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Unified We Are a Force: How Faith and Labor Can Overcome America's Inequalities
The American dream of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" is no longer possible, if it ever was. Most of us live paycheck-to-paycheck, and inequality has become one of the greatest problems facing our country. Working people and people of faith have the power to change this-but only when we get unified!
In this practical and theological handbook for justice, renowned theologian Joerg Rieger and his wife, community and labor activist Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger, help the working majority (the 99% of us) understand what is happening and how we can make a difference. Discover how our faith is deeply connected with our work. Find out how to organize people and build power and what our different faith traditions can contribute. Learn from case studies where these principles have been used successfully-and how we can use them. Develop "deep solidarity" as a way to forge unity while employing our differences for the common good.
In this practical and theological handbook for justice, renowned theologian Joerg Rieger and his wife, community and labor activist Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger, help the working majority (the 99% of us) understand what is happening and how we can make a difference. Discover how our faith is deeply connected with our work. Find out how to organize people and build power and what our different faith traditions can contribute. Learn from case studies where these principles have been used successfully-and how we can use them. Develop "deep solidarity" as a way to forge unity while employing our differences for the common good.
192 pages, Paperback
Published May 10, 2016
41 people want to read
About the author
Joerg Rieger
41 books13 followersJoerg Rieger is Wendland-Cook Professor of Constructive Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
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September 7, 2016
I am not a union member, nor have I ever been a member. At the same time I have held a variety of jobs over the years, and so I know what it means to work/labor. I have been involved in community organizing as a pastor and so I know the importance of working together to build power (something we religious folk struggle with) so as to affect systemic change. We are living at a time when wages are stagnant and the gulf between the wealthiest and the poorest is getting larger by the year. Some in the political and the religious world speak of the need for redistribution of wealth. Joerg Rieger and Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger offer a somewhat different vision that focuses on valuing work. To get there requires a bottom-up approach.
The Riegers have written a most insightful book that reminds us of the contributions made by the labor movement, including the 8 hour work day, weekends, vacations, pensions, and more, but since many if not workers are religious, they raise the question as to why faith and labor rarely interact. Indeed, their point is that work/labor are not simply material concerns, they are also spiritual ones. As they note, "in the Abrahamic traditions, no such easy separation exists" (p. 5).
Many of us will spend a goodly amount of our lives working. So the question that gets raised in the book is whether religion deals only with our off hours, and not the many hours each week we spend working. Now, I work for a church, so my labor could be considered "spiritual," but what about the checker at the local grocery store? Is her labor spiritual as well? Is God absent or present from that labor? These are important questions that get raised in this book. But not only are questions raised, but possible avenues of cooperation are lifted up.
The book begins with a chapter titled "basic issues." In this chapter we are reminded about the centrality of labor to our lives and our communities. We're reminded about how organizing is essential to achieving true freedom. Then in chapter two, the authors speak about the challenges posed to labor -- attacks such as wage theft and wage depression. These are abetted by laws such as "Right to Work" laws, like the one recently implemented in Michigan, laws designed to weaken unions and disrupt organizing. They remind us that corporations believe that they are responsible not to workers, but stockholders. Profit is often gained at the expense of workers. As for the complaint about unequal distribution, they suggest that the focus should be placed on valuing work and production: "If work and production are not valued appropriately, that is to say if working people are not compensated comprehensively for their work, no amount of redistribution will be able to change things in the long run" (p. 51).
So, what should we do? We could advocate on behalf of workers, and that is a start, but it's not enough. In chapter three, the Riegers speak about the importance of deep solidarity. This is important as a way of counteracting attempts to divide and conquer. We see this happen all around us, as attempts are made to pit black and white workers, or migrants against "native born" workers. If you can get people fighting each other rather than organizing, you've won. So, instead of simply advocating for change, they call for deep solidarity. That means recognizing that we're all in the same boat. This is where faith communities can be of great support, for most church members are workers, but we often give little support to them in their labors. The good news is that faith communities have rich resources to build solidarity with. There is the story of Mary, who sings of partnering with God to transform the world. There's Moses, who takes up the task of freeing the slaves. There's the story of Jesus, the tekton or laborer. Again, remembering that we're all in this together, Joerg Rieger claims his own white privilege and rather than claim guilt chooses to use this privilege to stand in solidarity and make use of whatever power is accorded to bring change.
This is a book about radicalizing. On one hand labor can help radicalize religion, by drawing it into the struggle. Living as he does in Dallas, he notes that the vast majority of workers in Texas are religious people. But, little connection is made between faith and labor, with many Christians feeling that faith and labor are opposed. But that need not be true, for there are, as we noted earlier many stories within the Abrahamic tradition that brings the two into partnership. They suggest that in the struggle against injustice great themes of the faith can be reclaimed. If labor can radicalize religion by taking it back to its roots, so religion can do the same for labor. To do this, however, labor must not treat religion as a "cheap date." Religious communities can't be just places to "mobilize warm bodies." Faith communities and traditions can provide important resources for valuing labor. The authors note that it is helpful to remember that God didn't start with the elite, but with the lower classes. The stories of faith all point to the fact that the key leaders and founders were working people! Even our key celebrations, like Passover, Christmas, and Ramadan, speak to God's concern for the worker. Indeed, God takes sides, and thus so might the faith communities.
