Advancing knowledge in public administration: why religion matters

This editorial makes the case that religion is a significant influence on public administration (PA) and religious factors should usefully be considered in researching PA, for purposes of both advancing knowledge and drawing practical implications. The starting point for our argument is the assumption that context does matter for PA, and religion is a neglected part of the context. Religion – broadly defined as a set of coherent answers to the core existential questions that confront any human group and pertain to the relationship of the human to the divine and their codification in creedal forms, and involving a ritual dimension and piety – is interwoven with societal, cultural, political and administrative elements, which constitutes the context that affects PA in a given jurisdiction. Including religious factors in PA studies would therefore contribute to the advancement of the field.

The influence of religion has so far been overlooked in PA research. It is worth examining why religion has been overlooked in PA, at least the English-language literature, for a better understanding of the contribution that can derive from encompassing religious factors into theory and empirical research about PA. One reason lies in narrow interpretations of secularisation, which has at times been seen – in the West – as an irreversible trend in history. This consideration may have driven away the attention of PA scholars to religious factors. We would counter that these narrow interpretations do not consider that, first, processes of secularisation have occurred in a differential way around the world. Societies in the Asia Pacific region, for instance, may have secularised less than the West. In addition, secularisation may flow and ebb over time rather than linearly growing. Second – and more crucial, is that secularity is compatible with religion and religiously informed consciences still playing a role as social forces.

Another reason for overlooking religion is that religious factors may fit problematically into certain epistemological approaches, like forms of neo-positivism, which have been ascendant in recent decades. We counter that this need not be the case, and that there is room in the field of PA – which is interdisciplinary and characterised by epistemological and methodological pluralism – for researching the influence of religion on key aspects of PA through a multitude of approaches and methods.

Thus, the influence of religion on PA could and should be investigated more systematically, thereby adding to our capacity of generating knowledge to address PA-problems. In a recent contribution to this purpose (Ongaro & Tantardini, 2023 - to our knowledge, the only book-length scholarly work devoted to this topic, although a number of journal articles and book chapters have been published that address different specific theoretical and empirical aspects of the relationship between religion and PA), we work out a theoretical framing of the relationship between religion and PA, and organise available knowledge about this relationship (identified via a literature review, see Ongaro & Tantardini, forthcoming) along ten themes identified in the broad scientific literature.

Theoretically, we consider the influence of religion on PA at two levels: motivational/behavioural and ideational. At one level, religion may be considered a personality system, i.e., a shaper of personality, thence a driver of human behaviour and the motivation of people to act. At another level, institutionalised religions are a source of value-laden, normatively charged doctrines – a body of thought that shapes the world view of its adherents. Religion therefore affects potentially all key social actors in the public administrative space: it may affect public administrators or managers – be they elected or tenured officials – in charge of public policy; professionals in public services, like medics, teachers, social workers, and so forth; street-level bureaucrats interacting with users of public services; and the very users of public services, both as recipients of public services and, potentially, as co-producers of them.

The influence of religion on PA is mediated by a key factor, namely the religious regime of a given jurisdiction. The religious regime is a feature combining several elements of a country’s religious configuration: the level of religious freedom granted to its citizens; the role of religion in providing legitimacy to the state; the relationship of organised priesthood to the state; and the very nature of the religious composition of the country (whether there is a majority religion in the country, what it is, what the religious minorities are – including the non-religious population). Four types of religious regimes can be identified: Liberalism (where freedom of religion is guaranteed to all religious groups); Caesarism (where the state wields a driving role in regulating religion); Identification of state and religion (where the state’s religion is institutionalised as the national religion); and Theocracy (where religious doctrines and institutions and religious law have primacy over state law, and it may be the sole legitimising source of the state).

We argue that our proposed theoretical frame is pitched at a level of abstraction and conceptualisation broad enough to be applicable to all the regions and religions of the world and to present and past cases of the influence of religion on PA. Crucially, in order to advance knowledge about how religion matters for PA, a region of major significance for conducting studies about how religion affects profiles of PA is the Asia Pacific. This region – which encompasses at least the following sub-regions¹: Central Asia; East Asia; South Asia; South-East Asia; and Oceania – is very salient for the variety of both administrative systems and religions (as majority religion of the population) that it hosts. The Asia Pacific is home to the so-called Asian religions (which include Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintō) and it also features a large number of adherents to Abrahamic religions (Islam as majority religion in a number of the countries of the region, and Christianity as majority religion in a few, like the Philippines).

