Faith, spirituality and public relations– Toward a radical new view

Abstract

This issue of JPRR is not only special in that it presents research on a singular aspect of public relations – faith and spirituality – but for giving such scholarship its proper and long overdue place in the discipline’s body of knowledge. In so doing, the journal joins the ranks of a select few – Fieldwork in Religion (Religion and Communication, 2000), Public Relations and Religion (Public Relations Review, 1992) – that have pioneered the emerging field with a dedicated issue. Religion and public relations have been largely unexplored territory for research, in contrast to sociology and marketing scholarship that has long recognized the power of faith in society and particularly in the marketplace. For example, as the world suffers through COVID-19 and its variants, researchers have tracked the pandemic’s effects upon religious tourism and the economy of host communities (Nhamo et al., 2020). And a 2020 Pew Research Center survey (www. pewforum.org) explored the effects of COVID upon faith in the United States and other advanced economies. It should be noted that there has been a turn toward exploring relationships as reflected in the public relations body of knowledge and in articles in this issue – perhaps a consequence of the COVID-induced forced hibernation that brought many to reflect upon the value of family and friends. Fortunately, this introspection also is further serving to generally discredit the concept of “management,” born in schools of business and evangelized in public relations literature. Indeed, current thinking rejects the mindset of people as objects to be “managed” as “target” publics – as football players are often referred to as “weapons” or basketball recruits as “big game.” It is not surprising then that public relations has too often advanced an asymmetrical worldview with presuppositions, values, and models antithetical to the common good. Radical anthropocentrism disconnects humankind from its relationship with others and nature (COVID-19 may prove to have been unleashed by a violation of the natural order), leading to climate change, extreme weather, and social injustice. In an increasingly interconnected world, organizationally centric behavior at the expense of society is no longer sustainable, much less justifiable. Even symmetrical worldviews that foster value-based relationships do so within an expectation of reciprocity to the exclusion of publics unable to participate. A new interpretation of public relations reflects a worldview that values a larger sense of relationships. Within a worldview of caritas, public relations can be framed as a covenantal model of practice. Research suggests ancient civilizations (e.g., India, China), indigenous peoples (e.g., Kogi, Colombia), and NGOs (e.g., World Wildlife Fund) reflect a “naturalistic” worldview that guides public relations behavior as stewardship-guardianship in a pro-social manner for the benefit of all. Such practice – a caritas approach to relationship-building that seeks the greater good of others without reciprocity – challenges traditional public relations thinking and underscores the imperative to reformulate the discipline’s body of knowledge (Tilson, 2022). COVID-19 underscores the need for a new paradigm of public relations in relationship to others. The actions of individuals, institutions, and societies during the pandemic demonstrate both the consequences of a worldview that embraces an ethic of caring and one that is inwardly focused. Caritas, then, which focuses attention outward in a spirit of compassion, not only is a nobler paradigm but, more important, one that saves lives and protects all of Creation. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH 2021, VOL. 33, NO. 4, 207–208 https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2021.2018843