The Riegers close their book with a discussion of organizing and building a movement. They return to deep solidarity and offer some possible directions we can go in building power through strategic alliances. It is important to know that our self-interests are linked with those of others, and therefore we can partner to support one another in the pursuit of justice and the common good. This won't be easy because there is much push back, but good things can happen.
In their conclusion the Riegers write: "If we are correct, religion is not primarily about lofty ideals, flat morality, or merely what people do on weekends. Religion is about building relationships, community, and deep solidarity" (p. 151). If we believe that inequality is something to be addressed, it will take a partnership between faith and labor. For the faith community that means doing the hard theological work of connecting the spiritual and the material. This makes for a most important book. Even if one doesn't agree at all points, there is so much of value to be gained. After all, the biblical story at least offers a picture of a God who works.
The Riegers have written a most insightful book that reminds us of the contributions made by the labor movement, including the 8 hour work day, weekends, vacations, pensions, and more, but since many if not workers are religious, they raise the question as to why faith and labor rarely interact. Indeed, their point is that work/labor are not simply material concerns, they are also spiritual ones. As they note, "in the Abrahamic traditions, no such easy separation exists" (p. 5).
Many of us will spend a goodly amount of our lives working. So the question that gets raised in the book is whether religion deals only with our off hours, and not the many hours each week we spend working. Now, I work for a church, so my labor could be considered "spiritual," but what about the checker at the local grocery store? Is her labor spiritual as well? Is God absent or present from that labor? These are important questions that get raised in this book. But not only are questions raised, but possible avenues of cooperation are lifted up.
The book begins with a chapter titled "basic issues." In this chapter we are reminded about the centrality of labor to our lives and our communities. We're reminded about how organizing is essential to achieving true freedom. Then in chapter two, the authors speak about the challenges posed to labor -- attacks such as wage theft and wage depression. These are abetted by laws such as "Right to Work" laws, like the one recently implemented in Michigan, laws designed to weaken unions and disrupt organizing. They remind us that corporations believe that they are responsible not to workers, but stockholders. Profit is often gained at the expense of workers. As for the complaint about unequal distribution, they suggest that the focus should be placed on valuing work and production: "If work and production are not valued appropriately, that is to say if working people are not compensated comprehensively for their work, no amount of redistribution will be able to change things in the long run" (p. 51).
So, what should we do? We could advocate on behalf of workers, and that is a start, but it's not enough. In chapter three, the Riegers speak about the importance of deep solidarity. This is important as a way of counteracting attempts to divide and conquer. We see this happen all around us, as attempts are made to pit black and white workers, or migrants against "native born" workers. If you can get people fighting each other rather than organizing, you've won. So, instead of simply advocating for change, they call for deep solidarity. That means recognizing that we're all in the same boat. This is where faith communities can be of great support, for most church members are workers, but we often give little support to them in their labors. The good news is that faith communities have rich resources to build solidarity with. There is the story of Mary, who sings of partnering with God to transform the world. There's Moses, who takes up the task of freeing the slaves. There's the story of Jesus, the tekton or laborer. Again, remembering that we're all in this together, Joerg Rieger claims his own white privilege and rather than claim guilt chooses to use this privilege to stand in solidarity and make use of whatever power is accorded to bring change.
This is a book about radicalizing. On one hand labor can help radicalize religion, by drawing it into the struggle. Living as he does in Dallas, he notes that the vast majority of workers in Texas are religious people. But, little connection is made between faith and labor, with many Christians feeling that faith and labor are opposed. But that need not be true, for there are, as we noted earlier many stories within the Abrahamic tradition that brings the two into partnership. They suggest that in the struggle against injustice great themes of the faith can be reclaimed. If labor can radicalize religion by taking it back to its roots, so religion can do the same for labor. To do this, however, labor must not treat religion as a "cheap date." Religious communities can't be just places to "mobilize warm bodies." Faith communities and traditions can provide important resources for valuing labor. The authors note that it is helpful to remember that God didn't start with the elite, but with the lower classes. The stories of faith all point to the fact that the key leaders and founders were working people! Even our key celebrations, like Passover, Christmas, and Ramadan, speak to God's concern for the worker. Indeed, God takes sides, and thus so might the faith communities.
The Riegers close their book with a discussion of organizing and building a movement. They return to deep solidarity and offer some possible directions we can go in building power through strategic alliances. It is important to know that our self-interests are linked with those of others, and therefore we can partner to support one another in the pursuit of justice and the common good. This won't be easy because there is much push back, but good things can happen.
In their conclusion the Riegers write: "If we are correct, religion is not primarily about lofty ideals, flat morality, or merely what people do on weekends. Religion is about building relationships, community, and deep solidarity" (p. 151). If we believe that inequality is something to be addressed, it will take a partnership between faith and labor. For the faith community that means doing the hard theological work of connecting the spiritual and the material. This makes for a most important book. Even if one doesn't agree at all points, there is so much of value to be gained. After all, the biblical story at least offers a picture of a God who works.
Displaying 1 of 1 review