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King Looks at Religion and Spirituality in the
Workplace
|
Stephen King |
Should a person's religion and spirituality be part
of his job description? To a point, yes, says Dr. Stephen King,
associate professor of government at Campbell University. King was
the featured speaker at a recent Luncheon Learn session, sponsored
by the Department of Government, History, and Justice.
"If we take away a person's spirituality then we
suffer the disadvantage of not having a complete person in the
workplace," King said.
Employees search for meaning at work. Employers seek
more socially responsible approaches and other ways to motivate and
inspire workers. According to King's research, encouraging religion
and spirituality in the workplace, as long as it doesn't include
overt proselytizing, helps employees find meaning and purpose in
their work and develops a more purposeful organizational vision.
Greater levels of innovation and creativity are also produced.
Religion and spirituality are not viewed as being
the same, however, King said. In regard to the workplace, religion
is viewed more negatively than spirituality, generally thought of as
institutionalized and not personal. Spirituality, on the other hand,
is considered to be a set of values, doctrines, and principles that
guide an individual's life.
In 1997, the Clinton Administration issued a set of new
guidelines governing the rights of religious exercise and expression in the
federal workplace. Some of the guidelines include allowing employees to engage
in private religious expression in personal work areas to the same extent that
they may engage in nonreligious private expression. They also permit employees
to express their religious views to fellow employees even in an attempt to
persuade others of the correctness of their views. However, the guidelines
place limits on religious expression, stating that employees must refrain from
this kind of expression if fellow employees ask that it stop or demonstrate
that it is unwelcome.
"How does this research affect public administrators or
managers?" King asked. "It means that they must constantly balance the public
interest with the free expression of employees, while at the same time being
cognizant of a distinct separation between institutions of church and state.
They must recognize that individuals are whole beings -spirit, soul, and
body-and that all of the person's qualities can and will benefit the public
organization and the public interest."
Stephen King received his Ph.D. in political science from the
University of Missouri-Columbia in 1990. He is currently an associate
professor of Public Administration and has held positions in city and state
government, including the Jefferson City, MO, Department of Social Services.
King has also consulted on matters of educational research and
training for Yorktownuniversity.com, a for profit online educational
institution, and the Community Initiative Task Force for Model Christian
Organizations, an educational offshoot of Kempsville Presbyterian Church in
Virginia Beach, VA. During 2002-2003, he developed and launched Stephen King
Ministries (www.stephenkingministries.org),
which is a speaking and writing ministry focusing on the mission of renewing
the family, reviving the local church, and impacting the community for Jesus
Christ.
In addition to his academic credentials, King is a licensed
minister of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. He has pastored two
churches and engaged in overseas missions. He is the author of the book God
and Caesar: The Biblical Keys to Good Government and Community. His articles
on political, religious, and legal personalities have appeared in the
Encyclopedia of Religion and Politics (2002), and he has also published
articles in several academic journals.
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