The Value Proposition
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Religion Makes Inroads in the Corporate Arena
DULLES, Va. - In an auditorium on America Online's rolling campus, a glorious expanse of the heavens is projected on a big screen. Reggie Evans, a former Redskins running back turned emissary of Christ, has come to spread the Holy Word in the secular corridors of one of the biggest, richest Internet companies in the world. He has brought along some football cards and a stack of Bibles.
Pushed primarily by evangelical Christians, faith is finding a growing presence in corporations that for years have been resistant to religious expression, including such giants as AOL Inc., Intel Corp., American Express Co., American Airlines Inc. and Ford Motor Co.
But it is an uneasy, risk-prone experiment. Companies are allowing employees to sing the Lord's praises only according to strict rules - at lunch and on breaks, and only to those who want to listen - to minimize the threat to workplace harmony. Proselytizing, which can be seen as intrusive and a possible violation of harassment laws, is not permitted.
In return, some companies let workers share Bible verses on the company listserv, advertise religious events on the company intranet and invite inspirational speakers like Evans to read Scripture in the corporate auditorium. In that case, AOL went so far as to provide sandwiches and pizza.
"There is a spectrum ranging from proactive corporate leaders who are saying we need to think about this and find appropriate ways to embrace it, and others who say this is a complete hornet's nest," said David W. Miller, executive director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. "We are watching corporate America in the throes of this. It's the great laboratory."
Similarly, federal workers have broad rights to religious expression under guidelines issued by President Clinton, as long as it does not affect workplace efficiency or could be seen as government endorsement of religion. That means federal workers may wear religious head coverings, keep a Bible or Koran on their desk or talk about religion if co-workers do not object.
There are no across-the-board rules saying private employers must forbid or allow religious affinity groups, Anders said. The result has been a patchwork of policies that sometimes appears to defy logic.
Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, and General Motors of Detroit say they do not recognize groups that promote a "particular religion or political belief," saying the groups foster divisiveness. But Ford allows eight different faith-based groups, believing that they foster cohesiveness.
At the automaker Ford, workers say the interfaith religious group has helped them forge a new unity. Dan Dunnigan, 46, the network's chairman, said that after a rough start, employees of different faiths have come to understand one another - so much so that when the group received a piece of hate mail about Islam, Dunnigan took care of it himself, writing back a thoughtful defense without ever showing it to his Muslim colleague. "I thought it would have hurt him deeply, and I didn't want that," he said. "Before this, I didn't know about Islam, and now I know a little bit. You find out that people value family, integrity, high morals, and you say, 'Wow, I believe that, too.' "
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DULLES, Va. - In an auditorium on America Online's rolling campus, a glorious expanse of the heavens is projected on a big screen. Reggie Evans, a former Redskins running back turned emissary of Christ, has come to spread the Holy Word in the secular corridors of one of the biggest, richest Internet companies in the world. He has brought along some football cards and a stack of Bibles.
Pushed primarily by evangelical Christians, faith is finding a growing presence in corporations that for years have been resistant to religious expression, including such giants as AOL Inc., Intel Corp., American Express Co., American Airlines Inc. and Ford Motor Co.
But it is an uneasy, risk-prone experiment. Companies are allowing employees to sing the Lord's praises only according to strict rules - at lunch and on breaks, and only to those who want to listen - to minimize the threat to workplace harmony. Proselytizing, which can be seen as intrusive and a possible violation of harassment laws, is not permitted.
In return, some companies let workers share Bible verses on the company listserv, advertise religious events on the company intranet and invite inspirational speakers like Evans to read Scripture in the corporate auditorium. In that case, AOL went so far as to provide sandwiches and pizza.
"There is a spectrum ranging from proactive corporate leaders who are saying we need to think about this and find appropriate ways to embrace it, and others who say this is a complete hornet's nest," said David W. Miller, executive director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. "We are watching corporate America in the throes of this. It's the great laboratory."
Similarly, federal workers have broad rights to religious expression under guidelines issued by President Clinton, as long as it does not affect workplace efficiency or could be seen as government endorsement of religion. That means federal workers may wear religious head coverings, keep a Bible or Koran on their desk or talk about religion if co-workers do not object.
There are no across-the-board rules saying private employers must forbid or allow religious affinity groups, Anders said. The result has been a patchwork of policies that sometimes appears to defy logic.
Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, and General Motors of Detroit say they do not recognize groups that promote a "particular religion or political belief," saying the groups foster divisiveness. But Ford allows eight different faith-based groups, believing that they foster cohesiveness.
At the automaker Ford, workers say the interfaith religious group has helped them forge a new unity. Dan Dunnigan, 46, the network's chairman, said that after a rough start, employees of different faiths have come to understand one another - so much so that when the group received a piece of hate mail about Islam, Dunnigan took care of it himself, writing back a thoughtful defense without ever showing it to his Muslim colleague. "I thought it would have hurt him deeply, and I didn't want that," he said. "Before this, I didn't know about Islam, and now I know a little bit. You find out that people value family, integrity, high morals, and you say, 'Wow, I believe that, too.' "
More of Value as InteractiveMediaForum.Com Reveals the Source!
Discuss these things, meanings and values in light of the Jesus Parables!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Bible study takes a few pages from 'Star Wars'
As Pastor of Covenant-First Presbyterian Church in downtown Cincinatti, Russell Smith was an easy sell when asked whether his church would host a Bible study entitled "Gospel According to Star Wars."
"This is our language. We grew up with this," said Smith, 33, pastor at the church for four years. "With this study, we're saying there are hints of truth, beauty and goodness in the story that can bring us back to the biblical story." It doesn't hurt that the May 19 opening of the final installment of the "Star Wars" series coincides with the 12-week study, which focuses on the original trilogy, Episodes IV (1977), V (1980) and VI (1983), and concludes June 29. It is believed to be the only Bible study of its kind in the region.
Beliefnet.com, a religion information Web site, devotes an entire section to "Star Wars" and connections people have drawn between the world's religions and the films. Several Web sites focus on the study of Jediism, including www.forceacademy.com. The April 26, 1999, edition of Time, with the cover story "Star Wars: The Complete Guide to the Phantom Menace," included an article called, "George Lucas talks to Bill Moyers about the spiritual side of the Force."
Francis Ford Coppola once joked that Lucas should organize the Jedi faith as a religion. Lucas told the British Broadcasting Corp., "I remember (Coppola) saying: 'With religion, you really have power.' I told him: 'Forget it. I don't have any interest in power.' The Journal of Religion and Film (unomaha.edu/jrf) has more than 10 archived articles that cite "Star Wars." In 2001, an e-mail campaign urged people in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Great Britain to mark Jedi as their religion on the census. About 70,000 people in Australia did so, 0.37 percent of the country's population.
More of Value as InteractiveMediaForum.Com Reveals the Source!
Discuss these things, meanings and values in light of the Jesus Parables!
As Pastor of Covenant-First Presbyterian Church in downtown Cincinatti, Russell Smith was an easy sell when asked whether his church would host a Bible study entitled "Gospel According to Star Wars."
"This is our language. We grew up with this," said Smith, 33, pastor at the church for four years. "With this study, we're saying there are hints of truth, beauty and goodness in the story that can bring us back to the biblical story." It doesn't hurt that the May 19 opening of the final installment of the "Star Wars" series coincides with the 12-week study, which focuses on the original trilogy, Episodes IV (1977), V (1980) and VI (1983), and concludes June 29. It is believed to be the only Bible study of its kind in the region.
Beliefnet.com, a religion information Web site, devotes an entire section to "Star Wars" and connections people have drawn between the world's religions and the films. Several Web sites focus on the study of Jediism, including www.forceacademy.com. The April 26, 1999, edition of Time, with the cover story "Star Wars: The Complete Guide to the Phantom Menace," included an article called, "George Lucas talks to Bill Moyers about the spiritual side of the Force."
Francis Ford Coppola once joked that Lucas should organize the Jedi faith as a religion. Lucas told the British Broadcasting Corp., "I remember (Coppola) saying: 'With religion, you really have power.' I told him: 'Forget it. I don't have any interest in power.' The Journal of Religion and Film (unomaha.edu/jrf) has more than 10 archived articles that cite "Star Wars." In 2001, an e-mail campaign urged people in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Great Britain to mark Jedi as their religion on the census. About 70,000 people in Australia did so, 0.37 percent of the country's population.
More of Value as InteractiveMediaForum.Com Reveals the Source!
Discuss these things, meanings and values in light of the Jesus Parables!
