Despite religion's philosophic orientation toward the "spiritual," popular religion maintains a fascination with wealth and how to get it. This preoccupation interacts with religious doctrine to produce some odd effects.

Gullibility and Greed - Preconditions for Scams: It would at first seem ironic that so many swindles have been aimed at the Christian community when this group supposedly eschews worldly concerns. Confidence artists find success with Christians because these people are motivated, just like everyone else, by basically selfish, materialist concerns. The basic premise of any religion featuring an afterlife is an appeal to the drive for self-preservation, which is our most central and selfish motivation. In establishing everlasting life for the individual as the ultimate reward, Christianity and many other religions acknowledge and legitimize individual self-interest as the guiding influence in human behavior, although social scientists and psychologists still seem unsure. Even the act of "saving souls" is one that is undertaken in the belief that there will be bountiful rewards for the individual doing the saving. The Christian notion of personal salvation and the manner in which it is achieved is inconsistent with modern concepts of altruism. The traditional Christian view of right and wrong is basically reactive and selfish, without the moral sophistication to even approximate a sincere and enlightened concern for others. The centerpiece of Christian ethics, the Ten Commandments, is no more than a list of thou-shalt-nots (through which of course, have been drilled numerous convenient loopholes), reflecting an authoritarian concern for conformity rather than an appreciation of any moral obligation to improve society. At first, the Christian concept of agape seems to stand in strong contrast to the rigid carrot-and-stick (mostly the latter) approach to human relations obvious in the Bible and echoed even today in most Christian teachings. Upon closer examination, however, the basis for agape is not an appreciation for humanity, but rather a forced love driven by biblical admonitions to "Love thy neighbor as thyself." This is "love" not inspired by its object, but mandated by a third party, with the promise of rich rewards for those who comply. Predictably, loving "thy neighbor" in this fashion did not, throughout most of the Bible, in any way inhibit directing the cruelest form of treatment toward those same persons. Loving on command is a neat trick, one that, like total disregard for worldly goods, is achievable only by a small fraction who have truly succeeded in sublimating their reason and normal, healthy emotions. Perhaps these rare ascetics are safe from the deceptions of those who wish to exploit the cultivated gullibility of the religious. The rest will remain relatively easy targets of rip-off artists for the same reasons that they are believers: they accept only the easiest solutions, and refuse to have their glowing perceptions of these easy fixes threatened by critical analysis.

Religion vs. Freethought - The Economic Edge: Fundraising is one area in which religion seems to hold a definite advantage over freethought. Its adherents can, through skillful manipulation, be much more readily persuaded to surrender their mammon to the cause. Believers contribute billions in their belief, or, perhaps, hope, that they are actually doing some good by building bigger, more lavish churches, or paying for more ministers to talk to more people. These huge donations provide a powerful attractant to those who would aspire to spread "the word." Predictably, it is not only the more devout ministers that have found this line of work desirable. Considering the amount of money available, as well as the other perks which religious leaders enjoy, we can hardly be surprised that the more spiritual aspects of the ministerial calling frequently seem to be used as a means to a purely secular end: the enrichment of the churches and the provision of a comfortable, sometimes opulent, lifestyle for the priest class or ministers. The economic rewards for doing God's work are not to be ignored in any evaluation of religion or its popularity. Perhaps the single most important thing one can say about religion is that it pays.

Religious Charities - A Mixed Blessing: Of course, since religion itself is not an industry in the sense that it creates goods or services that improve us or our lives in some way, for every person that gets richer through religion, another person gets a little poorer. The purchase of religious services never raised anyone's standard of living. In terms of religion's function in the economy, it can be in many ways compared with entertainment. Money spent by believers to spread their faith to others has never led to any measurable improvement in health or general welfare. In many instances the process of proselytization has been accompanied by much misery. Some might point to philanthropic works for which some religious groups are famous. While these efforts are admirable, they have very little to do with religion, since it is obvious that religious people have no monopoly on philanthropic endeavors. Entertainers quite regularly raise money for charitable causes, the largest examples being the FarmAid and LiveAid concerts of a few years ago. The musicians motives were somewhat purer than those of their religious counterparts, however, as evidenced by the fact that when the fruits of these efforts were delivered, the recipients were not subjected to musical performances in the manner that religious charities inflict their faiths. In any case, quite frequently most of the funds disbursed by religious groups for relief of some misery were not provided by the religious organizations, but by some secular group or even the government.

