Church and Jobs

The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer George Jacob Holyoake in 1851.[1] Holyoake was picking up on some of the thinking that emerged out of the Enlightenment and the philosophies of thinkers like René Descartes. Enlightenment thinking, among other aspects, seeks to create a division between “religion” and “secular”. In enlightenment ways of thinking “religion” should remain private because it causes too much conflict between people (The Thirty Years War) and it has not “fixed” the world.  The enlightenment offers a new vision for how the world should operate based on reason. Reason, according to the enlightenment, is not based on any form of tradition – especially any “religious” tradition.

This way of thinking is engrained into the western church and society. An outgrowth of this thinking offers people a way to divide to a person’s world into things that are considered “religious” and things that are considered “secular”. For example a person’s weekly job might be considered “secular” while work or service done in the name of the church would be considered “religious” or “spiritual”. One might listen to “secular” music that is separate from “religious” music. In the Bible this division is not a consideration. For example Exodus 20-23 sets forth a set of rules and regulations on a host of subjects. Subjects that we might be tempted to lable religious or secular. Yet, what is interesting is that the arrangement of the regulations assumes that “there is no dichotomy between the secular and sacred, between ‘church’ and ‘state’, between justice and religion in Israel, but that these are inextricably intertwined.”[2]

These invisible lines of religious and secular often seem to cause a dichotomy that might not even exist. For example we might pray for someone to find a job because that is something religious or spiritual. Yet, for the church to offer a person job training would be considered secular. Singing in church is something spiritual. Songs outside of the church context that might speak of God (Mumford and Sons "Awakemy Soul") are considered secular. This makes me wonder if the church is missing out on offering real assistance and meeting real needs. We will hand out food to those in need – something spiritual. Yet, helping that person learn job skills to better their income potential is something secular. Yet, what if the church offered a way for people to learn new job skills? There are some churches already finding ways to partner with large and small business. Eastern University offers a degree that is a combination of theology and entrepreneurship. Perhaps what I am attempting to communicate is . . . if the church is to be a continuation of the ministry of Jesus then maybe the imaginary lines of what is often considered “religious” and “secular” might need to be erased. What if being so called "religious" means offering a cup of water to others in the form of a job or skill training for a job. What if churches used their often otherwise empty buldings during the week to offer some space to small business start ups? What if churches partnered with lcoal training tech centers that might help people get the training they need for a job?
Not sure how it all works yet I am up for trying out some what if's.

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[1] GJ Holyoake, The Origin and Nature of Secularism (London: Watts and Co., 1896) 51.

[2] J. Gerald Janzen, Exodus (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 172.