Abstract
It is easier to say what Malcolm Torry’s book, Managing Religion, is not than to describe precisely what it is. This is not a “how-to” book on the management of organizations of the advisory sort one commonly finds on bookstore shelves. Neither is it a text book, though it might be possible (with some imagination) to use it that way. Rather, these two volumes offer an extended exercise in applying organizational and management theory, and theological and biblical perspectives, to analyzing the structures and operations of religious organizations.
A little history may help set a context for evaluating this book. An academic publication like this would have been inconceivable as recently as 25 years ago. Torry develops this book by drawing on the efforts of many of the scholars who—really only in the last three decades—have been exploring the nature, place, and roles of religious organizations in the context of studying philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, social service provision, and public policy. Prior to the 1980s, we find very little research or academic literature focused on the organizational aspects or dynamics of religious entities.
This kind of scholarly research began to gain momentum in the late 1980s when Independent Sector sponsored a research conference on Religion and Philanthropy, and supported publication of a volume titled Faith and Philanthropy in America (Wuthnow & Hodgkinson, 1990). That effort engaged leading scholars like Robert Wuthnow and Peter Dobkin Hall in these studies. The Yale Program on Nonprofit Organizations (PONPO) then organized a 3-year long research seminar on religious organizations in the 1990s. The PONPO project engaged both leading social scientists and some new scholars who had interests in religion, specifically in exploring the organizational characteristics of religious and faith-based entities. One result of that project was the book titled Sacred Companies (Demerath, Hall, Schmitt, & Williams, 1998).
The personal and professional interests of the scholars involved in that work then intersected (in the United States) with emerging political and public policy debates about “faith-based” organizations and social services. All these factors together led to increased academic research on the character, operations, and management of religious organizational entities. Torry’s work in these volumes falls squarely within this field, which could be seen as a sub-field of organizational behavior or nonprofit studies or management.
So, what contribution does this book make now? Well, (a) it offers us two critical claims about the nature of religious organizations and how they differ from other types of organizations. (b) It also provides us an extensive literature review of works from the fields of organizational and management studies, which (c) it couples specifically with a framework for considering how insights from those works may apply—or not—to religious organizations as they are found in the landscape today.
It is important to note a couple of limitations to this work. First, it focuses exclusively on Christian organizations. (Torry observes fairly that trying to study the questions he takes on with a multi-faith reference set would have been simply unworkable.). Second, examples are drawn solely from the United Kingdom, where the author’s knowledge is broad and deep. However, it should be understood that the relationships of church—and parachurch organizations—to the government and its programs are very different there than in the United States, and these shape religious organizations differently.
Now, the two claims about the differences between religious organizations and all others are crucial to his analysis of these organizations throughout the book. It is also important to see these claims—or at least the first of them—depend on his utilizing a very narrow definition of the term religious organization.
Torry takes a unique stand (so far as I know) in arguing that only congregations should be included under the term religious organization. He says, “A religious organization is an organization that has gathering for worship as its main purpose. This means not only that the archetypal religious organization is a congregation, but that a congregation is the only kind of religious organization” (p. 3). This very narrow definition of the term religious organization certainly does not align with routine usage but has clear value here as a working definition and tool for staking out the analytic framework he uses.
At the end of his chapter on “Secular Management Theory,” he concludes that there are “two main differences” distinguishing “religious organizations” from all others. Those are as follows: “Religious organizations, both theologically and in practice, are gatherings for worship, and they have no main aim or goal in the sense in which other organizations have them. [And] religious organizations’ primary authority structure is external and theologically defined, rather than internal and organizationally defined” (p. 39). He does not ignore the fact that congregations are involved in many other types of activities; but asserts it is the act of worshipping together that defines congregations, is there central purpose, and that all else they do is derivative of that practice of worship and the identity that issues from it.
