Exploring the Sacred-Secular Dialect in Everyday Social Work Practice: An Analysis of Religious Responses to Managerialism among Outreach Social Workers in Hong Kong: Table 1

Abstract

We examine the recent proliferation of religious discourses among front line social workers in the former British Colony of Hong Kong in order to explore the nature of ‘re-enchantment’ in modern social work practice. In-depth qualitative interviews with twenty social workers who identify as ‘Christian social workers’ in a variety of social work organisations (both religious and secular) reveal the adoption of religious identities and discourses to navigate the encroachment of managerialism. A systematic analysis of these narratives suggests that Christian social workers evoke religion to reclaim feelings of authenticity in their work, to facilitate more personalised relationships with their clients, and to empower themselves following the introduction of managerialist policies. We illuminate the dialectical relationship between religious discourses and managerialism to critique claims in the literature about a ‘re-enchantment’ in social work, and to understand the essence of religion in modern social work practice.

Social workers’ judgments: Case study on personal experience, professional training, and practice environment

“…Social workers’ religious affiliations influence their selection of social work as a chosen career (Hugen, 1998): for example, some US social workers consider pursuing a career in social work as a ‘calling from God’ (Larsen and Rinkel, 2016). Furthermore, social workers’ religious values may even affect their perceptions of the world and their clients (Canda and Furman, 2010; Groves et al, 2016). In addition to religion, according to Linzer (1999), social workers’ own political ideologies affect how they make sense of their practice situations.…”