Religious views on business ethics

Many faiths have extensive literature and legal code on the accumulation and use of wealth; and many businesses rely on these ethical guidelines, both as a result of the religious beliefs of owners and managers, and as a way of ensuring that their actions meet the otherwise unwritten ethical standards of local communities.

Business ethics in the world's major religions

Christian business ethics

Christ drives the Usurers out of the Temple, a woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder in Passionary of Christ and Antichrist.^[1]

In Christianity, the basis of this theology is the Old Testament and the New Testament.

For example, Jesus asked his disciples, "If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you?" Luke 6:34. Although this may be a general injunction to disinterested benevolence, it has also been read as a condemnation of interest or usury. Jesus referenced this especially when one lends to another believer, the idea being that, as a Christian with an eternal mindset, ultimately God is our rewarder and lending to a fellow believer should be left to God to reward over collecting nominal interest.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a book written by Max Weber, a German economist and sociologist, in 1904 and 1905 that began as a series of essays. Weber felt that Protestants were more prone to individualism and had been active supporters of capitalism.

However, there is also a Catholic tradition of business ethics, as seen in the social doctrine of the Church, the organization Legatus, and the encyclicals Rerum Novarum and Centesimus Annus.

Researchers in the theory of religious economy have found insight in the 1985 paper Market Economy and Ethics by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, which attempts to demonstrate the relationship between trust-based economies and faith-based morality. Press articles have argued that Ratzinger's paper was the first to predict the 2008-2009 economic crisis.

Jewish business ethics

The basis of all Jewish law is the Torah; here there are more commandments concerning the kashrut (fitness) of one's money than the kashrut of food (see 613 Mitzvot). These laws are developed and expanded upon in the Mishnah and the Talmud (particularly in Order Nezikin), and are then delineated in the major codes of Jewish law (e.g. Mishneh Torah, 12th c.; Shulkhan Arukh, particularly Choshen Mishpat, 16th c.). A wide array of topics on business ethics are discussed in the responsa literature.

The literature also addresses the ethical dimension. Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter (19th century), founder of the Mussar movement in Eastern European, taught that just as one checks carefully to make sure their food is kosher, so too should one check to see if their money is earned in a kosher fashion (Chofetz Chaim, Sfat Tamim, chapter 5). The teachings go much further: there is a widely quoted tradition (see for e.g. Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh 62:1; originating in Talmud Shabbat 31a) that in one's judgement in the next world, the first question asked is: "were you honest in business?"

See the related discussion of Judaism's approach to "livelihood", under Torah im Derech Eretz and Divine Providence.

Muslim business ethics

For Islam, the basis of these laws is the Qur'an, and they are amplified in the Hadith. Muslim wealth ethics include avoidance of the exploitation of people in need through lending them money at interest (riba) and prohibitions against false advertising; under Islamic law, if a vendor sells an item by making false claims about it, the customer has the right to have the transaction cancelled.

Buddhist business ethics

There is also a history of applying Buddhist principles to business. E. F. Schumacher (best known for Small is Beautiful (1972), a Buddhist approach to economics) wrote Good Work in 1979 where he explored business ethics particularly from the perspective of employees. Schumacher suggested a number of alternate approaches to conventional business, including the example of a company (the Scott-Bader Corporation) where the owner transferred the shares of the corporation into a trust, with instructions to the trustee that the company should be run to benefit the employees. Other Buddhist texts emphasise the role that work can take in gaining enlightenment - one of the elements of the Noble Eightfold Path set out by the Buddha is 'Right Livelihood' which prohibits occupations associated with violence (such as arms dealing), but all the elements (conduct, speech etc.) will apply to the daily conduct of any person in their work.

See also

• Business ethics
• Ethical investing
• Islamic banking

References

General references

The Gods of Business: The Intersection of Faith and the Marketplace, Todd Albertson, Trinity Alumni Press, 2007. ISBN 0-6151-3800-4.

Christian references

• Biblical Business Ethics: Exploring Secular Ethical Values & Alternative Christian Approaches, David Bertch, Terry Martin, Dyna Martin, Works Press, 1994. ISBN 0-9634472-3-8
• Business By The Book: The Complete Guide Of Biblical Principles For The Workplace, Larry Burkett, Nelson Reference; Updated edition 1998, ISBN 0-7852-7141-4
• God is my CEO: Following God's Principles in a Bottom-Line World, Larry S. Julian, Adams Media Corporation, 2001, ISBN 1-58062-477-4
• Full value: Cases in Christian business ethics O.F. Williams and J. W. Houck, San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1978
• Profit at Any Cost? Jerry Fleming, Baker Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8010-1259-7
• Quaker Business Ethic: A Plumb Line Guide to Practical Applications in Business and Industry, Phillip Hartley Smith, Diamond Library Publications, 2001. ISBN 1880876760.

Jewish references

• You Shall Strengthen Them: A Rabbinic Letter on the Poor Elliot N. Dorff with Lee Paskind, The Rabbinical Assembly, NY
• Free Enterprise and Jewish Law: Aspects of Jewish Business Ethics Aaron Levine, Ktav Publishing House, 1980. ISBN 0-87068-702-6
• Case Studies in Jewish Business Ethics Aaron Levine, Ktav Publishing House, 1999. ISBN 0-88125-664-1
• The Jewish Ethicist Asher Meir, Ktav Publishing House, 2005. ISBN 0-88125-809-1
• Business Ethics: A Jewish Perspective Moses L. Pava, Ktav Publishing House, 1997. ISBN 0-88125-582-3
• The Challenge of Wealth, Meir Tamari, Jason Aronson Inc., 1995. ISBN 1-56821-280-1
• With All Your Possessions: Jewish Ethics and Economic Life, Meir Tamari, Free Press, 1987. ISBN 0-02-932150-6
• Al Chet: Sins in the marketplace, Meir Tamari, Jason Aronson, 1986. ISBN 1-56821-906-7
• Torah Guide for the Businessman, S. Wagschal, Philipp Feldheim Inc, 1990. ISBN 1-58330-139-9

Muslim references

• Islamic Business Ethics Rafik Issa Beekun, The International Institute of Islamic Thought
• Islam and the Economic Challenge M.Umer Chapra
• The Problem With Interest Tarek El Diwany
• Distributive Justice And Need Fulfilment in an Islamic Economy Munawar Iqbal, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, UK
• Islamic Commercial Law: An Analysis of Futures and Options Mohammad Hashim Kamali, 2000 ISBN 0-946621-80-2
• Banking Without Interest Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi

Buddhist references

• Good Work E.F. Schumacher (1979, Harper & Row, New York, ISBN 0-06-013857-2)
• Ways of Work Nyingma Centers (1987, Dharma Press, California, ISBN 0-89800-178-1)
• Putting Buddhism to Work Shinichi Inoue (1997), Kondansha, New York, ISBN 4770021240

External links

• A Model Course in Jewish Business Ethics
• Aryeh Kaplan: The Torah view of Money
• Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem
• Further Reading links to books on Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Secular Postmodernism, Shintoism, and Sikhism from the book "The Gods of Business".
• Excerpt from Islamic Business Ethics (PDF)
• Islamic Business Ethics: Book Review
• Islamic Finance
• Jewish Association for Business Ethics
• Money: An anthology - Chassidic source material
• Muslim Business Club - Business done the Islamic way