God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement

What was once taboo - faith at work - is increasingly accepted in corporate America. From secretaries to CEOs, growing numbers of businesspeople today want to bring their faith to work. Yet they wrestle with how to do this effectively and appropriately in a pluralistic corporate setting. For help they turn not to their clergy, but to their peers and to a burgeoning cottage industry on spirituality at work. They attend conferences and seminars, participate in Bible study and prayer groups, and read books, blogs, and eNewsletters. They see their faith as a resource for ethical guidance and to help find meaning and purpose in their work.

In God at Work, David W. Miller looks at how this Faith at Work movement developed and considers its potential value for business and society. Done well, the integration of faith and work has positive implications at the personal level, as well as for corporate ethics and the broader economic sphere. At the same time, increasing expressions of religion and spiritual practices at work also present the threat of divisiveness and discrimination.

Drawing on the insights of theological ethics as well as the sociology of religion, Miller analyzes the history of the modern day Faith at Work movement from its roots in the late 19th century to its modern formulation and trajectory. He examines the diversity of its members and modes of expression, and constructs a new framework for understanding, interpreting, and critiquing the movement and its future. Miller concludes that workers and professionals have a deep and lasting desire to live a holistic life, to integrate the claims of their faith with the demands of their work. He documents the surprising abdication of this field by church and theological academy and its embrace, ironically, by the management academy.

Offering compelling new evidence of the depth and breadth of spirituality at work, Miller concludes that faith at work is a bona fide social movement and here to stay. He establishes the importance of this movement, identifies the possibilities and problems, and points toward future research questions. God at Work is essential reading for business scholars and leaders, theologians and clergy, and anyone interested in the integration of faith and work.

What was once taboo - faith at work - is increasingly commonplace in corporate America. Indeed, some companies view it as best practice, part of a broader trend toward diversity, inclusion, and holistic treatment of people. Yet there are also challenges and pitfalls in managing a workforce<BR>that is religiously pluralistic. <BR>So is spirituality at work a passing fad like TQM and quality circles, or will it fundamentally change the landscape of corporate America? Miller, drawing on his own experience as a former senior executive in international business and finance, and now a theologian and ethicist, brings an unusual<BR>"bi-lingual" perspective to this topic. <BR>In God at Work Miller traces the history of the modern day Faith at Work movement from its roots in the late 19th century to its modern trajectory and formulation. Miller concludes there is a deep and lasting desire for workers and professionals to live a holistic life, to integrate the claims of<BR>their faith with the demands of their work. Drawing on his research and never-before documented evidence of the depth and breadth of spirituality at work, Miller concludes that faith at work is a bona fide social movement and here to stay. <BR>Miller identifies the variables that launched the modern faith at work movement, and captures the diversity of the movement and its participants in and alongside corporate America. He provides a helpful analytical tool, the Integration Box, to understand and study the movement and its participants.<BR> Miller also identifies the surprising abdication of this field by church and theological academy and, ironically, its embrace by the management academy. <BR>This resource-rich historical andcontemporary analysis of faith, religion, and spirituality at work points toward future research questions, and challenges business academics and executives, as well as theologians and clergy to engage on this topic and to participate in the transformative<BR>possibilities

David W. Miller, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School and Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Business Ethics. He brings an unusual "bilingual" perspective to the academic world, having also spent 16 years in senior executive positions in international business and finance.