Corporate Chaplains: Will Your Boss Take Over Pastoring & Ministering?
Marketplace Chaplains USA, based in Dallas, Texas, is America's biggest provider of corporate chaplains, employing 2,100 of them at 300 companies in 46 states. The company was founded in 1984 but has enjoyed its most rapid growth over the past six years: it has doubled in size since 2001 and is currently adding a new client every seven days. Its customers range from banks to construction companies to Tyson's main rival, Pilgrim's Pride.
Corporate Chaplains of America, which is based in Wake Forest, North Carolina, is both newer and smaller: it was founded in 1996 and has 100 full-time chaplains on its books who minister to 75,000 workers in 24 states. But it is also booming. Dwayne Reece, a spokesman, says that the firm would like to have 1,000 chaplains ministering to 1m workers in six or seven years' time. Both companies talk excitedly about going global. Marketplace Chaplains expanded into Mexico and Puerto Rico this year, and has high hopes for the British market. Corporate Chaplains has a client who wants it to expand into China.
Source: The Economist
This development is itself part of a larger trend in America in which conservative evangelicals are moving out of the backwoods and into the boardrooms: their average levels of education and income are fast approaching the national average. As conservative evangelicals acquire more corporate power, they are bringing their personal religious beliefs and attitudes with them:
Evangelicals have become much more visible in the boardroom as the South prospered and people became more willing to mingle work and faith. Prominent business figures such as John Tyson, a chicken magnate, and Wayne Huizinga, a serial entrepreneur, now talk openly about their faith. Evangelical businessmen form networks such as the Business Leadership and Spirituality Network. And a growing number of bosses are trying to incorporate Evangelical principles into the operation of their businesses. Chick-fil-A, a fast-food chain, refuses to open on Sundays and holds devotional services at its corporate headquarters every Monday. And Interstate Batteries, a Texan company, helps its employees to go on missions.
Source The Economist
These examples are nothing new —- Chick-fil-A has been doing this for a long time — but we might start seeing similar behavior from other corporations as well. A couple of other important social trends appear to be involved here as well:
- Conservative Christian support for unfettered capitalism and corporate culture
- Political and social alliances between conservative Christians and corporations
- Nondenominationalism in conservative Protestantism
- Antisecularism, in that the independence of corporations from religion is undermined
A number of important questions can be raised about corporations' growing involvement in providing religious or spiritual instruction, guidance, and support to their employees:
- Will they favor Christianity, whether directly or indirectly?
- Will corporate chaplains be accountable to any larger religious body?
- Will any provision be made for secular and humanist employees?
- Will conversations remain private or will corporations gain more knowledge about employee's inner lives?
- Will chaplains provide an independent moral perspective, or just shill for capitalism, consumerism, and corporatism?
- Will chaplains' loyalty lie with their religion, the employees, the corporation they work at, or the corporation they work for?
- Will chaplains use their influence to sway employees' political beliefs?
I notice that on the web site for Marketplace Chaplains USA they make a point of explaining to potential clients that use of their chaplain services provides a strong, positive financial return:
Human Resource industry statistics indicate the return on a dollar invested in employee care ranges from $5.00 — $16.00. Although it may not be possible to exactly quantify program impact, positive results will be seen in a number of areas important to every company: Improved employee attitude, morale and teamwork; Increased loyalty and commitment to company goals; Reduced employee conflict; Improved workplace safety; Decreased fraud; Decreased absenteeism; Increased productivity; Reduced turnover cost.
So the first argument on behalf of company chaplains isn't any positive spiritual or religious benefits to the employees, but the idea that it will save the company money — and that's the fundamental interest/goal not only for this organization, but any company that pays for their services. It's not the well-being of the employees that matters so much as how much money can be saved by the presence of religious authority figures who might provide some measure of spiritual legitimation to the work environment.
