It’s hard to know what to do! Is it okay for me to stick with this job because it pays well, and life here is expensive? But I want to do something meaningful for God, too! A friend shared this wrestling with me during a Zoom call. But his questions aren’t unique. He could have been one of the newly graduated students with whom I’ve worked in campus ministry, who are now in their various workplaces, ranging from tech companies to hospitals to financial institutions to academia. Where is the meaning in what I do at work? How do I do what God wants me to do? And where do these two things intersect?
To date, the story narrated for Christian workers has been that of the individual, striving to stay true to their faith in a hostile work environment, watching for openings to evangelize co-workers. In Working for Better, A New Approach to Faith at Work, social scientists Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels offer a more expansive script, inviting workers towards a wider, deeper understanding of the doctrine of the imago Dei that recognizes the common grace in all people, including those who believe differently from us, and to embrace the practice of “principled pluralism.” Alongside this, they call pastors (including this college pastor) to more fully equip our congregations to step into this much bigger, more complex vision.
The authors conducted the largest study to date on faith and work in the United States. The data reveal a rich myriad of fears, longings, attitudes, and experiences of people of faith at work. Writing primarily for a Christian audience, the authors interpret the survey data through the theological lens of the doctrine of the imago Dei to both identify the real struggles Christians experience at work and to reveal potential opportunities for Christians to work towards justice at work for all.
The book lays this analysis out structurally. Chapter one on the changing landscape of the context of faith in the workplace, and Chapter twelve on the growing call for practicing rest bookend five chapter pairs. In each of the pairs, the first chapter engages with a more traditional approach to faith at work, and the second chapter shifts the reader to a new way of engagement. The pairs address 1) our conceptualizations of calling at work, 2) religious discrimination, 3) workers’ individual personal responsibility and workplace systems, 4) gender discrimination, and finally, 5) the expression of religious faith at work. The authors see these pairings as the key areas of tension emerging from the data where there “needs to be the most intervention in setting forth a new vision in order to see the greatest redemption in workplaces today.” (p.7)
Chapters two and three address our conceptualizations of calling. From the data, it is evident that the sacred/secular divide is alive and well in evangelicalism. Many of the Christians they interviewed struggled to see work as part of their calling that was not either specifically people-focused or vocational Christian ministry. Chapter three, however, examines wherein their work Christians found their sense of calling. The authors were able to use this data to graphically map how Christians find their calling in different aspects of their work, leading them to argue for a more expansive understanding of calling in our work.
No doubt many will find the analysis on calling highly useful. But it is in the next four pairings that the book really takes off. In each pairing, the authors actively push Christians to lift our gaze from seeing ourselves as lone islands in our workplaces, struggling against a work environment that is hostile to our faith, to seeing ourselves as agents of systemic change for the good of all. They call on Christians to recognize every person at work as God’s image bearer, regardless of their religious affiliation, and who thus deserves our consideration and advocacy.
Chapters four and five address the issue of religious discrimination. Chapter four outlines data that points to the realities of religious discrimination in the workplace. Chapter five then particularly calls on those in leadership roles in workplaces to pay attention to how workers from different religious traditions might experience the workplace, and to take active steps to address religious discrimination. The authors use one of many “slow down moments” in the book to remind Christians that part of being faithful at work is being aware of and concerned for those who are not Christians (p.79). These moves in chapter five are refreshing. In a time when diversity itself is under attack, the authors chart a way for Christians to positively contribute to a just workplace for people of all religions.
