Review: Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley, by Carolyn Chen

Abstract

Book Review| November 01 2023 Review: Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley, by Carolyn Chen Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley. By Carolyn Chen. Princeton University Press, 2022. 272 pages. $27.95 hardcover; $18.95 softcover; ebook available. Lydia Willsky-Ciollo Lydia Willsky-Ciollo Fairfield University Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (2023) 27 (2): 111–112. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2023.27.2.111 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Lydia Willsky-Ciollo; Review: Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley, by Carolyn Chen. Nova Religio 1 November 2023; 27 (2): 111–112. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2023.27.2.111 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentNova Religio Search “At one time,” writes Carolyn Chen, “religion was a sanctuary from, and even a prophetic critic of, the crushing instrumentalism of work” (19). So, what happens to that ethical imperative when work becomes religion? Silicon Valley is what happens, argues Chen, where tech companies have sought to fulfill every level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, including (or especially) religious or spiritual engagement to keep their employees working. As they become the convenient catchall of employees’ needs and wants, these companies also deploy and fundamentally reshape established religious traditions, most notably Buddhism, for their own purposes. Chen, who spent five years in and among Silicon Valley employers and employees, has seen firsthand the totalizing impact of work on all aspects of American life and puts that knowledge to keen use as she explores the religious world of this particular subculture. Chen’s analysis traces the spiritual evolution of tech migrants, many if... You do not currently have access to this content.