I also notice that Marketplace Chaplains is exclusively Christian — they don't deny that they are solely "a cross-denominational Christian organization" without any Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Humanist chaplains. If any employees actually want someone from a non-Christian perspective, they are put in the position of having to make a special request. People don't like to stand out in the crowd even in the best of times, never mind when they are already having enough problems to justify wanting the help of a chaplain, which suggests that non-Christian employees will be put at a real disadvantage.
The services offered by corporate chaplains aren't just counseling, though. They include the full range of services that would be provided by the priests, pastors, and ministers in a person's church. Would you like to get married by your company's chaplain? I shudder to think about how obsessively involved with a company I'd have to be in order to even contemplate that, but clearly corporations are expecting it.
Corporate chaplains will even visit you or your family members if they end up in jail — but do you necessarily want your employer to learn if you or any family members are incarcerated for any reason? I have read the word "confidential" twice on the site, but only twice and read no guarantees or forms of accountability to ensure that confidentiality exists. To be fair, even your pastor isn't legally bound to keep conversations confidential, but I have trouble believing that you can invest more confidence in someone your employer is paying to talk to you. I certainly can't think of any reason to trust a large corporation to be the appropriate place to turn to for spiritual or religious guidance.
Comments
To be fair, even your pastor isn’t legally bound to keep conversations confidential, but I have trouble believing that you can invest more confidence in someone your employer is paying to talk to you. I certainly can’t think of any reason to trust a large corporation to be the appropriate place to turn to for spiritual or religious guidance.]]]……………..
A number of years ago, I was employed by a major aerospace corporation. I was working in a space above a false ceiling installing computer network cables. I encountered a cable which piqued my curiosity, and followed it. Guess what? It was connected to a hidden camera monitoring the mens room. I’ll give you one guess where the other end went to.
Hmm, sounds like the Christians are taking their dollars for blessings into the corporate arena. I only thought they did this sort of thing in their mega churches. I wonder if this means we’ll see a McBlessings on every street corner in the future?
Would you like to get married by your company’s chaplain? I shudder to think about how obsessively involved with a company I’d have to be in order to even contemplate that, but clearly corporations are expecting it.
Ah, but you could combine employee weddings with the annual summer company picnic! The company could provide the BBQ meal, the attendees would have something more than softball to look forward to, and everyone would have a great time! Of course, you’d have to explain Cousin Jimmy’s getting drunk and throwing up all over the boss when you returned from your honeymoon…
I work for a pretty large corporate employer. They offer all sorts of odd benefits–including such rare things as “adoption assistance” and “pet insurance.”
Like a lot of companies, we underwent some job cuts a few years back; and we currently are in the midsts of a company sale–that’s fairly large in scope. The company is offering “change counseling” to the employees if they want it. I think that if some of this counseling was offered from a religious perspective, it probably wouldn’t bother me. I agree it would have to be interfaith in nature; but I acknowledge that there is a big difference in counseling a person of faith and a person who is not a believer.
For example, if I wanted to attend marriage counseling–I probably _wouldn’t_ go to a pastor-type of counselor. But if I was a person of faith, I would probably feel better talking to someone who could understand where I’m coming from as I face my issue.
Now, as far as I know, my company steers clear of any sort of religious involvement–and I also am OK with that. In fact, I really appreciate it. I’m just wondering if it would actually bother me if I found out that part of the change counseling team catered to religious people as well. And I’m not sure that it would.
“I encountered a cable which piqued my curiosity, and followed it. Guess what? It was connected to a hidden camera monitoring the mens room.”
Ron, do you know if there was a similar camera monitoring the women’s room?
Dave, No, there was not. Most of the women at this corp were salaried. The facility I referred to was for hourly shop employees. The hourly women used the salaried facility’s.The main reason I posted this was to show the warm feelings I got whenever I thought about this company’s concern for my well being. Just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If a corp hires a chaplain, you can bet the baby’s milk money that their only concern is the bottom line.
Austin, is there a list of companies that you know of which uses these chaplain services, or are headed up by extreme evangelicals?
I’d be interested to have such a list, because I’d like to vote against the practice with my dollars, by taking my business elsewhere.