Chapters six and seven shift workers’ focus from personal responsibility to improving workplace systems. One of the strengths of the book is its irenic approach. The authors take seriously and deeply honor their interviewees’ concern to be ethical at work, even when it comes at a cost. They follow this up with a call to pastors to talk more about how Christians should act at work (p.95). The data in these chapters reveals that many Christians are willing to stand up for the integrity of themselves and their workplaces, even at the risk of their very jobs. Building on this, the authors then move readers to do what they can in their various work situations to influence workplace systems. The authors are aware that systems thinking may not be welcome by all amongst their readership. They thus take great care to lay down a biblical foundation for their case and to address anticipated objections. Chapter seven is full of real-life examples of Christians shifting the culture and changing systems in their workplaces. From the data, the authors helpfully identify that Christians have embodied cultures of care, fostered honest organizations, and shifted systems and practices to make their workplaces more just for racial and gender minorities. Aware of power dynamics in workplaces, they also suggest practical ways in which all Christians can notice systems that operate unjustly and nudge their workplace cultures into closer alignment with seeing all as made in God’s image.
Chapters eight and nine address gender discrimination. In a critical move for Christian women, the authors highlight the connection between restricted women’s roles within the church and its impact on issues women face in the workplace. They point to how gendered roles in the church, including the lack of women leading from the front, expectations of clergy wives, and the so-called “Billy Graham rule” that prohibits male pastors from meeting with female congregants, both socialize women in particular ways and result in the church marginalizing women who work in all forms of paid employment. As with every other pairing, however, in chapter nine, the authors generously share ways in which churches can better support women who work, and Christian leaders of workplaces can better support women. It is difficult to say whether this pairing will address what is often, for better or worse, a division that is couched in theological terms. Sociological data may or may not be enough to convince church leaders to make theological shifts, and the authors wisely stay within their expertise as social scientists. For those who are willing to hear, however, the authors advocate for women (including a particular engagement with issues pertaining to women of color) to be seen as fully made in the image of God, and call for action on that basis. Their efforts will no doubt be appreciated by many women in the church.
Finally, chapters ten and eleven consider how Christians express their faith at work. The data is again both fascinating and encouraging. Christians are working hard to be thoughtful in how they share their faith with their colleagues. But it is the authors’ call for “principled pluralism” that warrants attention. They define principled pluralism as a mode of relating that does not require any person, Christians included, to relinquish or dilute their beliefs, but calls on all to be open to recognizing the true value within another person’s faith. It is a call to Christians to recognize the reality of common grace within other faith systems. Their practical suggestions, which include considering power dynamics within the workplace and incorporating religion in diversity training, along with their surveyed examples, reveal the challenges of this call. It is worthy, and indeed, it would lead to the flourishing of all in a workplace, but we have a long way to go to attain it.
A major highlight of this book is the authors’ thoughtful analysis of the data. People of faith long to bring their whole selves to work, and Christians long to serve God in and through their work. It also reveals that our theologies of work and calling are deeply intertwined with our American individualism, patriarchy, and a sacred-secular divide. The final chapter on rest, so vital for human flourishing, highlights our capitalist mindset, even as it lays out practices such as a “minute by minute, day by day” approach to rest (p.202). As they say, “In the case of rest, our data is actually the silence.” (p.193) Such is the Christian theology of rest in this country.
More than anything else, this book is a wake-up call to pastors and church leaders. We have left our people hungry. Christians long to see the meaning in their work, and they long to bear faithful witness to Christ in the workplace. Further, as they engage daily with the realities of pluralism, increased polarization, and the complexities of changing workplaces, they need theological and practical resources to equip them to engage with these social realities winsomely and with integrity, even as they seek justice for the whole. Indeed, this book brings workplace justice into the work and faith conversation where so many have been silent. As it is, it appears that many Christians are left to struggle as best they can on their own, and the challenges for women are even less seen by the church.
This book is perfect for book groups. It’s packed with real-life examples and practical wisdom, and each chapter ends with thoughtful reflection questions, including particular questions for faith communities. May we who are church leaders use it to teach ourselves as well as the people we serve, so that we may all work for better.
Wendy serves as Vocational Discipleship Specialist with InterVarsity’s Pacific Region. In this role she talks with students regularly about the intersections of work and faith. She was born in Malaysia and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. She practiced law in Melbourne for several years before studying theology at Oxford University, the University of Aberdeen, and more recently at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute in Ghana. She loves helping students and faculty articulate the connections between our Christian faith and all of life, and she seeks to do this wherever she goes.
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