Christian Fundamentalist Extremism: Effects on The Business Environment
Social institutions are a valuable field of study for the aspiring multi-national manager. Thanks to the increasing complexity of U.S. culture, an understanding of them is also useful for domestic managers. “A social institution can be defined as “a complex of positions, roles, norms, and values lodged in particular types of social structures and organizing relatively stable patterns of human resources with respect to fundamental problems in…sustaining viable societal structures within a given environment. “1 The three kinds of social institutions that are considered to have the greatest impact on business environments are the kind of economy that drives the political system (e.g., socialism or capitalism), the level, or progress, of the society along the lines of industrialization or modernization, and the type, or types, of religion that are predominate in the culture. Social institutions have cultural impacts that affect people individually, and collectively, and that also affect organizations that operate within that culture. Andrea Picou describes these affects using a framework of three basic dimensions. They are the regulative, cognitive, and normative dimensions. This paper will focus on the effects of the religious social institution broadly known as Christianity on these three dimensions of the U.S. culture, along with their effects on the U.S. business environment.
The regulative dimension is the dimension of the cultural effect of the social institution on regulations that affect individuals and businesses. Christianity has a cultural effect on regulations in the U.S. that affect both. Laws in the U.S. regarding violent crimes, and theft, generally conform to cultural norms that are supported by Christian ethics. Laws that affect civil institutions among parties, particularly those affecting marriages and families are more heavily influenced by Christian beliefs grounded in modern interpretations of New Testament teachings. New laws and regulations are regularly proposed that are ideologically consistent with fundamentalist interpretations of Christianity. There has been a recent increase in the successful passage of some of these laws, but others have been successfully fought by other parts of the U.S. culture. Tension has been high with regard to the Christian effect on regulations of homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, divorce, the death penalty and other issues that affect individuals, communities, and the business environment. Business organizations that make strong efforts to diversify their labor pools may find additional human resource challenges presented when operating in environments where Christian fundamentalism is pervasive.
The cognitive dimension is the dimension of the cultural effect of the social institution on individual learning, also known as cognition, but more generally on the overall educational or learning environment fostered by the culture. Christianity has cultural effects on the content that individuals learn, on how they learn (cognition), and on the overall learning environment. This impact of religion on the individual is also relevant to business managers, marketers, and business strategists. Because religion is based on belief in the supernatural, and not on fact or observation, the beliefs of religions expand beyond or contradict those beliefs that could reasonably be obtained from study, or science. The willingness to accept beliefs that are not based in fact is an example of the impact that religion has on the cognition of adherents. Religious extremism, where all facts that contradict the religious beliefs or the teachings of a religious leader, are disregarded should be highly suspect in its affect on the cognitive ability of the labor pool.
The earlier, and longer, an individual is immersed in a culture of religious extremism, the greater the expectation could be that their ability to engage in fact-based reasoning, and judgment based upon observation, could be impaired. It would also be reasonable to expect a greater tendency toward belief in rumor, conspiracy, disinformation or other non-fact-based sources of knowledge, as opposed to logic or fact-based arguments. These could be detrimental to human resource recruitment, and subsequent training efforts. Additional testing may also be necessary for skilled labor and degreed candidates whose educations were derived from non-accredited institutions. Demographic information on educational achievement could be weighed against the outcomes of standardized tests, and graduation rates from accredited programs, in evaluating the potential impact on new plant locations. Cost projections for additional training programs should also be evaluated.
The consumer-behavior of religious extremist groups may differ from others in their preference for carefully censored educational materials or outright refusal to purchase specific books, or take certain classes or seminars. Some may flatly refuse to learn any science or history that contradicts their beliefs. This affects organizations directly through individual consumer preferences. In a specific example of the potential benefit of this type of behavior to a specific organization, the Christian educational products publisher, A Beka, has seen steady growth in the popularity of its materials designed for the “Christian education” of elementary through high school students. In a specific example of the potential harm of this type of behavior, regionally-accredited community colleges, as well as public and private four-year universities, must compete with a number of religious institutions that present themselves as colleges and universities, but that may not meet the same accreditation standards. U.S. Census Bureau data that relies upon the individual to report the education level that household members have achieved does not appear to take the quality of that education into consideration.
The normative dimension is the dimension of the cultural effect of the social institution in prescribing specific cultural norms, or normal, behavior. Christianity in its broad sense reverberates throughout U.S. society in prescribing cultural norms, and what is considered normal behavior. Cultural norms, like attendance at worship services, make it a normal sight to see a procession of cars to, and from, churches on a Sunday morning. Similarly, it is not abnormal to see symbols of Christianity, like crosses and fish, adorning everyday objects, automobiles or represented as jewelry. These are norms. In addition, there are more general norms that are considered conducive to the function of civilized society and business. The individual in a society dominated by this type of religion would be expected to find it normal to be motivated work for money, to not steal, to not vandalize, and to behave ethically with peers and customers.
