Abstract
Work and faith are significant life commitments for many people. Understanding how people integrate these facets of life is important for scholars, faith leaders, and religious communities. We use data from Faith at Work: An Empirical Study, which includes a U.S. general population survey (n = 13,270) and in-depth interviews. Drawing data from a Christian sub-sample we ask: How do Christians draw on their faith community in relation to work? For those in different social locations, in what ways does talk about work come up in churches? Finally, what work-related challenges do Christians experience, and how do Christians want their churches and pastors to address them? We find that many Christians see faith as a resource for enhancing their work lives but do not often encounter discussion of work at church or talk with pastors about work, though Black congregants are nearly twice as likely as whites to hear their pastors discuss work. Further, specific groups of Christians want their pastors and churches to do more to support them in their work and/or to help them navigate faith in the workplace. They also want churches to better accommodate the needs of working people at church, so they can more fully participate.
Highlights
Work and faith are both significant commitments in life for many people
While the broader empirical study focuses on a variety of religious traditions, in this article we focus on those who are part of Christian traditions because this is the religion where the Faith at Work movement originated, and those part of Christian traditions are the largest group of religious people in the United States
While this study suggests that Christian workers may face challenges in receiving support from their churches to address work-related issues, recent research highlights the positive impact of churches on work life
Summary
Understanding how people integrate (or do not) these two facets of life as well as how religious people understand the relationship between faith and work is important information for scholars of religion, and for faith leaders, religious communities, and employers. Since the 1980s, a number of church and parachurch organizations have sought to address a perceived need for faith–work integration among middle-class Christians. Under the banner of what Miller (2007) calls the “Faith at Work” movement, the focus of these groups has largely been about encouraging Christians in business/professional environments to bring the sacred (faith) into the so-called secular (workplace). Many lay leaders and groups have taken it upon themselves to address specific needs around work that they feel are not addressed by churches. The hope is to help fill the “Sunday–Monday gap” by providing Christians with resources to help integrate faith with their workplace experiences
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