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Christian Perspectives on Faith at Work: An Empirical Exploration of Faith and Work Associations Across Christian Religious Traditions

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Handbook of Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace

Abstract

While personal experiences and family socialization are likely to influence beliefs and behaviors linking faith to work, religious congregations also are likely to play a prominent role in shaping faith-work connections. Our purpose in this chapter is to draw upon a nationally representative sample of over a thousand working adults to describe the role of Christian congregations in making faith relevant to the workplace. Two variables that have particular relevance to the association of faith and work are the Congregational Entrepreneurial Orientation Scale (CEOS) and the Congregational Faith at Work Scale (CFWS). The CEOS variable assesses the behavior of congregational leaders related to being innovative and demonstrating a willingness to take risks, whereas the CFWS variable assesses the extent to which specific beliefs about faith and work integration are emphasized within a congregation. This chapter reports on the association of these congregational variables, across religious traditions, with work attitudes and behaviors and offers recommendations for future research.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0925907. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Baylor University, One Bear Place #98006, Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    Mitchell J. Neubert

  2. Department of Sociology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97326 , Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    Kevin D. Dougherty

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  1. Mitchell J. Neubert
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Correspondence to Mitchell J. Neubert .

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  1. , Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, One at University Avenue, Fayetteville, 72701, Arkansas, USA

    Judi Neal

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Neubert, M.J., Dougherty, K.D. (2013). Christian Perspectives on Faith at Work: An Empirical Exploration of Faith and Work Associations Across Christian Religious Traditions. In: Neal, J. (eds) Handbook of Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5233-1_4

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