TruthBook Religious News Blog

By Paul Marshall
From the Hudson Institute
Saturday, January 12, 2008

...The problem with our contemporary talk of faith and politics is not that it exists but that it is so often so very shallow. We live in an increasingly religious world in which faith and belief affect every dimension of our existence, so our politicians better talk about it.

The future is likely to bring many more debates on how religion shapes not only politics but economics. Of course this question has always been around. Its locus classicus is Max Weber's misunderstood work on the relation of Protestantism and capitalism. Sadly, Weber never finished this work. The famous title "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" refers not to a book actually written by Weber, but to a collection of his divergent occasional pieces on this topic.

But in what he did finish, Weber argued that the widely dispersed and theologically disciplined work habits encouraged by Protestantism were a factor, though only one, in the development of modern-age "capitalism." We can argue about the historical details, but the question of how religious ethics can shape economic performance remains with us, and is being revived.

Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary of Harvard University have used the results of World Values Surveys to study the relation between religion and economic attitudes. They found that many religious beliefs concerning cooperation, government, working women, legal rules, thriftiness and the market economy are conducive to higher per-capita income and growth. Religion appears to have an effect on economic growth and development by fostering thrift, a work ethic, honesty and openness to strangers. This has lead to the notion of "spiritual capital," analogous to human capital, which focuses on knowledge and behavior stemming from transcendent concepts and ultimate concerns.

Their model stresses the importance of freedom, not only in economics per se, but in religion itself. Religion most often has positive effects when it is free. This model is reinforced by the results of our recently concluded survey of international religious freedom. The countries with the worst religious freedom records, including Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, have, unless they have oil, terrible economic records. Similar relations hold for those in the middle and for those with high levels of freedom: The highest 30 countries in rankings of economic freedom all scored highly on religious freedom.

Barro and McCleary's work suggests that this is more than a mere correlation: There is good reason to think that religious freedom leads to good economic outcomes. The current evidence indicates that closed religious systems hamper economic development. Hence, if we want economic growth and development, we need to permit religious groups and people to follow their beliefs. In this case, economists should join political scientists in examining religion more seriously.

Whether we like it or not, religion is likely to remain central to politics, and even economics. This means that in the future, politicians, Democrats as well as Republicans, are likely to expand their talk of religion on the campaign trail. We should not dismiss this as if religion were a mere irrational prejudice or interest-group totem. We should instead demand that politicians address these fundamental issues in a serious, coherent and empirically grounded way. If they do not do so, they (and we) will misunderstand our all-too-religious world.

Paul Marshall is senior fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. Rankings from the center's survey "Religious Freedom in the World" are available here.

Labels: 'spiritual capital', economics, Paul Marshall, politics, religion, religious freedom, World Values Surveys

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Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Capitalising on the spirit

Page 1 of 3

Wednesday October 03, 2007

The days when businesses could operate solely on self-interest, short-term gain and with an eye on the bottom line are numbered as customers, employees and shareholders insist on knowing what companies are doing in the world.

There is a growing interest in what is being called 'spiritual capital'.

Financial planner, chartered accountant and managing director of Money Matters and Rodger Spiller & Associates, Dr Rodger Spiller, says spiritual capital is the value reflected in a business's commitment to quality of life.

"It is a bit of an intangible - like brand worth," he says. "It's something that helps companies be better able to attract customers and employees.

"It's about focusing on quality of life and sustainability. These are things that citizens are getting more aware of and are seeing as more important."

A recent survey in Britain showed that 53 per cent of workers felt a tension between their spirituality and daily work. "This needs to be addressed," Rodger says, "as it affects productivity and engagement."

Rodger points out that wealth is being redefined but, in some ways, it's reverting to its original meaning.

According to Wikipedia, wealth comes from the old English word "weal", meaning "well-being" or "welfare", and the term was originally an adjective used to describe the possession of such qualities.

"Spiritual capital reflects the original definition of wealth as wellbeing - not just money," Rodger says.

"It's about individuals and businesses being environmentally and socially responsible and wanting to improve wellbeing for all.

"Employees want to work for companies that take into account these things. Interestingly, companies with this broader perspective who look to enhancing quality of life are doing better financially.

"Responsible investors who prefer these companies are doing well by doing good. Stakeholders want to work and invest in companies that make a difference in the world and make money at the same time."

A famous quote from Body Shop founder the late Anita Roddick is: "The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you."

Rodger talks of the four Ps of spiritual capital: purpose, principles, practices and performance.

He says the old idea that greed is good has been rejected by a lot of people who don't merely want to work to finance the weekend. They want to feel good about the work they're doing.

"People are searching for meaning, and becoming more aware of spirituality. Employees who feel in tune with their company's efforts will be more productive and enthusiastic," Rodger says. "People's purpose in the world is more than just about money.

Labels: 'spiritual capital', business, spirituality, wealth