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Friday, February 18, 2005

 

Economics

A subject that I don't see often discussed is the relationship between economics and religion. I may have mentioned that during the modern period, since the 16th century, at least in Western civilization, there has been a general shift away from Christianity to secularist beliefs. Most corporations are very distinctly secular in their structure and outlook, as they concerned as they principally concerned with making money for stockholders, with little concern for the sacred or other-worldly.
Likewise, many religions are concerned largely with these things, with a tendency to leave material well-being in the hands of the business world.

Yet, for the same reasons that government and religion cannot be separated, economics and religion also cannot be separated. Businesses rely on the honesty of their employees and suppliers and cannot flourish in a climate of utter selfishness, violence, and deceit, and people's spiritual welfare is manifestly affected by their economic circumstances; A society in which a few wealthy people live in luxury while most struggle for the necessities of survival is neither just nor healthy. The choice of whether to go to work or to church can be framed in either economic terms, or religious ones, but is increasingly faced by worshippers in an increasingly secularized society.
Likewise, in a society where pornography, drug use, and various forms of dishonesty are increasingly tolerated, it can be a sacrifice for people who believe these things are morally wrong to find employment that avoids them.

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