Religion in the workplace; `Da Vinci’ at the box office; Faith in Hollywood

In Monday’s RNS report Candace Goforth looks at how employers are handling the increasing role of religion in American culture and in the workplace: A Muslim employee’s daily prayers. A lunchtime Bible study group. A Jewish employee’s observance of the High Holy Days. What does any of this have to do with conducting business? These […]

In Monday’s RNS report Candace Goforth looks at how employers are handling the increasing role of religion in American culture and in the workplace: A Muslim employee’s daily prayers. A lunchtime Bible study group. A Jewish employee’s observance of the High Holy Days. What does any of this have to do with conducting business? These days, plenty. As more Americans bring their faith to work, employers need to be sure their workplace policies are keeping pace with the trend. That doesn’t mean simply putting a menorah next to the Christmas tree in the lobby once a year. It means balancing the needs of expressively religious workers with those of employees who may think the only higher power that matters at work is the one signing the paychecks. Two studies-one by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Studies and another by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life-indicate religion has taken on a more prominent role in American culture. That translates to an increasing emphasis on those issues in the workplace.

Stephen Whitty updates us on how `The Da Vinci Code’ performed at the box office during its opening weekend: You don’t need a Harvard symbologist to decode this one. With its built-in advantage of a best-seller source novel, and the dependable Ron Howard directing fan favorite Tom Hanks, “The Da Vinci Code” translated fame into box-office success on its first weekend in release. Its estimated Friday-through-Sunday gross was $77 million, according to Exhibitor Relations, more than the rest of the Top Ten movies combined. The film fell short of the $100 million club, however, the preserve of genuine blockbusters like the “Harry Potter” films. Those looking for the year’s biggest hit probably won’t find it here.

Stephen Whitty also offers an analysis of the representation of faith-as opposed to religion-in Hollywood: There is faith, and there is religion, and Hollywood has never really embraced both. Filmmakers have occasionally paid lip service to the second. The Old Testament remains a sturdy source of spectacle; the rites of the Roman Catholic Church regularly enliven horror movies. Faith, however, is a less popular subject. That’s because faith is not about facts, or the flesh. Faith is purely emotional, fully unconditional belief. This is not something that translates well into entertainment.


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