“At one time,” writes Carolyn Chen, “religion was a sanctuary from, and even a prophetic critic of, the crushing instrumentalism of work” (19). So, what happens to that ethical imperative when work becomes religion? Silicon Valley is what happens, argues Chen, where tech companies have sought to fulfill every level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, including (or especially) religious or spiritual engagement to keep their employees working. As they become the convenient catchall of employees’ needs and wants, these companies also deploy and fundamentally reshape established religious traditions, most notably Buddhism, for their own purposes. Chen, who spent five years in and among Silicon Valley employers and employees, has seen firsthand the totalizing impact of work on all aspects of American life and puts that knowledge to keen use as she explores the religious world of this particular subculture.
Chen’s analysis traces the spiritual evolution of tech migrants, many if...
University of California Press