Business and Religion: Religious Perspectives on Business from Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

Abstract

This chapter contains a series of perspectives on business from the lens of four major religions in the world: Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. While no religious view has a single spokesperson, the additional challenge is that many religious leaders know little about business. These four (two from the United States, one from Singapore, and one from Malaysia) bring the important contribution of strong religious insight and strong business/academic insight. It is easy to see both commonalities and distinctions across these perspectives. These were originally published in Ethix magazine (www.ethix.org) in 2005.