Work Pray Code When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley
“Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley” by Carolyn Chen, published by Princeton University Press on August 22, 2023, delves into the intersection of spirituality and the tech industry. This 272-page book examines how Silicon Valley companies are integrating religious elements into the workplace, effectively replacing traditional places of worship and reshaping the spiritual experiences of their employees. Through extensive interviews and research conducted over five years, Chen highlights the evolving relationship between work and religion, illustrating how the demands of modern employment fulfill needs for belonging, identity, and purpose.
Readers will find a thorough exploration of how tech giants are redefining spirituality to enhance productivity, often through practices inspired by Buddhism and mindfulness. The book discusses the implications of this shift, particularly how it affects traditional religious communities and the public sphere. “Work Pray Code” presents a critical analysis of the ways in which work has become a new form of religion, raising questions about the meaning and fulfillment derived from our professional lives. This edition offers insights into the cultural dynamics of labor and spirituality in contemporary society.
Official synopsis Publisher
How tech giants are reshaping spirituality to serve their religion of peak productivity
Silicon Valley is known for its lavish perks, intense work culture, and spiritual gurus. Work Pray Code explores how tech companies are bringing religion into the workplace in ways that are replacing traditional places of worship, blurring the line between work and religion and transforming the very nature of spiritual experience in modern life.
Over the past forty years, highly skilled workers have been devoting more time and energy to their jobs than ever before. They are also leaving churches, synagogues, and temples in droves—but they have not abandoned religion. Carolyn Chen spent more than five years in Silicon Valley, conducting a wealth of in-depth interviews and gaining unprecedented access to the best and brightest of the tech world. The result is a penetrating account of how work now satisfies workers’ needs for belonging, identity, purpose, and transcendence that religion once met. Chen argues that tech firms are offering spiritual care such as Buddhist-inspired mindfulness practices to make their employees more productive, but that our religious traditions, communities, and public sphere are paying the price.
We all want our jobs to be meaningful and fulfilling. Work Pray Code reveals what can happen when work becomes religion, and when the workplace becomes the institution that shapes our souls.
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