{"id":589,"date":"2020-06-15T04:19:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T04:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ksoakes.expressions.syr.edu\/summer2020\/?p=589"},"modified":"2020-06-15T18:59:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T18:59:46","slug":"unit-1-assignment-expanding-the-canon-samantha-danylchuk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ksoakes.expressions.syr.edu\/summer2020\/2020\/06\/15\/unit-1-assignment-expanding-the-canon-samantha-danylchuk\/","title":{"rendered":"Unit 1 Assignment, Expanding the Canon (Samantha Danylchuk)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The author of my article is named Aaron Hicks, and he, with the help of four individuals \u2013 Cassie Price King, Elizabeth H. Rickert, Amanda D. Nelson, and Lucretia McCulley \u2013published Religion and the Workplace: Pluralism, Spirituality, Leadership.<\/em> This is an eBook from EBSCO, and I will be working with the Part II segment of the book for this assignment, which includes Chapters 5 and 6 named \u201cBeing religious differently\u201d and \u201cReligions of the workplace.\u201d Hicks is a professor with an undergraduate degree and graduate coursework in economics, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Ph.D. in religious studies. The author\u2019s religious tradition is Presbyterian (Protestant, Christian). Before he began writing Chapter 1 of this book, Aaron clarified his opinion to the reader by stating how faithful Christians should have no interest in imposing their beliefs or practices upon others and they should want to receive no advantage in public life or the workplace because of their religion.<\/p>\n

The author\u2019s objective in Part II of this section of the text is to offer distinctions, concepts, and comparative examples that demonstrate how religion is present in contemporary workplaces. The audience of this text includes scholars with specialized knowledge in religion, specifically those who have prior background discussing religion and the workplace. This work is intended for both scholars and practitioners, though, because the point that Hicks emphasizes in his introduction before beginning to write is that he intends for his criticisms to be constructive and hopes that \u201censuing debates will contribute to workplace policies and cultures that respect, on equal terms, employees of all backgrounds.\u201d (Hicks, 2003, p. 4)<\/p>\n

The purpose is to analyze current realities in the workplace in relation to religion and spirituality, and Hicks does so by first pointing out how individual and institutional expressions of religion differ. That is, most approaches to religion and spirituality in the workplace often underemphasize religious diversity. Religion in the workplace is often seen as religion of the workplace, and the author makes an important point that the corporate leader cannot play the role of a spiritual guide or guru to his or her workforce. If a single company sponsors or promotes one specific kind of religion, this is questionable. One quote by the author which supports his reasoning and argument on why companies can\u2019t openly express one religion over any other is \u201cIt may be easy for Christians to downplay the significance, for example, of subtle messages in the workplace that convey the privileged status enjoyed by Christian symbols, ideas, or holidays, but for Jewish, Muslim, and atheistic co-workers these messages are overtly present and reinforce their experience of marginalization.\u201d (Hicks, 2003, p. 133) Additionally, public life impacts the workplace as the chapters explain. Religion plays many roles in American society, and many employees who are Christians have admitted that they receive or have received preferential treatment at work and in society. These discussions of spirituality tend to marginalize those who are atheists or adherents of many religious backgrounds, causing those who feel pressured by society to divorce their religious \/ spiritual commitments from all aspects of their public lives.<\/p>\n

Link to eBook:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/libezproxy.syr.edu.libezproxy2.syr.edu\/login?url=http:\/\/search.ebscohost.com\/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=120536&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_C<\/p>\n

Citation:\u00a0Hicks, D. A. (2003).\u00a0Religion and the Workplace\u202f: Pluralism, Spirituality, Leadership<\/i>. Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\n