I don’t have a list of all companies that have chaplains - I’m not sure that would be possible, given the fact that there are several chaplain-providers and some use internal chaplains. Marketplace Chaplains has a list of their clients, though, which is a start. Beyond that, I would recommend focusing on companies where you spend any significant money and researching to see if they have chaplains. You may end up spending small amounts with companies that do, but it’s a lot of work to research them all — you might end up spending more to research than you do with the company itself.
The mafia has its corrupt priests. Corporations now have corrupt spiritual counselors.
John:
Perhaps these company can generate additional profit selling indulgences in that case?
“Change councelling” = corporate speak for “we’re ******* you over and we’re paying a professional to brainwipe you into accepting it”.
I notice much the same religiously corporate attitude in pro sports. While watching the Denver Broncos play the Buffalo Bills yesterday I was annoyed when one of the commentators, Randy Cross a likeable guy I’ve followed since the glory days of the 49ers, mention about some player’s “godgiven talents.” This was mentioned twice. Unfortunately one of the Bill’s players was severely injured and in today’s reports had the third and fourth cervical vertabraes removed and there is question if he will walk again. So if all of these talents are “godgiven” and are talents specifically applied to the violent game of football then why aren’t the vertebrae c-3 and c-4 not equally gifted? If this “talent” is part of the physical body then why aren’t all the parts in this god endowed body not adequately protected?
Of course it is just bull**** thought and I didn’t hear Randy Cross talking about the inferior protection of God. I did see the Bill’s all kneeling in prayer to assist their fallen teammate. If God has protected this poor guy then why couldn’t he have just gotten back up immediately and begun playing again? Because he lives in the real world. A world spectacularly and constantly denied by the religious.
Isn’t it enough that corporations want your time and money? Let’s not give them our souls, too.
This is so, so, so Republican.
Although “chaplains in the workplace” seems to have a bend toward “religion,” the chaplains actually do care about the whole person.
Before electing a final verdict, perhaps you might want to talk to a chaplain to find out what they actually do rather than just read an article.
What you will find is that they do keep your confidence, and they are not allowed to share with company owners/employers any information that is shared with them in confidence.
Their “services” are selected voluntarily. Employees are the ones who choose. The chaplains are there because they care, — and they really do care.
We hope you have someone who cares for you.
It is very sad how many people, including the author of this article, are so readily willing to speak firmly from a place of such complete and utter ignorance.
Chaplains only interact with the corporations in that they must log statistics, this does NOT include names. Further the Chaplains are interfaith chaplains. While most of us are some form of Christian we will readily, happily, and non-judgmentally work with a person of any faith, or like the author of this article, we will also work with those who have no faith (in man or god).
You mentioned marriage, and the corporate chaplains. People who are not highly religious do not always have anyone they actually know well. This means that they would have no one, other than their company chaplain, who can marry them. Our ability to join in marriage is for that reason.
Further, in your ignorance, you failed to find out that Chaplains, Marketplace chaplains included, DO NOT talk about religion unless it is first brought up by the person who has come to visit us.
Chaplains do a LOT for people, we counsel, and work with people in some of the most trying times in their lives, and we do it all within the confines of YOUR personal religious needs…including those who have no faith tradition, or even no belief in God.
Someone above mentioned God-given talent. Then said if it is a god given body why didn’t God protect the body more. If this is not obvious, well, I am sorry for you. The solution is simple. God gave it to you, but YOU are still responsible for what YOU do to YOUR body. The god you seek would be one that, like President Oboma, would control your every action, control everything in your life. That would be no god at all, it would just be evil.
I beg of you all, get the facts before you believe such secular anti-faith garb as this article.
And what independent guarantees do employees have of this?
What, precisely, does a chaplain corporation mean by this?
And what do Christian corporate chaplains have to offer people of radically different religious faiths or of not religious faith at all? What does your training as a chaplain provide that secular counselors cannot?
This begs the question of why they need a chaplain, never mind a corporate chaplain, in the first place. Maybe people who aren’t very religious are in a good place and don’t need their employer suggesting, subtly or overtly, that they need more religion in their lives.
