CurrentCommentary
Bosses thatpray
By Uwe Siemon-Netto,UPI Religion Correspondent
WASHINGTON, (UPI) -- The ethical meltdownin some international corporations notwithstanding, business leadersseem to be more religious than the rest of the population, surveysin the U.S. and Europe show.
The difference is most striking in Germany,where 70 percent of top executives questioned by the reputableAllensbach Institute said they were religious people. This comparedwith 48 percent of the general public in western Germany and 23percent in the formerly communist East.
In the United States, interviews with arandom national sample of 500 company owners, officers, executives,directors or managers revealed a remarkably high influence offaith on their daily decisions at work.
In a poll commissioned by Central LutheranChurch of Minneapolis and other faith-based organizations, 90percent of these business leaders said they were "spiritual,"although only 54 percent went as far as to describe themselvesas "religious."
However, 74 percent told pollsters of LawrenceResearch of Santa Ana, Calif., that they prayed to God for inspirationin their jobs.
When faced with serious business decisions,33 percent consult a religious or spiritual leader. However, twicethat many -- 60 percent -- talk these issues over with their wivesor husbands.
Almost all business executives -- 96 percent-- believe in good and evil. By a narrow margin, they even outdothe population at large in their faith in God: 91 vs. 90 percent;the latter figure is taken from a 2001 Gallup poll.
These results exceed church or synagoguemembership by a stunning margin. Only 72 percent of the bossesqueried belonged to a religious congregation.
Slightly more executives than other Americansbelieve heaven (84 vs. 83 percent) and the devil (69 vs. 68 percent),and attend religious services at least once a week (47 vs. 42percent), while significantly more expect a day of judgment (80vs. 52 percent).
Evidently, the executives interviewed hada higher awareness of sin (89 vs. 86 percent), while fully agreeingwith the rest of the population on other expectations for thehereafter: Life after death (70 percent), hell (71 percent) andthe resurrection of the dead (65 percent).
The study is especially remarkable as itwas launched by a huge Lutheran congregation of 3,200 memberswith a special interest in ministering to the downtown businesscommunity of Minneapolis.
Its senior pastor, Craig Lewis, had learneddevelopment banking in mid-career "to help all people benefitfrom America's prosperity," according to his congregation.Lewis, a Harvard graduate and a former executive assistant tothe presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,is an African American.
It is rare for an individual congregationto commission a nationwide study, particularly on such a specializedissue. In the present case, it yielded remarkable insights intothe spiritual life of what is considered a highly worldly vocation.
Three out of 10 business leaders keep aBible or other religious books at work, according to the pollsters.Of those, half read these texts at least two or three times aweek. A full 59 percent of the polled bosses reported to havediscussed religious concepts with employees.
The patterns of prayer, scripture readingsand discussions of religious concepts in the workplace "areprobably well established, as indicated by positions and longevityof the sampled executives," the research group reported.
Bosses evidently prefer hiring job candidateswith church affiliations rather than those without a religiouscommitment, even if the latter has done better in college. Thepollsters gave executives the following two samples of applicantsfor a position in their sales department:
"Mr. A. graduated from a top universitywith an A minus average. He is single, well dressed and articulate.He worked his way through college in a fast-food restaurant. Hementioned he's not particularly religious.
"Mr. B graduated from a state collegewith a B average. He is newly married, looks nice and is soft-spoken.He worked during the summer in his father's business. He mentionedhe attends church every week."
Nationwide, 51 of the respondents said theywould hire the churchgoer with a B average, and only 27 percentpreferred the religiously disinterested A minus graduate. Curiously,though, in Minneapolis/St. Paul, a predominantly Lutheran andCatholic area, a reverse response was given: 39 percent wouldrather take the a-religious candidate, while 37 percent wouldhire his competitor.
While religious beliefs or spiritualityclearly play a significant role in America's corporate life, thisdoes not necessarily translate into ethical behavior. "Haveyou ever seen someone in your company do something that may havebeen legal, but in you was unethical?"
More than half -- 55 percent -- respondedthey have. But 12 percent said they would usually keep quiet insuch cases and another three percent expressed no opinion on howto react under such circumstances.