positive impacts of religion on economic behaviors

 positive impacts of religion on economic behaviors

The social science of the United States has raised the issue of the impact of religion in society. After the Cold war, religions like Catholic and Islam led to the rise of the right-wing parties that would advocate for the rights of the individuals. However, in recent years, there has been controversy about the role of religion economic behaviour. America is categorized as one of the industrialized countries in which weekly service attendance is high. The authors of the book “American Grace” state that the religion has, in one way, led to the unity of the Americans and on the other hand, divided Americans. The book discusses the religious changes that occurred in America and the impact they brought on the economic behavior of the population (Putman 2-6). The essay will discuss the changes and the positive and negative effects on the United States. Some of the positive impacts of religion on economic behaviors are stated below.

Consumption and Saving

Based on the fact that America is a religious nation, as mentioned by the authors of the book, positive impacts on economic behaviors are recorded. The class notes indicate some of these impacts as follows. One of the mentioned advantages of faith on economic behavior is that it motivates the population on working, saving and consumption. As mentioned in the introduction, the United States’ population attends weekly services more than others. In some of the religious teachings, the individuals are taught on the need to work.

For example, through the reading (2nd Thessalonians 3: 10), the population is taught on the need to work and working promotes the economic behavior of the community. The religious institutions also have programs that are used to educate the followers on the need to save. The followers are taught to consume their resources wisely and therefore ensuring that economic growth of the community is enhanced (Lehrer 707-726). Based on saving, working and consumption, the religious followers are trained on incentives and disincentives. The individuals are discouraged on misuse of money on luxuries and instead are encouraged to invest their resources. The resources are invested in the economic growth of the community and the nation. The individuals are trained on the need to save and invest their money for their future. For example, the young people in the religious sector are trained to spend money instead of misusing the money in their leisure time.

Religious Variabilities

The other economic behavior that is enhanced through religious institutions is the variability of religious that defines feminine and masculine responsibilities. These responsibilities make the population responsible in life. The individuals learn on the need to work, save and consume responsibly to ensure that there are enough resources for the family. Variability of religious has played a significant role in moulding economic behavior in which the people focus on working and investing. Men are the father figures in the family, and they become more economical in handling the resources they acquire from their hard work (Benjamin 617-637). The religious men become more economical as they work hard for their personal growth hence resulting in the growth of the nation.

Prohibitions and Permissions

The third aspect that is mentioned in the issue of working, saving and consumption is permissions, prohibitions and commands. In religious teaching, some commands ensure that the population work and saves. For instance, religious followers are taught on the need to offer taxes to the government. They are trained on the importance of giving charges as the taxes are used for the communities’ economic growth. Also, there are religious that prohibit their followers from getting involved in crimes like robbery, and they encourage them to work. The followers expected to depend on their hard work. An exam is the Muslim prohibition of Hiram money which prohibits them from obtaining money illegally (Benjamin 617-637). These religious followers are not expected to gain money through stealing, corruption or other illegal behaviors. Based on the prohibitions, commands and permissions, the individuals become responsible workers and savers, resulting in the growth of the United States.

The role of charity is another economic behavior that is enhanced through the religion structure. Religious redistribution plays a role in ensuring that even the ones with low capabilities are part of the community. The purpose of charity makes the community work hard so that it can have enough resources to give to others in the community. The society behaves economically through motivation by the religious teachings that call for the individuals to work hard and save. Americans who go for religious services are in a better position to offer to the community and enhance equality in society.

Economic Equity

Religion in the United States is an aspect that contributes to enhancing equity in the community of the nation. Economic justice is one of the issues addressed through faith in which all the individuals in the United States should consider. For instance, religious leaders such as George Bush and Kennedy mentioned in the book have spiritual values. Some of the ethical values that are utilized include justice, care and others. Leaders should apply these values to ensure equal distribution of resources in the United States. Equitable distribution of resources has highly contributed to the economic growth of the community. Economic justice is an issue that has affected most of the communities in the United States. Some communities like Black Americans and the Hispanics are victims of economic injustice (Lehrer 707-726). These individuals are considered as the minority community, and they are denied chances to quality education and healthcare services. Through religious teachings, these leaders are therefore trained on the need to behave economically through equal distribution of resources.

Some religious such as the catholic critique extra-economic of wealth and hence makes sure that the leaders treat the citizens equally. In this perspective, the leaders ensure that the resources reach all individuals to enhance equal economic growth to all the communities. Through the religious, the leaders are also urged to ensure productivity by implementing the right procedures of resource management. Religion is against some sins like lust and greed. Therefore the leaders who keep away from these sins are said to have economically behaved. Leaders are, therefore guided through the religion to avoid greed in their political role (Lehrer 707-726). Leaders who are not greedy use the resources to promote the growth of the communities and the entire nation. The leaders avoid performing their duties based on their interest but instead, they are guided by the interests of the citizens they serve. Religion is playing a significant role in moulding the political system in the United States through leaders.

