The continuing series of posts on faith, business, and corporate law at theConglomerate has produced some very insightful commentary. I want to focus on something Sarah Duggin said in the latest post:
Perhaps we also need to involve theologians in this conversation. Michael Naughton makes an excellent point that, at least for believers, faith should be an integral part of corporate life. But it is also true that business decisions are often complex and that what is “right and good” in many situations is far from clear. Unfortunately, I have found little on a “theology of the firm,” although books such as Tom Chappell’s “The Soul of a Business” are certainly helpful. It seems to me that there is much work to be done -- in theology as well as in business and law.
I am deeply skeptical of bringing most theologians into debates over the role of faith in the workplace or the boardroom. I derive that belief from what I regard as the leading work on the "theology of the firm"; namely, Michael Novak's magisterial Toward a Theology of the Corporation. (I reviewed Novak's book many years ago, in this post.)
Novak observes that most theologians share a deep suspicion of capitalism. Novak attributes their opposition to capitalism to two main sources: ignorance and antique world views. Church leaders and theologians tend to be poorly trained in economics and inexperienced with the world of economic reality. Many also "are likely to inherit either a pre-capitalist or a frankly socialist set of ideals about political economy." As a result, "Church leaders are more likely to err in this territory [i.e., economic justice] than in most others." (p. 59.)
In any event, it seems to me that no discussion of a theology of the firm can get very far without engaging Novak's work.
