FAITH & FINANCE
OVERVIEW
The faiths are major stakeholders in the planet, controlling significant wealth (mostly held on behalf of their members) as well as owning large amounts of land and property. Religions have been described as 'the third-largest economic power on Earth' and own trillions of dollars in assets and investments. These assets earn huge incomes, which they use to finance their operations, run their places of worship and carry out their charitable activities.
Faith groups also have a great deal of purchasing power. They run half of the world's schools, millions of houses of worship, health clinics and hospitals – many with cafes, community centres, and hostels, where people come together. As such, they spend large amounts of money annually on food, supplies, power and services.
‘Our money and our assets have to serve the same purposes that we ourselves serve, and to have the same goals that we want to achieve with our overall ministry’
– Bishop Thomas Schirrmacher, World Evangelical Alliance
Faiths and finance
HOW MUCH ARE FAITHS WORTH?
Calculating the financial value of faith groups is not easy because there is no central compendium of this information, much of which is, in any case, not publicly available. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of faith groups globally (some very large, many very small), with more than 344,000 religious congregations in the US alone.
Equally problematic is calculating the financial contribution of faiths to society. Click the pictures below to find out more.
Faiths and finance
THE APPROPRIATE USE OF MONEY & WEALTH
When it comes to finance, faith-based organisations have always taken values-based views around the appropriate use of money and wealth. Many religions teach that economic decisions have moral consequences and that wealth should be distributed fairly and used for the common good. Some faiths, such as Islam, Judaism and Daoism, ban certain practices such as interest, or forbid investing in activities considered harmful.
Avoiding harm
When it comes to their investment policies, the starting point for many faith institutions is to avoid investing in activities that conflict with their values, such as the arms trade, pornography or gambling. Increasingly, this includes divesting from institutions that damage the planet or contribute to the climate crisis. That's why faiths make up the biggest group of investors divesting from fossil fuels globally.
Divestment from fossil fuels
More than 570 faith institutions have committed to moving away from fossil fuels in the last decade. Faiths make up the biggest category of groups divesting, out of 1,600 institutions from all sectors. The Vatican and World Council of Churches, among others, have called on faith groups to divest as 'a moral imperative' given the extreme climate, biodiversity and humanitarian impacts arising from fossil fuel use.
Faith-consistent investing
In recent years, there's been a growing sense that it's not enough for faiths to avoid harmful investments; they also need to invest positively to create a beautiful and just world. Faith-consistent investing (also known as faith-based or faith-aligned investing) is a form of ethical or values-based investing in which faiths actively seek investments that reflect their beliefs and values.
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Key guidance documents
Interested in getting a collaboration or a project going with a faith community but not sure where to start? Check out these key guidance documents.
