The Catholic Church as a Business?

(A meeting of the board of directors?)

I wrote in an earlier post about for-profit businesses claiming free-exercise First Amendment rights. Hobby Lobby and the Corporate "Soul". These sorts of claims give rise to the question of whether businesses can add a dash of saving souls, or at least sancity, in with their special sauce; but in today's New York Times columnist Bill Keller turns this inquiry around by analyzing the problems of the Catholic church as if it were a global business. Catholicism, Inc. Presumably this piece is meant somewhat tongue-in-cheek to see what words of wisdom the marketing management and consulting community might offer if the Church were a business facing the retirement of a CEO and a major problem with brand and direction. It is a clever device. But much like Joel Bakan's application of the DSM-IV to the corporate form to diagnose the corporation as a psychopath, see The Corporation, the problem may be that it cuts a little too close to the truth for comfort. Or at least it foregrounds questions like, "Are there valid distinctions to be drawn between for-profits businesses and no-profits, between the dissemination of promotional or persuasive speech to metaphorically "sell" and idea, political, artistic, religious and promotional or persuasive speech intended to literally sell a product or service for money?"

Comments

[Tom Russell]

Tamara,

I think the fact that your last name is Piety really adds to this post.

Why is it, again, that one cannot pierce the corporate veil to reach the assets of the universal--catholic--church in Rome? Living in Ireland this year has made this question even more interesting.

Tom Russell
Maynooth, Ireland

[Tamara Piety]

You know Tom I hadn't even thought about it because I am so used to my name just being my name. Interesting question about piercing the corporate veil. As I suggested in the Hobby Lobby case, some have suggested to me that Hobby Lobby and other for-profits wanting to claim some sort of religious exemption from the health car bill are really just wanting to engage in selective piercing, that is piercing the corporate veil for purposes of the insurance/contraception purposes but not for general liability. Thanks!