A strong argument could be made that religiously oriented charities, which most often expend a portion of their efforts on "saving souls" rather than improving physical well being, are a wasteful diversion of resources. Churches often use social welfare programs as marketing tools just as a tobacco company might sponsor an auto race or a funeral home might finance a softball team. Frequently at the same time that the welfare or educational services are being delivered, a religious pitch is also made. This is particularly true in the case of church-run schools, which receive charitable dollars to provide educational services which are already available through the state. The counter arguement has typically been that the public schools have failed to provide education of sufficient quality, but it appears that any educational advantages experienced by parochial school students, for instance, are likely more the result of their increased parental involvement than any factor inherent in the school. Yet religiously affiliated schools continue to benefit from charitable contributions. A few years ago the McDonnell Douglas Employes' Community Fund, for instance, gave $7,200 to the Cardinal Ritter Preparatory School. If these organizations were really sincere in their efforts to improve the lot of the poor and suffering, they would forego their religious messages entirely, withdraw their missionaries, and channel their funds into secular organizations not laboring under the ulterior motive and financial burden of religious proselytism. Of course, some zealots hardly view their work of saving souls as competing in any way with a moral obligation to relieve suffering. This attitude is typified by Pizza magnate and radical conservative Catholic Tom Monaghan, quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying "I've been criticized because I don't give money to charities like hospitals and cancer research and things like that. But what have I accomplished if someone lives three more years? To me, I figure it just gives him three more years to sin. I'm more interested in his soul. That's for eternity."

To the extent that religions succeed in soliciting converts due to their administration of public charitable funds, they are using the public to increase their own wealth. Each new church member, even a poor one, will be expected to provide some measure of financial support, only a small part of which may be circulated back for useful social programs. Availability of public funds to finance social assistance programs is, in effect, public financing of church marketing.

Get Rich Through Faith: Religious television and publishing are excellent means for measuring the Zeitgeist in the more fundamentalist branch of mainstream religion. Viewing religious TV programs, reading the glitzy Christian magazines, or browsing through a bookstore such as One Way Book Shop, it is easy to conclude that the evangelical community is awash in fears of financial loss, and yet hopeful of swift and easy monetary gains. This association of spiritual and fiscal concerns can be traced back centuries in the Christian tradition. In the more recent European and particularly American context there appears to have been some very strong link forged between Christianity and capitalism. These are viewed as being allied in a struggle against the overriding evils of the age, socialism and atheism, which, in many religious minds, were melded indivisibly into one in the form of Communism. The convergence and confusion of worldly and spiritual concepts has led to apocalyptic fears, classical components of Christian belief, now often seeming to take the form of worldwide financial collapse. If the horsemen of the Apocalypse were being conceived today, they might include Collapse of the Monetary System, Bank Failures, and perhaps High Taxes as well.

Almost anything you can do can now be done in an evangelical Christian manner with other Christians. There are Christian versions of just about everything, many of which would seem to have nothing at all to do with one's religious preferences. Many stores now feature an entire selection of Christian greeting cards. We now have Christian athletes, motorcyclists (outlaw, touring or racing), computer enthusiasts, businessmen (perhaps businesswomen is not a Christian concept), dentists (proudly proclaimed in advertising), police, and now, horrifyingly, Christian financial advisors!

The advent of the Christian financial advisor should not really surprise us. Market segmentation made it inevitable that someone would decide to capitalize (literally) on the legion of Christians already tied into the subculture of churches, bookstores, television and radio. Christian financial advisors Judy and Ron Blue have taken the market segmentation approach one step further and produced a video tape aimed at teaching children the principles of sound money management, from a Christian perspective, of course.

Televangelist Pat Robertson has taken the interest in managing personal finances seriously enough to include such advice as a regular feature on his 700 Club TV program. Robertson at times seems to confuse financial planning with appeals for his ministry, implying that financial rewards will come to those who support his enterprises. Financially successful donors are featured during fund-raising appeals, reporting that their fortunes improved after making large gifts to the 700 Club. This is what Robertson calls "reciprocity." We might ask why the donors don't just keep their money and eliminate a wasteful transaction, but such is not the reasoning of the religious mind. Robertson also writes on personal finance, offering an odd mixture of Biblical admonitions and investment advice, with the result being something that might be produced if Billy Graham were forced to take a job on the staff of Money magazine.

For all their Biblical guidance, the "Christian" financial advisors don't seem to be able to reach a consensus any more than their secular counterparts. The January, 1992 issue of Charisma magazine featured the Christian struggle for financial success, with a number of successful Christians offering their ideas on how and why Christians are to succeed financially. In one article, Pat Robertson predicts the continued decline in housing prices and advises that "renting is better than buying." In contrast, James McKeever, editor of The Money Strategy Letter, predicted an inflationary depression beginning in 1993 and advised the purchase of real estate. Looks like he missed that one bigger than hell. Another writer, Larry Burkett, the director of a company called Christian Financial Concepts, seemed to advise home owners to use their retirement savings to pay off their mortgages. Burkett views debt avoidance as a high priority, and reports that in Biblical Jerusalem it was the debt-free that God used to help his people through tough times. This idea of combining traditional-sounding religious faith with '80's style monetary ambitions sells well. A Christian bookstore I visited displayed four books on money management by Burkett. It is not surprising that these Biblically oriented pundits should offer such sweeping and contradictory recommendations. They can't even agree on theology. Mixing in economics only deepens the confusion.

There are a few things that these holy high rollers can agree upon: capitalism is divinely ordained, the end is nigh, and sincerely held Christian beliefs can lead to material rewards. Robertson says that "Christians must have God's wisdom and knowledge...they should no longer blindly accept the failed methods and institutions imposed upon them by secular humanists and their allies." Robertson predicts an economic debacle in the near future, but, with the developments in Eastern Europe in mind, declares that "clearly, God is holding back any worldwide disaster for a time while the spiritual harvest is taking place." Other evangelical Christian economists propose similar doom and gloom scenarios.

While evangelical financial advisors not surprisingly disagree in their investment recommendations, even given their unanimity in predicting an eventual economic collapse, other evangelicals dispute the basic views inherent in the get-rich-through-faith message. In Christianity Today, Jerry Falwell attacked televangelist, saying most are "defrauding the public. They are preaching that it is God's will for everyone to be healthy and wealthy. That's antiscriptural." Falwell should realize that the prosperity message is just another religious gimmick, as is his appeal relating Christianity to right wing politics. The televangelists' survival is dependent upon their television audience. To hold this audience, with competition from secular programming and other televangelists, the promise of prosperity is a useful tool.

Something Fishy in Advertising: I once opened an egg carton to be greeted with a Bible verse printed on the underside of the lid. Christian messages pervade our society, quite often as an accompaniment to some sort of advertising. Implicit in this commercial motif seems to be the notion that Christians are somehow better than the rest of us. To promote and exploit this message, some advertising now contains small fish symbols to indicate the Christianity of the management. But what is the real intended effect? Should Christians prefer to patronize their coreligionists? Do the Christian merchants and professionals prefer to sell their goods and services to fellow Christians? In the case of similar promotions of minority or women-owned businesses, selective patronage might perhaps be somewhat justified as an effort to redress the discrimination that these businesses have, and continue to, encounter. Christians can hardly be in such a position, yet they seem to be saying "I'm better because I'm a Christian" or perhaps "Christians welcome here." There is no evidence or reason to believe that advertisers displaying Christian symbols are any more trustworthy, or that they treat their Christian customers any better than their non-Christian patrons. In many instances, to do so would be illegal religious discrimination.

Copyright 1998 by Patrick Inniss.  All rights reserved.