Workplace Chaplains

The New York Times has an article on the growing trend of private companies hiring chaplains for their work sites.  According to the Times:

At most companies, the chaplaincy resembles the military model, which calls for chaplains to serve the religiously diverse community before them, not to evangelize. . . .

The spread of corporate chaplaincy programs, especially out of the Bible Belt to the North, is part of a growing trend among businesses to embrace religion rather than reject it . . . . Executives now look for ways to build a company that adheres to certain Christian values. Some businesses offer Muslim employees a place and the time to pray during work.

Workplace chaplaincies are generally less costly to operate than the more familiar employee assistance program model of counseling and making referrals. Most chaplaincies also go beyond such programs to bring something of the local pastor to the workplace: the person who is on call around the clock to rush to the hospital when an employee has been in a car accident, or to find housing for families burned out of their houses, or to visit a worker’s relative in jail, even to officiate at weddings and funerals.

Given the importance of religion to many workers, this is an interesting idea.  However, I suspect that with the growth in workplace chaplains we'll also see an increase in complaints about religious harassment and other attempts to force a particular religion on employees--much like the complaints that exist in the military and its academies.

JH