, the Third Circuit stated, “that [the employer] knew she was a Christian does not sufficiently satisfy [the plaintiffs] duty to provide ‘fair warning’ to [the employer] that she possessed a religious belief that specifically prevented her from participating in the libations ceremony.” Wilkerson, 522 F.3d at 319 (emphasis added).

Indeed, the Third Circuit went further and concluded that even if the employer “suspected” that the libations ceremony would be specifically offensive to the plaintiff, that would not relieve the plaintiff of the obligation to “inform the defendants that the libation ceremony would offend her religious beliefs.” Id. at 319-20 (emphasis added).

In the same vein, in upholding the denial of the plaintiffs religion-accommodation claim, the Fourth Circuit rejected the plaintiffs argument that the employer’s knowledge of the plaintiffs strongly held religious beliefs was enough to “put it on notice” that those beliefs would — in the plaintiffs view — oblige her to “write, and send, personal, accusatory letters to co-workers at their homes.” Chalmers, 101 F.3d at 1020 n. 3.

Therefore, even if an employer were on notice that an applicant or employee subscribed to a particular religious belief system, because religion under Title VII is a uniquely personal matter, that information would not be enough to tell the employer what practices are religious in “the person’s own scheme of things.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12 — 1(A)(1) (internal quotation marks omitted). Ordinarily, the only way the employer would know such information is if the applicant or employee informed the employer.

Knowing this much demonstrates why the most natural reading of Title VII’s religion-accommodation provision is one that ordinarily places the burden on the applicant or employee to inform the employer of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation, and why a contrary reading of the statute would be patently unfair to employers. Reed provides a hypothetical that powerfully underscores this point: Suppose the employee is an Orthodox Jew and believes that it is deeply sinful to work past sundown on Friday.

He does not tell his employer, the owner of a hardware store that is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, who leaves the employee in sole charge of the store one Friday afternoon in mid-winter, and at 4 p.m. the employee leaves the store. The employer could fire him without being thought guilty of failing to accommodate his religious needs. 330 F.3d at 936. A contrary reading of the statute would be, we think, misguided and quite unfair because “at that time” when the employer fired the employee “there was nothing to accommodate.” Wilkerson, 522 F.3d at 319.

As in Reed, “[t]his case is similar” to the hypothetical: Ms. Elauf undisputedly did not inform Abercrombie that her conflicting practice of wearing a hijab stemmed from her religious beliefs and that she needed an accommodation; consequently, as with the hypothetical employer, Abercrombie could elect not to hire Ms. Elauf “without being thought guilty of failing to accommodate [her] religious needs.” 330 F.3d at 936. Nothing was present to accommodate. Moreover, contrary to the EEOC’s suggestion at oral argument, see Oral Arg. at 26:40-27:10, the fact that an applicant’s headscarf (like Ms.

Elaufs) was visible would not materially distinguish her circumstances from those of the person whose religious beliefs did not allow for work on the Sabbath. Even though that person’s religious beliefs regarding the Sabbath would be invisible to the naked eye, so would the religious significance that the applicant attached to wearing the headscarf.

As noted, Muslim women (and certainly non-Muslim women) wear head-scarfs for reasons other than religion, and whether they are doing so for religious reasons depends on their (invisible) “motivation.” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-1(A)(1); see Aplt.App. at 292 (indicating that the EEOC’s expert opined, regarding the reasons why people maintain certain dress, “it really is, the question is, what is their motivation”).

Therefore, employers confronted with the Sabbath-adherent and the headscarf-wearer would be similarly situated — that is, they would not reasonably be put on notice of the need for a religious accommodation unless they were informed of it by the applicant. Lastly, even if an employer has particularized, actual knowledge of the religious nature of the practice — that is, knowledge that the practice of a particular applicant or employee stems from his or her religious beliefs — that still would not be sufficient information to trigger the employer’s duty to offer a reasonable accommodation.

That is because the applicant or employee may not actually need an accommodation. In other words, an applicant or employee may not consider his or her religious practice to be inflexible; that is, he or she may not feel obliged by religion to adhere to the practice. If that is the situation, then there actually is no conflict, nor a consequent need for the employer to provide a reasonable accommodation.

Given that “[a] belief is religious for Title VII purposes if it is religious in the person’s own scheme of things,” EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-I(A)(1) (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks omitted), whether a particular practice is religiously required is ultimately a question that only a particular individual can answer — even if the same practice is customarily required in the religion that the person claims to follow.

Cf Turner, 2009 WL 2567962, at *2 (noting that the record did not indicate that the plaintiff ever told his employer “that his religious beliefs required a meeting with his pastor at that time or that the meeting was anything other than a personal preference” (emphasis added)). As we suggested in Thomas, Title VII’s “interactive process ... requires participation by both the employer and the employee.” 225 F.3d at 1155 (emphasis added). Yet, how can an employer meaningfully participate in the accommodation process, when it lacks concrete information from which to discern a need to do so?