The difference between the two religious families lies in the fact that Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam – which all emerged in the Middle East) emphasise the notions of correct belief, conversion, and apostasy, and are universalistic in thrust. Differently, Asian religions tend to have more the nature of a body of wisdom (e.g., Confucius’s analects), practices and rituals that bind a community and its quest for the divine and spiritual.

In terms of themes, which in the literature emerge as areas where religion is a factor in explaining a certain PA problem, we identify ten themes, and for illustrative purposes we briefly discuss here three, pitched at different levels: public service motivation (PSM), as an example of a micro-level theme (i.e., the level of individuals); faith-based organisations (FBOs) as an example of a meso-level theme (i.e., the level of organisations); and the issue of legitimacy of public governance and religion as ideational basis, as part of a broader macro-level theme (i.e., the level of the public administrative system of a jurisdiction).

PSM is a topic that has been widely studied in the PA literature. Research on this topic has focused on outcomes and antecedents of PSM alongside studies that focus on comparing PSM in international settings, theoretically conceptualising PSM, and developing and testing a measurement instrument. PSM has four constitutive dimensions: compassion, self-sacrifice, commitment to public interest, and attraction to public service. Among the antecedents of PSM, “religious activity is one of the strongest PSM predictors in the structural equations, and our interviews uncovered a nearly universal disposition to attribute exemplary acts to religion, spirituality, or a higher power” (Perry et al., 2008, p. 453).

At the doctrinal level, sacred scriptures and religious teachings and traditions can shape an individual’s personality traits and worldview in ways that pertain to certain dimensions of PSM (at least the first three). So, for example for the dimension of compassion, in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva – enlightened individual – displays the ultimate compassionate behaviour by renouncing to enter Nirvana and returning to the world to show the path to the Nirvana to others. The Hindu principle of Ahimsa – love, genuine care, and compassion towards all living beings – exercised through the act of Seva – selfless service to others – exemplifies the dimension of compassion. The self-sacrifice dimension is well illustrated for the three Abrahamic religions in Isaac’s (in the Jewish and Christian tradition) or Ishmael’s (in the Muslim tradition) willingness to be sacrificed to God by Abraham/Ibrahim. The concept of Minben – being people-oriented – can be used to describe commitment to public interest in Confucianism: public officials must be committed to the societal best interests, even if this means going against the orders of the ruler.

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) are an important actor in the delivery of public services in many jurisdictions around the world. The traits of the religion and faith that provides the ideational basis for establishing an FBO can affect the characteristics, organisational mission, funding mechanisms, organisational culture, and practices of these organisations. A key research question here is whether different religions have a different influence on the “faith-based” component of these organisations, thereby ultimately affecting them in different ways, and thence ultimately affecting the governance and management of the public services in which FBOs are part of the delivery system.

For example, in Muslim India, Waqfs, which are properties or trusts whose ownership is perpetually transferred and dedicated to Allah to be used only for religious or charitable purposes, not only are very well alive and active in today’s India, as they are the largest urban landowners, but their functioning is also legally protected by The Waqf Act of 1995. Still focusing on the Indian sub-continent, but within the Hindu faith, Ashrams, which first emerged in the later Vedic era, are considered one of the earliest examples of FBOs as well as the Mutts, cloisters, which were erected adjacent to Hindu temples and evolved from being solely centres of knowledge creation and dissemination to providing welfare services in response to the specific community needs arising at various times. The teachings regarding the act of charity in both Islam – zakat – and Hinduism – dana – shape the mission and practices of both the Waqfs and Ashrams.

The issue of religion as a source of legitimacy for public administration is analysed alongside religion as an ideational basis of accountability, exercise of power, and responsibility in (politics and) public administration, in what constitutes a very broad macro-level theme. There is an important literature on the links between politics and religion, which PA research should usefully tap for application to PA problems. Religion has always been a source of legitimisation (or delegitimisation) of political systems in which PA system are embedded. Shintō exemplifies this legitimising source for the state of Japan during the Meiji revolution and up until the end of World War II. Not only was Shintoism the national and official religion of the state but the kokutai, which assumes the various meanings of system of government, sovereignty, national identity, essence and character, was legitimised by Shintō beliefs and traditions. The places of worship, the Shintō shrines, were incorporated into the Japanese PA system. After Emperor Shōwa Humanity Declaration in 1946, Shintō legitimising role of the Japanese state and PA system came to an end. In Imperial China, and to some extent still in contemporary China, the concept of the Mandate of Heaven was the legitimising source of the power held by the Emperor and the administration of the Empire. The Mandate of Heaven not only had a legitimising force in China, but by virtue of the Mandate, the Emperor and his administration had to govern with the ultimate goal of bringing peace and prosperity to his subjects. If the Emperor was not able to guarantee peace and prosperity, his legitimacy to govern ceased to exist.

The discussion of these three themes has shown by way of example that religion does matter for the study and practice of public administration in a wide range of areas. The development of studies conducted in the Asia Pacific region that encompass religious factors may be an extremely fruitful avenue for the advancement of PA research. We argue this because, first, the influence of religion on PA in the Asia-Pacific has received less attention and has been less studied compared to other regions of the world (like North America, Europe, and the Middle East), and, second, most of the existing English-language literature focuses primarily on Christianity and on Islam, and for the latter mostly within the Arab world (Middle East and Northern Africa). Combined, these two considerations point to a gap in the limited literature and therefore to the benefit of research conducted in the Asia-Pacific region to fill this gap. Such research would enable a deeper understanding of the influence on public administration of Asian religions, which are almost altogether absent from the English language PA literature, with possibly the partial exception of Confucianism. It would also enable to study the influence of Abrahamic religions on PA in the distinctive contexts of the jurisdictions of the Asia-Pacific region (so for example, of Islam in Muslim majority but non-Arab countries, like Indonesia), where their effects are less studied.

There is also a third reason why studying the influence of religion on PA in the Asia Pacific may be beneficial: the possibility to study additional themes which we consider very relevant both for purposes of advancing research and for their policy implications, even if they are not present in the literature. One such theme concerns the role religion may play in environmental sustainability and the effects of global warming on populations exposed to climate vulnerabilities. This theme is of particular interest not only because it is relevant for the practice of PA as it affects the lives of billions of people, but also because religious leaders (i.e., the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis) have provided theological grounds for why humans have the divine responsibility to protect and conserve the environment. Research on this theme would have to be global, and it cannot therefore leave out the Asia Pacific region, where two thirds of humanity lives.

There is so much potential for advancing knowledge in and for PA by including the jurisdictions and administrative systems of the Asia-Pacific in the studies on the influence of religion on PA. We call on scholars in this region to take up this challenge and develop research programs and projects which may encompass religion into the explanatory framework, thereby advancing the theory and practice of PA.

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Notes on contributors

Edoardo Ongaro

Edoardo Ongaro is Professor of Public Management at The Open University, UK. His expertise is in comparative public administration. He is Immediate Past President of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA), having served as President of EGPA between 2013-2019. He is a Member of the Council of Administration of the International Institute of Administrative sciences (IIAS). He has served in various academic and expert committees and has contributed to numerous international research projects. He is invited to present his research works in universities throughout the world as well as International Organisations like the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) or the World Bank, and the European Commission. His recent works include: Philosophy and Public Administration: An Introduction (Elgar, 2nd edition Open Access 2020 – translated into Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish) and Strategic Management in Public Services Organizations: Concepts, Schools and Contemporary Issues (2015, Routledge, co-authored with Ewan Ferlie – 2nd edition 2022).

Michele Tantardini

Michele Tantardini earned an undergraduate and master’s degree in economics and management of public administration at Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). His academic career has been focused on the management of public sector institutions and organizations, and the delivery of public services. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg. He earned his Ph.D. in Public Affairs at Florida International University (Miami, FL) with a dissertation on the relationship between performance information use and organizational social capital. His research agenda focuses on three main topics: performance management, social capital, and public service motivation. His publications appeared among the others on Public Management Review, Public Performance and Management Review, International Public Management Journal, Review of Public Personnel Administration. He is currently Secretary of the Keystone State Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).

Notes

1. Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; East Asia: China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea; South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; South-East Asia: Brunei, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam; Oceania: e.g., Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Pacific island-States divided into Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.