Historian Dr. Matthew Pehl from Augustana College delivers a talk entitled, "The Moralistic God and the Factory System: Uncovering Religion in a 1950s Automobile Factory." Pehl looks at "The Detroit Industrial Mission" and the organization's efforts to both research and minister to workers in the Detroit area factories of the 1950s. Pehl reflects on their efforts and their findings of the influence class and denomination had on religious perspectives and workers' views of the nature of work. He describes the project that brought clergy into auto factories, their status as outsiders, the social dynamic in the plants, and the rejection by most workers of proselytizing in the workplace. He answers questions from the audience. Pehl is introduced by Michigan State University Professor John P. Beck. Part of the "Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives" Brown Bag series co-sponsored by the MSU School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, the MSU Museum, and the Lansing Stewardship Community/Motorcities Automobile National Heritage Area. Held in the MSU Museum Auditorium.
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