Spiritual Cannibalism in HRD : How Workplace Spirituality Devours Sacred Traditions

This paper interrogates how the discourse of workplace spirituality in human resource development (HRD) operates as a tool of colonization. Through a systematic review of 48 articles published between 1997 and March 2025, the study uncovers recurring patterns of spiritual appropriation in which non‐Western traditions are detached from their cultural and ethical roots and repurposed to serve organizational imperatives. Drawing on decolonial theory, particularly Wael Hallaq's critique of modern knowledge regimes, the analysis clarifies how these practices reinforce colonial hierarchies of knowledge and power, even as they profess to promote meaning and ethical conduct. The paper introduces the concept of spiritual cannibalism to theorize how organizations consume and reconfigure living spiritual traditions into decontextualized managerial tools. By showing workplace spirituality as a contested site of colonial encounter, the study calls on HRD scholars to adopt decolonial approaches that respect the integrity of diverse knowledge systems rather than assimilating them into Western organizational logics.