Finding Role for Religion in Workplace : Trends: Christians in Commerce, which has a chapter in O.C., promotes principled stance in business.
The ethical affronts were typical of those in the business world: For Art Villalovos, manager of a wholesale gift firm, it was an invitation to enjoy a bargain on some equipment of dubious ownership. For financial consultant Greg Aitkens, it was the flagrant adultery of some office associates. For housewares salesman Jim Foudy, it was pressure from a manufacturer’s agent to change his product line.
The Orange County men resented these situations and the tensions they created in the workplace. And they felt the workplace friction was at odds with their spiritual lives.
But Villalovos, Aitkens and Foudy--all Roman Catholics--say that rather than becoming demoralized by the situations, they were able to use their religious faith to help them cope.
They are among the two dozen members of the Newport Beach chapter of Christians in Commerce, a businessmen’s group with about 500 members nationwide. The men in the organization use prayer and discussion groups to help them maintain a principled stance in the marketplace.
Today’s business culture, they say, is in dire need of moral direction. Members tick off the faults of the marketplace, which they say mirror those of society at large: dishonesty, greed, a hunger for power, self-centeredness, an undue emphasis on materialism.
“As I look at the marketplace . . . there’s very much an orientation of getting ahead, and maybe getting ahead at all costs,” says Aitkens of Mission Viejo. “Christians in Commerce tries to have an impact on that. We always ask ourselves if Jesus were sitting in our boardroom, would he be agreeing with the decisions we’re making here?”
At 7 a.m. each Tuesday, members of the local chapter gather at a Newport Beach church to pray and discuss business ethics, often breaking into three- or four-man “guilds” that bring members in similar professions together.
Their meetings often lead to action. Villalovos, who lives in Mission Viejo, refused to buy the bargain equipment, which he later learned should have been in receivership. Aitkens quit his job of 11 years in protest of what he said was misguided management and tolerance of office hanky-panky. And Foudy refused to rise to the bait of the arrogant manufacturer.
“He knew that his company brought me much more income, so he used that [to pressure me],” said Foudy, of Laguna Niguel. “But I bit my tongue. . . . Without my involvement in CIC, I think I would’ve lost my cool and gotten into an argument with him. Discussing it with my Christian buddies gave me peace of mind.”
The group is mostly Roman Catholic but includes Protestants. And although the priest from Aitkens’ church once spoke at a meeting, the group functions without the guidance of the clergy.
The organization reflects a nationwide trend of Christians meeting outside the direct purview of the church in efforts to extend their faith into their daily lives, say those who study the sociology of religion.
“There has been a big growth of para-church organizations, a collection of people who cross demographic and faith boundaries to deal with focused issues,” says Donald E. Miller, a professor of religion at USC. “Baby boomers are pragmatic and don’t need the umbrella of a particular faith to do this, and they don’t need clergy to supervise what they’re doing. I call it the democratization of religion--giving power back to lay people.”
Christians in Commerce was founded in Minneapolis by three Roman Catholic businessmen in 1983. Co-founder Louis Grams, a lay pastor, says he had been continually approached by men who “saw a connection between their home and church life but couldn’t see a connection with their work lives. They thought their jobs were at war with their families and church, and they found little support from their churches.”
The group is not about networking business contacts, its members say.
Through weekend retreats and conferences, Bible study and discussion groups, members seek to apply Christian ethics to everyday marketplace interaction, according to administrative director Robert Hughes.
The group has remained male-only, he says, because of its foundation in the weekend retreats. “We couldn’t do the Challenge Weekend, in terms of tone, with women,” Hughes said. “As we build relationships among ourselves, there are some intimate situations that come up that men need help with that wouldn’t be appropriate to share with women. And these are not things that women would be comfortable speaking about to a group of men.”
Hughes adds that plans are underway to develop a separate women’s branch of the organization. “Half the work force consists of women, so we have a huge job on our hands [to organize],” he said.
“Our actions speak louder than words. How are we treating our peers? How are we relating to our clients and our bosses?” Hughes said, noting that meetings focus on real-life marketplace issues.
“Say there was a problem with dishonesty or ‘creative accounting,’ ” Hughes said. “If one of our men were an executive in a company that was doing that, he’s faced with a situation he can’t overlook. He would go to his guild and get the wisdom of his fellow guild members. And we would pray about it.
“We’re not saying we’re better than anyone else. The reality is that there could be an atheist businessman who has very high ethical standards, and there could be a Christian who doesn’t. We think the market is a good place; we just want to make it better.”
Aitkens, 45, of Mission Viejo, is president of the Newport Beach chapter and director of the southwest region, which includes three chapters in the Phoenix area. On Friday, he is joining six other members on Prayer Tour ‘95, a cross-country bicycle ride whose goal is to raise funds while spreading the word.
Aitkens got involved with the group 10 years ago, after a startling experience during a weekend retreat sponsored by Christians in Commerce. He was sleeping in a small room at Mission San Luis Rey, east of Oceanside, when he says he awoke to see a vivid image: Jesus and the devil engaged in a fistfight above his bed.
“I look on that today as Jesus picking me,” Aitkens says. “That was a distinct sign to me that he wanted me involved in doing things for him as opposed to myself.”
All chapter members have attended Challenge Weekends, in which renewal of their faith is emphasized. Christians in Commerce also produces seminars and a monthly newsletter and, with the Prayer Tour, is attempting its first fund-raising event.
The route stretches from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla., with 150 cities in between. Participants plan to recite a “Prayer for the Marketplace” in each city and hope to get local business leaders to join in the ceremony.
It will be the first long-distance bike trip for Aitkens, who plans to ride from San Diego to Phoenix. He has collected pledges from about two dozen people who will make donations based on his mileage.
Reconciling Christianity with capitalism, of course, can be fraught with ambiguity, as the love-your-enemies philosophy runs head-on into the profit motive.
Take the notion of honesty, says William W. May, a lecturer on business ethics at the USC School of Religion.
“Honesty is a societal norm, and we all applaud it. But honesty has structural limits in the United States, in the sense that we are not required to disclose information in all circumstances,” May says. “Withholding information is quite legitimate, in court settings, in contract labor negotiations.
“So if one were really to take moral imperatives from a faith, the idea of loving others and turning the other cheek could lead to much different kinds of relationships with customers and competitors. The likelihood of that occurring is not strong.”
May points out that the adage “Good ethics are good business” is often not the case in the short run--sales may decline, and people may lose their jobs.
Aitkens and others in Christians in Commerce are aware of this. Recently, Aitkens, after pointing out to a client that a retirement fund was out of compliance with the law, lost the client and a substantial fee.
“I felt I had a reason to abide by the law, and their attorney just wanted to sweep this under the rug,” Aitkens said. “It turned out that another company came along at the invitation of the attorney and took the entire amount and invested it in another company. So for all the work I did, I didn’t get paid at all.
“But in our meetings, we ask ourselves: Where are we, and where does God want us to be? I believe that walking away from that fee is what God would want me to do.”
