Chicken mogul sees value of faith in workplace

The Tyson Family foundation has given the University of Arkansas a $2 million gift to establish a “Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace” chair. The money will be combined with another $2 million previously committed by the Sam Walton Foundation and is dedicated to the Business College.

John Tyson, the chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods who gave the money, said this:

“To ignore the role that faith plays in our daily lives, including at work, is to miss out an essential part of human identity and motivation. We are a faith-friendly company, striving to honor God and be respectful of each other, our customers and other stake holders. We are pleased to be able to help create this position that will lead the study of faith and spirituality in the workplace.”

Tyson – a billionare — is putting his money where his heart is and is trying to make a difference. Since it is part of the Walton Business College, I presume they will strive to train future business leaders on how to integrate faith practices into their workplace.

From a scholarly viewpoint, I wonder what a college studying the impact of faith and religion in the workplace will provide. Will it lead to more leaders encouraging workers to not divorce their faith from their decisions? Will workplaces become more tolerant? Or will this just turn into another way to silence Christians in favor of other religions?

What’s your view of this gift?