Religious and Unity

The authors mention that through religion, unity is enhanced. The religious teachings bring the personnel together, which include the leaders and their citizens. Through the religious congregation, the leaders come together, and they get to listen to the needs of the citizens. In the book by Robert, the presidents gain the loyalty of the church followers despite the differences in views. An example presented is when the Catholic Church supported president Kerry despite the differences they have on the issue of abortion. The Evangelical church also supported President George Bush, and he won over President Kerry (Putman 2-6). These are examples of how religion enhances unity. Unity is a critical factor in economic behavior since it promotes teamwork in developing the country’s projects. The leaders and the citizens will be focused on the economic growth of the country.

Negative Impacts of Faith of Economic Behavior

However, religion also has negative impacts on the economy of the United States that should be addressed. The first negative impact that will be addressed by the essay is division between the leaders and the communities. Lack of country unity diminishes the economy of the nation since the two parties cannot agree. The authors discuss the example based on economic behavior by first addressing the issue that religious monuments have been put in public areas without conflicts. However, in recent years, the government of the United States has resulted in court battles with religious institutions. It is being argued whether the placement of these monuments on public land violates the constitutional rights of the citizens (Putman pp 2-6). The statues would be used for marketing in the United States that would result in economic growth. However, this is said to have changed, and therefore the financial system of the country has been affected. Also, basing the argument on the lengthy procedure court battles, the budgeting of the country is affected. The resources that would be used for the economic growth of the United States are used in the court processes.

President Tribal Loyalty

The book also addresses the issue of economic division based on the choice of a president from a particular religious background. An example presented is the election of John Kennedy, an American president who faced challenges since he was a catholic. The Protestants in America has to be assured that they were safe if they elected this particular president. The impact in this scenario is the division between religions. The individuals focused on the religion a person belongs to rather than the capabilities of the individual to grow the economy (Putman pp 2-6). A leader would have the power to lead the country to economic growth, but the fact that he belonged to a particular religion hindered him to get to the office. President Kennedy lacked support from the Protestants, but he gained support from the Catholic just because he was their follower. This fact shows that some religions would choose a leader because he was their follower without considering his impact on the economy of the nation. The economic behavior of the United States continued to be affected because of the drastic decisions made based on religious backgrounds. In 1960 as mentioned was a year in which religious tensions were manifested which involved Protestants and catholic president, contestants. It was evident that during this year, tribal loyalty controlled the votes of Americans in which they would support the leader who belonged to their religious doctrine. This tribal loyalty significantly affected the economy of the United States (Putman pp 2-6). Leaders and citizens focused on winning over each other because of the sense of belonging to a particular religion. The economy of the country was therefore affected significantly as people drove away from the economy.

Religious Polarization

The other issue based on religion that is mentioned is religious polarization in which some citizens are so much focused on religion while others are in their secular ways. For instance, the book mentions the young people who disavow religion and these factors have consequences on economic behavior. For the ones who focus on religion, they seem to forget the growth of the economy. From the class notes, these individuals are so involved in visiting the religious institutions such as synagogues, temples and mosques. Most time is spent in the in their religious activities, and therefore the work economic growth is undermined by these populations (Putman 2-6). The religious group is focused primarily on salivation and not on economic growth and therefore affecting the economic behavior of the community. An example mentioned is the church of the suffering that provides spiritual basis based on personal holiness reform. The individuals in religion believe that one cannot serve two masters, and therefore they are involved in evangelical work more than in politics. Some of these people can contribute much into the economy of the country, but they focus much on religion. Also, based on those involved in secular lives, they are engaged in extravagant lives in which they overspend. For instance, the young generation in the United States uses its resources to “enjoy lives” as they term it. The young generation don’t involve themselves in religious activities that train the population on consumption strategies (Rupasingha, 438-450). They go drinking and partying with their lives and spend a lot of resources that could be used in other growth projects. Based on their consumption, they get drank and drive when drank, which at times causes accidents and illness. The impacts of these accidents are that the government has to invest in handling the victims. A lot of money is consumed in hospital expenses, and this money would be utilized for the economic growth of the community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the essay discusses the impacts of religious faith on economic behavior. Economic behavior contributes to moulding the political system, and how religious belief is accommodated determines the results of the political system. The citizens and leaders should accommodate the positive impacts of religious belief. Every individual should ensure to consider the religious practices that promote working and saving. The leaders can help their citizens by ensuring that the money invested in developing the personal growth of the community. The society is, therefore, motivated to improve the economic growth of the United States. The book mentions that religious has united the nation and at the same time, divided the country. The individuals should focus on unity rather division to ensure the growth of the country. The first step of doing this is through choosing a leader not because of belonging to the religion, but rather because economic behavior will be enhanced. Religion should be utilized to promote economic practice for the stability of the political system.