Still, Torry is deeply interested in “faith-based organizations” as well, a term he applies to the wide variety of religiously related or affiliated service or mission entities. The framework he creates thus involves separating (as far as possible) congregations, on one hand, and faith-based service or mission entities, on the other, for the purpose of conducting this analysis of the structural attributes and dynamics of these organizations, and the applicability of organizational (or management) theories to them. This distinction literally shapes the book, as Volume 1 applies his analysis to congregations, and Volume 2 looks in a similar way at faith-based organizations.
His examination of both religious and faith-based organizations by application of what he calls “secular management theory” is lengthy and detailed. Here I will try only to discuss some key assumptions and observations he makes to give the reader a feel for this book, and offer a few comments about what seem to me the strengths and weaknesses of this work.
One of his central premises is the claim (cited before) that “religious organizations have no main aim or goal in the sense in which other organizations have them.” Torry asserts that this lack of a utilitarian focus changes almost any effort to apply secular management theory to these organizations. Why? Because those theories tend to view organizations as instruments for getting work done in the world, and then focus on indicators of organizational success like goal accomplishments, efficiency, productivity, and innovation. But congregations—as morally grounded, values-expressive organizations—exist to embody their values by the way they exist as communities, formed by their worship. Such a purpose defies task-oriented evaluation.
He notes that some organizational theories become more relevant when one shifts the focus of analysis from congregations to “faith-based” service and mission organizations, as these do typically have specific utilitarian goals—like feeding the hungry or promoting public policy change—as well as intentions to express their faith traditions. So they will frequently have to concern themselves with questions of efficiency and productivity. They also are more likely to engage in ways congregations will not with different actors beyond their faith community, who may be funders for, partners in, or even regulators of work they do, requiring them to adapt to secular institutions and processes, while presumably trying to remain true to their faith.
As he explores different topics of management for religious and faith-based organizations, he finds some where there might be mutual learning between the sacred and secular realms, and others where that is much less likely. For instance, he observes that now in many secular institutions, there is great concern among managers about creating strong corporate cultures with clear narratives around a shared vision. This is a place, he suggests, where corporations might learn something from religious organizations—as well as the reverse—as it has long been the case that religious identities derive from sharing a common narrative and holding shared values.
In a counter-example, however, he gives considerable attention to theories of motivation and management of people, especially of volunteers. After reviewing many potential approaches to these matters in secular organizations, Torry ends up observing that they may have nothing to teach congregations about such matters. Why? Because congregations are unusual in that almost all the people who volunteer to do the work that keeps them going are also “members,” and as members they do not expect—may even resist—being managed in any way (p. 83).
This leads to one more recurring theme in this book, which is a focus on the nature and use of authority in religious organizations. It is a matter which Torry seems to feel may often be confusing, or even problematic. Why? Because that authority which we expect to see exercised in organizations—the kind of authority that can make personnel decisions, design reward structures, or create and endorse strategic plans—can always be challenged in religious organizations by “religious organizations’ primary authority structure [which] is external and theological.” He notes that members of religious organizations may at any time appeal to this other authority—that is, the will of God—if they want to contest a decision or plan being made that they think is not in keeping with story and values of their faith community.
I could go on, as these two volumes are rich with information and probe a wide range of questions about religious and faith-based organizations. But let me conclude with a few observations about the strength of the book as well as some weaknesses.
The most obvious strength of Managing Religion is the extensive exploration of the literature of organizational theory and management in search of perspectives to help explain the structures and behaviors of these kinds of organizations. This yields some genuine insights. It seems to me that, however, this is also a facet of the book where “less could be more.” This exploration is so extensive that the author often spends considerable time examining theories that finally have little or no application to these unusual organizations. In what was already a long and densely written book, I found this extra material distracting.
Another strength was the effort to really illustrate the possible implications of theories that do help demonstrate the author’s points by ending each chapter with a case (or story) that shows the application of some theories in real life settings.
This is a book whose audience may be limited to the relatively few people who care deeply about the Church and its institutions, and who have a strong interest in management and organizational theory. Nonetheless, for people with those particular interests, it may be an engaging and helpful text.