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The article this week on Spirituality, Religion and Career Development (Duffy, 2006) was very interesting to me.  I often talk about in my social and academic environments that I am Catholic, however do not believe in a number of Catholic traditions, but find myself calling myself Catholic and being comfortable with this notion even though I do not practice and disregard some of the beliefs.   I found a number of the thoughts about the relationship between career path and religion significant ones for myself. 

I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school for 12 years and attended mass on a regular basis up until my 20’s.  The interesting thing is that I would always say that I was forced to go to mass and forced to be a Catholic.  However as I start to process this thought, I have to take some accountability and say that even though I had little choice as a child, I now have all the choice and I still choose Catholicism as being a part of my identity.   Now almost 40 years old, I believe that my faith has molded me in many ways related to career.  One thing is that I work in a helping field; I give back to the community by helping children and families sort out their mental health issues and assist in reunification with each other, I promote healthy relationships with the children I work with and the staff members taking care of them on a daily basis.  I promote honest ethical practices with our entire community of children, families and staff members.  My upbringing in the Catholic Church has certainly instilled these qualities in me along with the values that my family, school and friends instilled as well. 

When Duffy (2006) discussed the spiritual workplace, I didn’t think about a focus on religion; I thought a workplace focused on values and morals and permeating positivity throughout the work environment.  I believe in this concept 100%.  At our job, we practice the Sanctuary Model.  It is a philosophy based on 7 commitments of using open communication, social responsibility, nonviolence etc., and it has helped mold our agency into what Duffy (2006) describes as having workplace spirituality.  The concept of workplace spirituality sounds a bit cliché or utopian, but who wouldn’t want to come to work every day and feel that good about the people and the workspace they work in…it sounds pretty good to me and I feel that the agency I work at is on its way to this spiritual soundness. 

I thought Duffy’s (2006) discussion was a brave one and I am curious to read more research on this topic.  I also wonder what research suggests about people who do not consider themselves spiritual or religious and how this relates to career development.

Duffy, R (2006). Spirituality, Religion and Career Development: Current Status and Future Directions. The Career Development Quarterly, 55, 52-62.