Being a chaplain automatically brings religion into the discussion. That’s unavoidable when one’s job title is religious.
Do they do anything necessary?
This raises the question of why corporations feel the need or authority to provide for employees religious needs.
Such people commonly have no religious needs at all. Your failure to recognize this is part of the problem with expecting Christians to provide for the “religious” needs of people who aren’t Christian.
That’s your religious belief, which suggests that you have trouble stepping outside your religious beliefs when answering people’s questions. That seems to validate my concern about having Christians do this job, or even having corporations take over this job at all.
Except that you didn’t actually point to anything I wrote that is incorrect. Instead you tried to address the concerns I raised, but in a way that demonstrated that you either didn’t really understand the concern or in a way that actually validated it.
If this is the quality of service provided by corporate chaplains, it would seem that my concerns were vastly understated when compared to the actual problems at hand.
Wow, Austin, a bit salty!
I have been a community chaplain for over ten years. Our church tasks me as part of my responsibilities to serve our community through the oversight of our benevolent fund, clothing and food bank as well as officiating at numerous weddings and funerals which includes pre-marital and grief counseling. All is provided without cost to our community and without any overt religious pressure. When people request assistance I don’t shove religion down their throat. I think you need to talk to a chaplain or two and discover how much these folks desire to serve others regardless of their religion or not.
Bev
And where does the “chaplain” part come in, if there is no religion? What exactly are your “counseling” credentials and qualifications? Any degrees in counseling or psychology?
Are you qualified to provide assistance?
I hate to break the news to you, but a “desire” to help others isn’t enough. Fundamentalist Christians “desire” to save me from hell.
I’ll point out that you don’t actually address any of my concerns about corporate chaplains about — not a single one. You don’t disagree with any, don’t offer any arguments against any, and don’t agree that any are legitimate. All in all, your comment is barely relevant, for all that you address the issue.
So do you have any comment on what I actually wrote? You know - “chaplains” who provide “religious counseling” for pay within a corporate structure and while serving corporate leaders?
Hello Austin,
In reply to your response:
The term I often use instead of community chaplain is the term community resource worker as this is better understood by many and perhaps more correctly details what I actually do. If I say “chaplain,” people may have many ideas to no idea at all so I have found the more generic term helpful.
Also, I have taken a Masters of Divinity degree which requires a number of courses in psychology and counseling. Beyond that I continue to take ongoing training at various venues, christian and otherwise.
As for being qualified to provide assistance, I believe a caring heart along with my professional qualifications might indicate “yes.” The folks I serve certainly seem to think so as I have received numerous words of appreciation for the service not only myself but our church provides to our community.
Bev
Hello Austin,
I thought I would briefly respond to your concerns mentioned in the article:
* Will they favor Christianity, whether directly or indirectly?
Probably yes although the chaplains I know show respect to other points of view. If they can’t they probably won’t be a chaplain.
* Will corporate chaplains be accountable to any larger religious body?
Chaplains are normally accountable to their denomination as that is the group that usually ordains them.
* Will any provision be made for secular and humanist employees?
I would say yes. Chaplains in large part perform a social worker role and much of that is not specifically religious in nature.
* Will conversations remain private or will corporations gain more knowledge about employee’s inner lives?
All conversations are to be private and not intended for employers to know. If it was otherwise employees would not talk with chaplains for fear that their private information would be passed on.
* Will chaplains provide an independent moral perspective, or just shill for capitalism, consumerism, and corporatism?
My observation is that chaplains seek to provide an independent moral perspective.
* Will chaplains’ loyalty lie with their religion, the employees, the corporation they work at, or the corporation they work for?
I would say yes to all of the above. It is a matter of balance. Chaplains are mature individuals who have demonstrated competency in another field prior to taking on this assignment
* Will chaplains use their influence to sway employees’ political beliefs?
I don’t know. I personally have no desire to sway anyone’s political views when I am in a position of influence. Even privately I don’t discuss my political beliefs with many people.
Well I hope this helps somewhat.
Bev