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Business and Faith Integration for Finance
Ryan McDaniels
School of Business, Liberty University
April 29, 2022
Author Note
Ryan McDaniels
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Ryan McDaniels
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Abstract
Money is the primary unit of barter in today’s world and is essential for every economy. Money
and finance go way back to the early days of human history where instead of money; humans
were trading livestock and other goods for items that they deem of value. According to Genesis
47:17, “And they brought their cattle unto Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the
horses, the herds of sheep of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in
exchange for all their livestock” (King James Version, Genesis 47:17). Anything that someone is
willing to exchange to another person for something in return is a key element of society.
Christian principles are littered throughout the finance world through ethics, human decency,
risk, and many others. This paper will discuss the how faith and finance are intertwined.
Keywords: faith, The Bible, finance, Christian, risk, ethics,
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Christian Principles in Managerial Finance
Christianity and the words of The Bible are not explicitly laid out when discussing the
content of managerial finance or finance in general but when one thinks about it the content of
finance and what we have learned, Christianity is all over the place. Studies shown that there
different decision making policies based on the religious beliefs of the CEO of the firm
(Alderman et al, 2017). A study of 457 CEOs was conducted of American firms and found that
73% of these CEOs are Christian and of those CEOs, there was even a more discrepancy in the
way the firm was run based on if the CEO was Protestant or Catholic (Alderman et al, 2017).
The Catholic CEO was found to have more conservative policies which in turn contributed to
less debt and less investment which also meant that their profitability was lower (Alderman et al,
2017).
Investing and the stock market and bonds are an extremely important topic and come
with a lot of risk. It is important to diversify your risk and not put all your “eggs” in one basket.
According to Leeper, “Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 provides a biblical example of diversification through
the encouragement to invest in many ventures to sell grain across the sea as you do not know
what will happen to any one individual venture” (Leeper, 2022). It is important to diversify your
portfolio with a mixture of stocks and bonds and as you are younger, it is okay and good to be a
bit more risky but as you a get older, then it is time to invest in less risky investments.
Ethics is important and is all about morality and Christianity. Without ethics, people can
essentially do what they want which would create an anarchical society. The Bible has a lot to
say about sound ethical practices. The Bible goes on to say “A false balance is an abomination to
the Lord: but a just weight is his delight” (King James Version, Proverbs 11:1). Ethics is a very
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important topic in all of finance and laws and The Bible. Most unethical practices are against the
law as well.
Conclusion
Christian principles are filtered throughout our world and finance in particular. One does
not have to look very far in The Bible to find any example relating to risk, reward, ethics,
morality which can all relate to finance in some fashion. This class has taught a lot about the
corporate and investing world and how to apply Christian principles to that world.
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References
Alderman, J., Forsyth, J., Walton, R. (2017). How religious beliefs influence financial decision-
making. Graziadio Business Review. 20(3). Retrieved from
https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2017/12/religious-beliefs-influence-financial-decision-making/
Holy Bible, King James Version ®, KJV®. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com
Leeper, L. (2022). Developing faith integration in a principles of corporate finance course.
Christian Business Academy Review. 17. Retrieved from https://cbfa-
cbar.org/index.php/cbar/article/view/610
