Is It Ethical for For-profit Firms to Practice a Religion? A Rawlsian Thought Experiment
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Is It Ethical for For-profit Firms to Practice a Religion? A Rawlsian Thought Experiment M. Paula Fitzgerald1 · Jeff Langenderfer2 · Megan Lynn Fitzgerald3 Received: 2 August 2018 / Accepted: 22 February 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Recent judicial rulings and changes in federal and state legislation have given for-profit corporations a growing list of rights and constitutional protections, including the right to practice religion free from many types of federal or state restriction. In this paper, we highlight the implications of these developments using Rawls’ (A theory of justice, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1971) Theory of Justice to explore the consequences of for-profit corporate religious freedom for consumers and employees. We identify preliminary principles to spark a discussion as to how expanding religious freedom for businesses and fair access to goods and services can coexist in the for-profit marketplace. Keywords Corporate religious practice · Public policy · Rawls’ Theory of Justice
Introduction In 1982, Donaldson mused, “Many rights seem logically impossible to attribute to corporations: Can corporations have the right to worship as they please?” (Donaldson 1982, pp. 22–23). So outlandish was the idea that a for-profit firm might have the right to practice religion, Donaldson’s use of a reductio ad absurdum argument was taken at face value (Hasnas 2016). Today, Donaldson’s once far-fetched scenario is now a reality: Supreme Court rulings and state legislation allow owners of for-profit firms to practice their religion throughout their corporate operations in the for-profit marketplace. We use the term “corporate religious practice”1 as shorthand for these business owners’ actions. * M. Paula Fitzgerald [email protected] Jeff Langenderfer [email protected]
This paper examines the ethical implications of corporate owners and employees practicing their religion throughout the firms’ operation (i.e., corporate religious practice). We begin with an overview of the current state of First Amendment religious freedoms granted to for-profit firms at the federal and state level in the US. We do not examine, nor do we discuss, religious freedoms for religious organizations; we focus solely on for-profit organizations formed to provide owner wealth by offering products/services in the United States’ competitive marketplace. We discuss Rawls’ (1971) Theory of Justice to shed light on whether owners of forprofit firms can ethically practice their religion in all aspects of their businesses. We conduct a thought experiment as a catalyst for this important conversation. We leave the reader with both realistic utopian principles and practical public policy suggestions for increased justice in a for-profit marketplace in which business owners have the right to practice their religion while conducting business.
Megan Lynn Fitzgerald [email protected] 1
John Chambers College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University, PO Box 6025, Morgantown,
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