Rethinking religion in organizations: Unpacking the interplay between visible practices and invisible mechanisms

Abstract

Religion in organizations is understood as a dynamic continuum structured by two dimensions: its degree of visibility and its ambivalent role as both a resource and a constraint. This perspective foregrounds the centrality of invisible dimensions as constitutive of organizational life. Rather than opposing visibility and invisibility, this EMJ Management Focus section shows how they are continuously co-constructed and how their interplay shapes both individual experiences and collective regulation. The three contributions illustrate distinct positions within this matrix: religion as an invisible collective resource structuring coordination, as a negotiated and contested identity shaping individual coping strategies, and as a double-edged invisible resource influencing emotional regulation and performance. Across these configurations, religion does not occupy a fixed position but rather continuously shifts across visibility and constraint, actively shaping the conditions under which action and coordination become possible. This leads to a reconceptualization of management itself not as the governance of visible practices and behaviors, but as the regulation of invisible forces that sustain, orient, and constrain collective and individual actions.