Research 2006
Worshipping Work:
Christians in a Consumer Culture
Jane Barter Moulaison
Assistant Professor, Theology
Balance. When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, it’s a delicate state in which all facets of our lives—from work and recreation to family and faith—can coexist in harmony. But to Jane Barter Moulaison, the scales of modern-day life have tipped dangerously in one direction—work.
As an Assistant Professor of Theology, Barter Moulaison is convinced that the present climate of “work idolatry” is problematic on many levels, but it has a particular consequence for the Christian faith. “For those who are working 50, 60, or more hours per week, the result is that we neglect a communal life, a religious tradition. We’re losing the concept of a Sabbath.”
Barter Moulaison’s research suggests that Christian families are not immune to the pressure to work more, achieve more, or earn more. “I see how families within pastoral communities are struggling to manage the time crunch, juggling family and work,” says Barter Moulaison. “I don’t think there’s been a good specifically Christian response to that pressure. It seems to me the Church ought to be a place to resist that incredible imperative to be productive and to consume.”
Her first book, Lord and Giver of Life: Toward a Pneumatological Complement to George Lindbeck’s Theory of Doctrine, approaches such problems theoretically, through an examination of theological foundations. “George Lindbeck wanted to challenge Christian theology that simply conformed to the culture around it,” she says. “He was trying to find resources within the Christian theological tradition that at first may seem fairly traditional but that were robust enough to ‘counter the acids of modernity,’ as he put it.”
Barter Moulaison plans to return to early Christian sources for her next book. “Reading the work of early Christian writers to gain insight into a modern challenge seems a natural thing to do,” she says. “The issues we’re struggling with today and our insights seem so unique, but are in so many ways precedented by our ancestors.”
“While the Church Fathers might not have been struggling to balance career and family as I do, they were faced with the challenge of living faithfully in a context in which Christianity changed from being a marginal sect to an imperial power,” says Barter Moulaison.
She points out that for many, the response was to find new ways to live within their faith, forming monastic communities. “I am not suggesting that as a solution,” says Barter Moulaison. “But I am inviting people of faith to think about our work, family, and our use of time in a different manner. And once we have thought about it, we might even begin to change our lives and challenge public policy accordingly.”
To learn more about her research on Christians in a Consumer Culture, contact University of Winnipeg faculty member Jane Barter Moulaison at Jane.BarterMoulaison@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca