Vocation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A vocation as defined in a religious environment is an occupation for which a person is suited, trained or qualified. Often those who follow a religious vocation have a inclination to undertake the work, often called a calling. This type of vocation is either professional or voluntary and can include many different religious backgrounds.
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[edit] Background
[edit] Definition
Vocations can be seen as fulfilling a psychological or spiritual need for the worker, and the term can also be used to EXPLAIN any occupation for which a person is specifically gifted, and usually implies that the worker has a form of "calling" for the task. The word "vocation" comes from the Latin vocare, meaning "to call"; [1], however, its usage before the sixteenth century, particularly in the Vulgate, refers to the calling of all humankind to salvation, with its more modern usage of a life-task first employed by Martin Luther.[2]
[edit] Concept
The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way of life. Particularly in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, this idea of vocation is especially associated with a divine call to service to the Church and humanity through particular vocational life commitments such as marriage to a particular person, consecration as a religious, ordination to priestly ministry in the Church and even a holy life as a single person. In the broader sense, Christian vocation includes the use of ones gifts in their profession, family life, church and civic commitments for the sake of the greater common good.
[edit] In Religious History
The idea of a vocation or "calling" has been pivotal within Protestantism. Martin Luther taught that each individual was expected to fulfill his God-appointed task in everyday life. Although the Lutheran concept of the calling emphasized vocation, there was no particular emphasis on labor beyond what was required for one's daily bread. Calvinism transformed the idea of the calling by emphasizing relentless, disciplined labor. In the Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), Calvin defined the role of "The Christian in his vocation." He noted that God has prescribed appointed duties to men and styled such spheres of life vocations or callings. Calvinists distinguished two callings: a general calling to serve God and a particular calling to engage in some employment by which one's usefulness is determined.
The Puritan minister Cotton Mather, in A Christian at his Calling (1701), described the obligations of the personal calling as, "some special business, and some settled business, wherein a Christian should for the most part spend the most of his time; so he may glorify God by doing good for himself." Mather admonished that it wasn't lawful ordinarily to live without some calling, "for men will fall into "horrible snares and infinite sins." This idea has endured throughout the history of Protestantism. Three centuries after John Calvin's death, Thomas Carlyle (1843) would proclaim, "The latest Gospel in this world is, 'know thy work and do it.'"
The legacy of this religious ethic continues to exert its influence in an increasingly secular world. Modern occupations which are seen as vocations often include those where a combination of skill and community help are implied, such as medical, care-giving, and veterinary occupations. Occupations where rewards are seen more in spiritual or other non-financial terms, such as religious occupations, are also seen as vocations. Borderline occupations, where community service and more personal reward are more evenly balanced, such as politics, may often be regarded as vocations.
[edit] Modern Vocational Examples
Many forms of humanitarian campaigning, such as work for organisations such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace can also be considered vocations.
- See also: avocation
The emerging church movement, Catholic social thought, and an increased interest in reformation thought has renewed interest in the Christian idea of vocation. Another aspect of vocation is working through how to define/discuss/and revitalize the importance of vocational thought not defined by an official church body. Several books have discussed this topic as well as the Catholic Church has defined the calling of the worker in Laborem Exercens.[3]
[edit] Literary Clarification of term Vocation
These books have attempted to define or clarify the term vocation.
- States of the Christian life and vocation, according to the doctors and theologians of the Church
- A Theology of the Laity by Hendrik Kraemer ISBN 9781573830317
- The Fabric of this World by Lee Hardy ISBN 9780802802989
- Your Work Matters to God by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks ISBN 9780891093725
- The Call by Os Guinness ISBN 9780849944376
- The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor ISBN 9781561010745
- Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer ISBN 9780787947354
- Lay People in the Church: A Study for a Theology of the Laity by Yves M.J. Congar, O.P. Translated by Donald Attwater 1959
[edit] References
- ^ Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House Company, 1985), s.v. “vocatio.”
- ^ Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. Talcott Parsons, Ch.3, p. 79 & note 1.
- ^ Laborem exercens - Ioannes Paulus PP. II - Encyclical Letter (1981.09.14)
