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American Society for Public Administration - Vol. 28 No. 7 - July 2005 |
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Ethics Section Mini-Symposium on Ethical Administration
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Spiritual Values in the PA Curriculum: Why or Why Not?
Donald C. Menzel
Spirituality means different things to different people. And, not surprisingly, its meaning often overlaps with religion, morality and even ethics. Some view religion and spirituality as one and the same; a religious person is commonly regarded as a spiritual person. Others do not take this view. Rather, a line is drawn that, in effect, asserts a spiritual person is not necessarily a religious person, especially when religion is defined in a traditional denominational context, e.g., Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam. As Mitroff and Denton argue, a spiritual person then could be someone who subscribes to the belief that (a) there is transcendent power that is responsible for the creation and care of the universeŠ(b) there is an interconnectedness in all that we doŠ(c) there is an inclusiveness among human beings and with natureŠ(d) there is a commitment to do good.
A secular definition of spirituality is offered by Wade C. Roofs: "In its truest sense, spirituality gives expression to the being that is in us; it has to do with feelings, with power that comes from within, with knowing our deepest selves and what is sacred to us." Spirituality is one's conscience or inner voice along with a continuous striving to connect the inner voice with the outer self and others. These definitions suggest that one might think of spiritualism as a set of values that compose a belief system without walls, text, or hierarchy.
Values, of course, are at the core of morality, ethics and spirituality. Moral values are deep-seated, if not innate as James Q. Wilson claims in The Moral Sense, and form the inner essence of who we are and help us determine the fundamentals of "right and wrong." Willfully taking another's life is regarded as a fundamental wrong and some would argue that taking another's life under any circumstances is morally unacceptable. Cheating, lying and stealing are also regarded as immoral. When these behaviors become widespread, we often hear the utterance that a community or nation has lost its moral bearing or compass.
"Values," Montgomery Van Wart asserts, "are the foundations of ethical systems." Professional ethics typically constitute a mix of values, both deontological and teleological, and those specific to the core practice of the profession. Plainly put, values are the common cloth of which spirituality, morality and ethics are woven.
Are values taught in public administration programs? Certainly. Indeed, the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) requires teaching values that will enable graduates "to act ethically." All kinds of values? No. Why not? There are many reasons. First, there is no consensus among educators or practitioners as to what constitutes a definitive set of core values beyond the usual admonition to be honest, fair, competent, obey the law and promote the public interest (the Code of Ethics of the American Society for Public Administration emphasizes these values). Second, the historic and legal allegiance to the separation of church and state in America demands that educators in public institutions and public administration practitioners honor this separation in word and deed.
If teaching values, for example, is tantamount to teaching religious values, denominational or non-denominational, both educator and practitioner are likely to be branded unprofessional. And, such a "branding" in the age of professionalism would be most undesirable in the academy and beyond. Third, the professional embracement of rational thought and objective scientific inquiry, the logical positivist paradigm, has dominated the teaching of values that stray outside this paradigm, especially values associated with character building or moral uprightness.
This situation has begun to change, however, as more attention is focusing on post-modernism and the view that there are other equally valid ways of knowing. Moreover, the administrative state's transformation into what Richard J. Stillman calls the professional-state has come under withering attacks as the paternalistic state in which professionals know what's best for citizens. The "Reinvention Movement" unleashed by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler has clearly challenged sacrosanct values dear to the heart of professionalism in government.
Why Spiritual Values Should Not Be Incorporated into Public Administration Curricula
Why Spiritual Values Should Be Included in Public Administration Curricula
Public administration is not and should not be a "faceless" profession. The decisions made by administrators day-in-and-day-out have real consequences for real people. And, at the street level, there is little question that the discretion exercised by front-line bureaucrats has consequences as was so vividly seen in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
Nancy Murray's book, An Inner Voice for Public Administration, breaks new ground in challenging "the relationship between the technical or material aspect of public administration and its more personal side." She calls for a rethinking, if not renewal of public administration--a spiritual journey to connect the outer self with the inner voice.
Perhaps an even stronger argument for introducing spiritual values into public administration curricula is increasing ethnic and cultural diversity. The 2000 U.S. census found that among the 281 million people living in the United States, 69.1 percent are white, 12.1 percent are black, 12.5 percent are Hispanic and 3.7 percent are Asian and Pacific Islander. The Hispanic population grew the fastest between 1990-2000, with more than 35 million Hispanic peopel living in the United States in 2000, compared with 22 million in 1990 (see www.ameristat.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Ameristat). When examined over 20 years, 1980-2000, the Latino growth rate in the Washington, DC, area; Atlanta; Raleigh, NC; and Portland, OR, was substantial. Raleigh led the list with an increase of 1,180 percent, Atlanta-995 percent, Portland-437 percent and Washington-346 percent.
Ethnic and racial diversity and the accompanying cultural and religious diversity are reflected in the public workforce and have brought forth the practical and perhaps legal question: "do public agencies have a responsibility, if not obligation, to accommodate employees' needs to express their spirituality?"
Globalization is a third reason for incorporating spiritual values in public administration curricula. Globalization is more than a technological and free market capitalism phenomenon. As Thomas L. Friedman points out in The Lexus and the Olive Tree, "there is something inherently unstable about a world that is being knitted together tighter and tighter by technology, markets and telecommunications, while splitting apart wider and wider socially and economically." Globalization is both homogenizing and dividing cultures and peoples throughout the world. It is uprooting tradition and custom in many parts of the world while "loosening" the individual from his religious moorings. The search for a new meaning often takes the form of embracing new spiritual movements.
Conclusion of a Sort
Spiritual values have received scant attention in professional graduate degree granting programs in public affairs and administration. As a student completing his doctorate in public and urban administration put it to me via an e-mail message, "The closest I can recall from course work were an ethics seminar, discussions of leadership and implied values in a diversity seminar. But there were no courses or even explicit allusions to spirituality in any of my courses."
Is this changing? Should it change? These are challenging questions. There is some evidence, albeit rather limited, that the subject is being incorporated in a few courses in a few schools. Will we see a greater effort to incorporate the subject in public administration courses? I believe we will. The changes in the value structure of professional management, ethnic and cultural diversity, globalization pressures and influences and the likelihood of continuing calamities resulting from terrorism could motivate educators to give more attention to the meaning and reality of spirituality in the context of professional education and practice in the public service.
ASPA member Donald C. Menzel is ASPA's president and professor emeritus of Northern Illinois University. E-mail: dmenzel1@tampabay.rr.com
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