At the Intersection of Faith and Finance by Rob Fohr
Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty’s book, The Problem of Wealth: A Christian Response to a Culture of Affluence, presents many challenges and thought-provoking ideas for persons of faith living in the modern economy. Throughout my reading of the book I found myself focusing in on two particular challenges:
Challenge #1: How do people of faith engage an economic and financial system that is both beneficial as well as damaging to us?
Challenge #2: Can people of faith draw from the teachings of our traditions to transform our economic system to be more just, equal and sustainable?
In this post I will attempt to share some ways in which I am aware of people of faith addressing these challenges. While these faithful responses are wholly inadequate to solve the enormity of the issues raised in Hinson-Hasty’s book, I believe they help to push in the right direction.
“Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement”
For nearly half a century, many religious entities with long-term invested capital have occupied that unique space between faith and finance, and have made an enormous impact on countless lives through their engagement and advocacy with some of the largest corporations on the planet. Before the late 1960s and early 1970s the idea that investors would push companies to be better corporate citizens was largely unthinkable. However, starting in the early 1970s, several mainline Protestant denominations began to establish investment policies and guidelines that were designed to utilize their invested capital as instruments of mission. These denominations were among some of the early adopters in what has come to be known as “faith-based” or “socially responsible” investing. Many of these investment policies included theological, social, and ethical considerations that were designed to give guidance to investors on what companies or industries to avoid (such as alcohol, tobacco, and gaming) as well as what areas to focus engagement with companies.
For instance, my denomination, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., established the committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) in 1971 which was designed to implement the denomination’s mission goals for its investments around six main areas: The Pursuit of Peace, the Pursuit of Racial Justice, the Pursuit of Economic and Social Justice, the Protection of Human Rights, the Achievement of Environmental Responsibility, and the Advancement of the Rights and Equality of Women.
One of MRTI’s key goals is engaging with corporations to expand the definition of profitability through making an impact on the so-called “triple bottom line.” That is, ensuring that companies are engaging in business practices that maximize their financial returns (the traditional “bottom line”) for shareholders as well as maximizing the environmental and social benefit for all stakeholders (the second and third “bottom lines”). Maximizing the “traditional bottom line” (financial return) on the denomination’s investments is important because it helps ensure retired pastors and church worker’s pensions are funded, and that the finances are available for the important mission work carried through the denomination. However, maximizing the social benefit for all stakeholders is equally important because it aims to ensure that corporations address potential damage their operations may do to the environment and vulnerable populations anywhere in their supply chains.
MRTI does careful research and works with ecumenical and interfaith partners through the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and others to identify opportunities to engage in dialogue with corporations that need improvement on their social responsibility. Some areas of corporate social responsibility on which MRTI and its partners have focused include encouraging corporations to:
- set greenhouse gas reductions goals,
- adopt policies on the eradication of human trafficking,
- strengthen labor standards,
- end predatory lending programs,
- increase gender and racial diversity in the company’s board of directors,
and many others.
While it is not a perfect methodology, and sometimes results can be too incremental and slow for some, I believe that faith-based and religious actors advocating for corporate social responsibility is one of the most powerful and effective ways people of faith can witness for social justice in the 21st century. As I mentioned previously, faith-based investing and corporate engagement on its own will not come close to addressing the challenges outlined in Hinson-Hasty’s latest book, however, I believe they are part of the family of faithful responses to create a more just economic and financial system.
MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES:
Short Video on Presbyterian Faith-Based Investing Corporate Engagement:
For more information about Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement please visit our website: http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/mrti/
Rob Fohr is the Director of Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement for the Presbyterian Mission Agency based in Louisville, Ky. He is the lead staff person to the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and serves on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility based in New York City. He is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and lives in Owensboro, Ky with his spouse, Rev. Christine Coy Fohr, and two daughters, Madeline and Maebel.