美国：谋求虔诚的风潮要抢财神的宝座

Corporate chaplains

Praying for gain 为收益祈祷

Aug 23rd 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C.

From The Economist print edition

A fad for piety infiltrates the realm of Mammon

谋求虔诚的风潮要抢财神的宝座

DOES your job seem pointless? Are problems at home draining your zest for work? Is your boss a blithering idiot? Then why not consult the company chaplain?

你感觉工作毫无意义？家庭问题在拖你工作的后腿？老板是个喋喋不休的蠢蛋？那么为什么不向企业牧师咨询一下呢？

Corporate chaplains are a booming business in America. There are roughly 4,000 of them (precise numbers are hard to come by) working everywhere from giant multinationals to tiny family firms. And their numbers are growing. America has several thriving rent-a-chaplain companies, and two seminaries that offer degrees in corporate chaplaincy, yet demand still exceeds supply.

企业牧师是美国现在正蓬勃发展的职业。粗略估计有4000(精确数字很难统计)人左右的企业牧师正在为从巨型跨国公司到微型家庭公司的各种企业服务。这个数字正变得越来越大。美国有几家生意红火的牧师租借公司，两个神学院为这些公司的牧师提供企业牧师职位所需的学位证书，然而仍然供不应求。

Some companies prefer to rely on in-house chaplains. Tyson Foods, a meat-processing giant, employs 128 chaplains to minister to 85,000 employees in the United States, Mexico and Canada. John Tyson, the company's boss, also employs an ordained minister as an executive coach to help him wrestle with ethical questions.

一些公司倾向于信赖内部牧师。肉加工业的巨头泰森食品公司雇用了128名牧师，为它在美国、墨西哥和加拿大的八万五千名职工执行牧师职责。公司老板约翰·泰森还雇用了一名经过正式任命的牧师作为执行督导，帮助他对付道德问题。

But most firms outsource their spiritual guidance. That makes it easier, of course, to get rid of surplus chaplains in a downturn. But it is also arguably better for the workers who seek their counsel, in that the chaplains work for a third party rather than the boss.

但是大多数的公司都是外聘精神导师。当然，这有助于在公司业绩低迷时减少富余的牧师数量。但是，对寻求建议的工人来讲，一个为第三方组织工作的牧师要比老板提的意见更可靠。

Marketplace Chaplains USA, based in Dallas, Texas, is America's biggest provider of corporate chaplains, employing 2,100 of them at 300 companies in 46 states. The company was founded in 1984 but has enjoyed its most rapid growth over the past six years: it has doubled in size since 2001 and is currently adding a new client every seven days. Its customers range from banks to construction companies to Tyson's main rival, Pilgrim's Pride.

建立在德克萨斯州达拉斯市德美国牧师交流所，是美国最大的企业牧师提供者，46个州中的300多家公司雇用了其中的2100多名牧师。这个成立于1984年的公司，最近六年来才得以享受业绩飞升的乐趣：自2001年以来其规模扩大了一倍，并且当前每七天就新增一个委托人。它的顾客范围很广，从银行业到建筑公司再到泰森公司的主要竞争对手什么行业都有，这是朝圣者的骄傲。

Corporate Chaplains of America, which is based in Wake Forest, North Carolina, is both newer and smaller: it was founded in 1996 and has 100 full-time chaplains on its books who minister to 75,000 workers in 24 states. But it is also booming. Dwayne Reece, a spokesman, says that the firm would like to have 1,000 chaplains ministering to 1m workers in six or seven years' time. Both companies talk excitedly about going global. Marketplace Chaplains expanded into Mexico and Puerto Rico this year, and has high hopes for the British market. Corporate Chaplains has a client who wants it to expand into China.

美国企业牧师公司是个新成立的小公司，它组建于1996年，在员工名册上有100名全职牧师，他们为24个州7.5万名工人执行牧师职责。不过它正在蓬勃发展。公司的发言人狄韦恩·瑞克说，在六到七年的时间里，公司估计会有1000个左右的牧师，为100万工人执行牧师职责。两个公司谈到全球化时都兴致勃勃。德州的牧师交流公司今年已经把业务拓展到了墨西哥和波多黎各，他们还对英国市场寄予很高的希望。企业牧师公司还有个想让它把业务拓展到中国去的委托人。

Why the chaplain boom? People in the business point to the practical advantages of having a company cleric. Many workers are cut off from their geographic and religious roots. Corporate chaplains can perform the role of traditional village priests. People in the business also argue that corporate chaplains can boost productivity. Art Stricklin, of Marketplace Chaplains, claims that the turnover rate at Taco Bell outlets in central Texas dropped by a third after they started employing chaplains. More objective evidence is hard to find, but it is notable that companies have taken to advertising the fact that they employ chaplains in promotional literature.

私雇牧师为什么能繁荣起来呢？商界人士指出了拥有公司神职人员的实践优势。许多工人被从他们的地域和宗教渊源中隔离开来。企业牧师能扮演一个传统乡村牧师的角色。商界人士还认为企业牧师能促进生产力。牧师交流公司的阿尔特·斯诸克林声称，在德克萨斯州中部拥有市场的Taco Bell公司在雇用企业牧师之后，翻工率降低了三分之一。比较客观的证明很难发现，不过，值得一提的是，企业现在已经开始把雇用牧师的事实写进了用来促销的广告小册子里。

Another reason is the growing intrusion of faith into the workplace. Once-closeted bosses are coming out as evangelicals (see article). Bible-study classes are proliferating across corporate America. Texas Instruments offers “serenity rooms” where employees can go to pray and meditate. Lawsuits from outraged secular employees are probably only a matter of time.

另 一个原因是持续增长的宗教信仰的影响力已经渗透进了工作场所。从前在私人密室祈祷的老板们作为信仰福音主义者正在涌现。研读圣经阶层在美国的社团中激增。 德克萨斯州的公共设施为雇员提供“静修室”进行祈祷与冥想。如此看来，来自气愤的不信仰宗教的雇员的诉讼可能仅仅是早或晚的问题。