Individuals within a culture dominated by Christianity in the U.S. may find their behavior prescribed in great detail, with the more fundamentalist sects ascribing increasingly to approval of marriage solely between one man and one woman, and frowning on behaviors outside the cultural norms. Those behaviors considered outside the norm may include non-“nuclear” family lifestyles, homosexuality, interracial marriage, divorce, failure to attend church, use of birth control and more, depending upon the denomination or “sect” of Christianity predominate in the area. In “family-oriented” sub-cultures, the roles of women and men in marriage, work and household may be more clearly defined, and women may not be readily accepted in leadership or political roles. Such definitions and expectations of gender-based roles are factors in environments that contribute to domestic violence.2
Individual consumers are directly affected by cultural pressures to purchase gifts at Christmastime, and to take time off of work to be with family and attend worship services on Sundays and major holidays. This affects organizations that manufacture or sell retail goods, and affects others through availability of a labor pool on religious days. Christian commitments to tithing, networking within their faith, and to charitable giving also impact the business environment, presenting businesses with both obstacles and opportunities.
As domestic violence increases in environments where gender roles are clearly defined by cultural norms, increases in Christian fundamentalism will impact emergency service medical facilities and providers, law enforcement-related industries, and those that provide psycho-social services to victims by increasing consumer activity; while those that cater to intact, functional consumer behavior might be adversely impacted. Loss of work-time due to injuries sustained by the 25% of the female population currently victimized by domestic violence in the U.S. impacts the labor availability in these cultures, as well as the reliability of that labor, and demand for additional sick days or medical leave. Due to the tendency for domestic violence to be self-perpetuating in these environments some insurance carriers already view it as a pre-existing condition and may deny coverage for future injuries. This can also negatively impact businesses by way of increased insurance costs and lost work time of trained employees.
The perception that the “group” of Christian extremists, and what they perceive to be Christian norms, extends beyond the actual denomination, sect or even the broader group of Christians in general to encompass the entire society creates a volatile environment where members of the culture may attempt to impose cultural norms on others in the general social environment. This is a current problem being faced in the U.S. Even the perception of this situation could negatively impact foreign, state, and local investment. Recent controversies over the community center near the site of the 9/11 disaster, the recent controversy surrounding a proposed Koran-burning in Florida, increased incidents of hate speech and hate crime associated with Christianity, and political candidates espousing extremist views are examples.
Christianity is a religious social institution that impacts the societal environment of individuals and businesses. The general impact of Christianity, in its broadest sense, on the culture is one that supports a sound work ethic conducive to business. Fundamentalist Christian Extremism has more negative potential consequences for individuals and businesses, therefore additional attention should be paid to the composition of the demographic in any proposed plant location.
The overall impact on cognition is negative, as is the impact on education, and the literacy of the resulting workforce, however the overall impact is supportive of ethical behaviors, themselves products of a form of cognition. The most deleterious impacts on cognition would be expected from those of fundamentalist isolation, and exclusionary educational approaches, which would be harmful to the quality of education and labor literacy.
The overall impact on the normative dimension would be positive in that the culture is generally supportive of work, wealth accumulation, and a structured society. The hazards to the normative dimension are presented by a nationalistic approach to the religion, and subsequent imposition of fundamentalist extremist religious norms across a broad range of the population, resulting in oppression and bigotry.
The overall impact on the regulatory dimension is supportive of ethical laws, and regulations, however the imposition of religion through law, as is currently proposed in areas where extremism is widespread, is a potential hazard to the individual and business environment.
The overall effect of Christianity on the social environment for individuals and businesses appears to be positive when retained in a context that is separate from, and does not interfere with, education, state or federal regulatory bodies, and which is not confused with nationalism. The prevalence of fundamentalist Christianity in its extreme form in the vicinity of a proposed plant should be considered in projecting costs related to human resource recruitment, evaluation, training, and retention. In areas where domestic violence rates are high, additional resources for preventive mental health care should be considered, and the costs included in the planned budget. Diversity training to overcome bigotry would also be a reasonable consideration.
Works Cited
1Turner, J. H. 1997, The Institutional Order, New York; Addison-Wesley p. 6
2UNICEF, “Innocenti Digest No . 6 – J u n e 2 0 0 0 Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls.” Unicef Innocenti Research Centre. United Nations Children’s Fund, n.d. Web. 12 Sep 2010.
http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest6e.pdf
Additional Resources
Schedler, Kuno, and Isabella Proeller. “PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AS A CULTURAL PHENOMENON. REVITALIZING SOCIETAL CULTURE IN INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH.” International Public Management Review 8.1 (2007): Web. 12 Sep 2010.
Recommended Reading
Thompson, Lindsay J.,June 22 2004. Moral Leadership in a Post-Modern World. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies
http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-leadership/290765-1.html
Victoria John (Ritterbush)
From “Chapter 3 Discussion Post, Multinational Management, Mang228, Fall 2010” Delgado Community College, Instructor Andrea Picou
Note: This was a quick essay that could be developed further with more citations and links to current, and specific events. This was not required for this assignment.
One in five of you women, and one in about 14 of you men, will be victims of domestic abuse. Domestic violence is not the only kind of abuse, but you can’t avoid what you don’t know about. Emotional and psychological abuse are two kinds. Stalking, neglect, and financial abuse are also on that list. We are all responsible for where we place our trust.
Life Beyond Mom 