See Wilkerson, 522 F.3d at 319 (“Because [the plaintiff] did not inform [her employer] that the [libation] ceremony presented a [religious] conflict, it did not have a duty to accommodate her. Although [the plaintiff] told [her employer] after the fact, at that time there was nothing to accommodate.” (emphasis added)); Larson, supra, § 56.05, at 56-21 (“Indeed, it would seem unreasonable to require an employer to accommodate the religious practices of an employee when the employer is unaware of the need to do so.” (emphases added)).

It is true that logic does not perforce dictate that just because the foregoing critical questions ordinarily must be answered by the particular applicant or employee, before the employer’s duty to offer a reasonable accommodation is triggered, that the applicant or employee must initiate the communication: it is conceivable that one could fashion a regulatory regime in which the employer was obliged to inquire in the first instance concerning the religious beliefs and needs of applicants or employees.

Yet, under Title VII’s interactive accommodation scheme, it is clear that, not only is the employer not obliged to make such religious inquiries, the employer is affirmatively discouraged from doing so because “an applicant’s religious affiliation or beliefs ... are generally viewed as non job-related and problematic under federal law.” EEOC Pre-Employment Inquiries, supra; see, e.g., Prise, 657 F.Supp.2d at 597 (noting that questioning applicants concerning their religious beliefs could, “under some circumstances, permit an inference to be drawn that an employer engaged in improper religion-based discrimination”); EEOC Best Practices, supra (“In conducting job interviews, employers can ensure nondiscriminatory treatment by ... inquiring about matters directly related to the position in question.”).

Furthermore, as we have discussed, in the religion-accommodation context, the EEOC has specifically cautioned employers to “avoid assumptions or stereotypes about what constitutes a religious belief or practice or what type of accommodation is appropriate.” EEOC Best Practices, supra; see id. (noting that “[mjanagers and employees should be trained not to engage in stereotyping based on religious dress and grooming practices”).

Thus, if under Title VII an employer is affirmatively discouraged from asking applicants or employees whether their seemingly conflicting practice is based on religious beliefs, and, if so, whether they actually will need an accommodation for the practice, because it is inflexible (i.e., truly conflicting), and the employer also is discouraged by the EEOC from speculating about such matters, then the interactive accommodation process ordinarily only can be triggered when applicants or employees first provide the requisite information to the employer.

In sum, in light of Title VII’s conception of religion and the interactive nature of the religion-accommodation process, we have difficulty seeing how we could logically reach a conclusion other than the one that we explicate here regarding the notice element of the prima facie case. 3 a We also find further support for our view of the notice requirement — which places the onus on the applicant or employee to initially provide explicit notice to the employer of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation — in references found in the EEOC’s own regulations and policy documents regarding the source of the employer’s notice.

These authorities — repeatedly, expressly, and unequivocally— assign the notice responsibility to the applicant or employee. Beginning with its substantive regulation, the EEOC states, “After an employee or prospective employee notifies the employer ... of his or her need for a religious accommodation, the employer ... has an obligation to reasonably accommodate the individual’s religious practices.” 29 C.F.R. § 1605.2(c)(1) (emphasis added).

In other words, by its plain terms, the regulation contemplates that the employer’s duty to provide a reasonable religious accommodation comes after it receives notice from the prospective employee or employee. If no such notice is provided, it would seem to ineluctably follow under the regulation that the employer has no duty to provide a reasonable religious accommodation and cannot (as a matter of law) be held liable for failing to do so.

The agency’s compliance manual follows suit and, notably, underscores that the notice provided by the applicant or employee cannot consist of “vague reference[s],” Johnson, 762 F.2d at 673, but instead must be specific: An applicant or employee who seeks religious accommodation must make the employer aware both of the need for accommodation and that it is being requested due to a conflict between religion and work. The employee is obligated to explain the religious nature of the belief or practice at issue, and cannot assume that the employer will already know or understand it.

EEOC Compliance Manual § 12-IV(A)(1). To be sure, there is not any particular talismanic litany that the applicant or employee must recite to effectively put the employer on notice. In this regard, the EEOC states, “No ‘magic words’ are required to place an employer on notice of an applicant’s or employee’s conflict between religious needs and a work requirement. To request an accommodation, an individual may use plain language and need not mention any particular terms such as ‘Title VII’ or ‘religious accommodation.’ ” Id.

But the EEOC does insist that the applicant or employee “provide enough information to make the employer aware that there exists a conflict between the individual’s religious practice or belief and a requirement for applying for or performing the job.” Id. Amd other policy documents of the EEOC are of similar import, placing the burden on the applicant or the employee to provide notice to the employer of the conflicting religious practice and the need for an accommodation.

See, e.g., EEOC Best Practices, supra (noting that “[e]mployees should advise their supervisors or managers of the nature of the conflict between their religious needs and the work rules” and they “should provide enough information to enable the employer to understand what accommodation is needed, and why it is necessitated by a religious practice or belief’); EEOC Q & A, supra (responding to the question, “[h]ow does an employer learn that accommodation may be needed?” by stating, “[a]n applicant or employee who see

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