Poll: Americans See Clash Between Christianity, Capitalism

By Nicole Neroulias
Religion News Service

(RNS) Are Christianity and capitalism a marriage made in heaven, as some conservatives believe, or more of a strained relationship in need of some serious couples' counseling?

A new poll released Thursday (April 21) found that more Americans (44 percent) see the free market system at odds with Christian values than those who don't (36 percent), whether they are white evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Catholics or minority Christians.

But in other demographic breakdowns, several categories lean the other way: Republicans and Tea Party members, college graduates and members of high-income households view the systems as more compatible than not.

The poll, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service, found that although conservative Christians and evangelicals tend to want their clergy to speak out on issues like abortion and homosexuality, they also tend to hold left-of-center views on some economic issues.

"Throughout the Bible, we see numerous passages about being our brother's keeper, welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and healing the sick," said Andrew Walsh, author of Religion, Economics and Public Policy and a religion professor at Culver-Stockton College.

"The idea that we are autonomous individuals competing for limited resources without concern for the welfare of others is a philosophy that is totally alien to the Bible, and in my view, antithetical to genuine Christianity."

The findings add a new wrinkle to national debates over the size and role of government, and raise questions about the impact of the Tea Party's cut-the-budget pressure on the GOP and its traditional base of religious conservatives.

The poll found stronger religious distinctions over the question of businesses acting ethically without government regulation, and whether faith leaders should speak out about economic concerns such as the budget deficit and the minimum wage.

White evangelicals (44 percent) are more likely than other Christians or the general population to believe that unregulated businesses would still behave ethically, and they place a higher
priority on religious leaders speaking out about social issues over economic concerns.

Minority Christians, in contrast, believe clergy should be vocal about both areas -- particularly on the economic issue of home foreclosures, which 76 percent considered important, compared to 46 percent of the general population.

"Minority Christians have a deep theological tradition of connecting faith and economic justice, and we see that link in the survey," said Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. "Because minorities in the U.S. generally continue to have lower incomes than
whites, economic issues are also more salient in these congregations."

In other findings:

• Half of women believe that capitalism and Christian values are at odds, compared to 37 percent of men.
• A majority (53 percent) of Democrats believe capitalism and Christian values are at odds, compared to 37 percent of Republicans and 41 percent of independents. A majority (56 percent) of Tea Party members say capitalism is consistent with Christian values.
• Nearly half (46 percent) of Americans with household incomes of100,000 a year or more believe that capitalism is consistent with Christian values, compared to just 23 percent of those with household incomes of30,000 a year or less.
• Most Americans (61 percent) disagree that businesses would act ethically on their own without regulation from the government. White evangelicals (44 percent) are more likely than Catholics (36 percent), white mainline (33 percent) or minority Christians (34 percent) to say
• unregulated businesses would act ethically.

"The most idolatrous claim of the Christian right is that the invisible hand of the free market ... is none other than the hand of God," Walsh said, "and any attempt to regulate the free market, according to this theology, belies a lack of faith in God."

The Rev. Jennifer Butler, executive director of the Washington-based group Faith in Public Life, said the fact that religious values seem to trump political or class differences can help groups like hers advocate for the poor.

And in ongoing debates in Washington over the budget and cuts to domestic spending, that means "making the wealthiest Americans and corporations pay their fair share in taxes" she said.

"People of faith have a unique ability to show political leaders that the economy is a moral issue," she said. "Even some members of Congress are beginning to echo our argument that protecting the most vulnerable as we get out of debt is a moral duty."

The PRRI/RNS Religion News Poll was based on telephone interviews of 1,010 U.S. adults between April 14 and 17. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Comments

[wordenreport]

03:01 PM on 05/21/2011

Lloyd Blankfein said that Goldman Sachs was "doing God's work." The SEC thought otherwise and Goldman settled or over $500 million and admitted that its marketing for the AMICUS issue had been "incomplete." If even the fraudulent think they are in line with religion, how much of a constraint can religious ethics proffer against greed? For more on this point, please see http://thewordenreport.blogspot.com/2011/02/godliness-greed-how-effective-is.html

[New Yorker]

11:21 AM on 05/07/2011

I am a Catholic and go to Mass at least every week. I pray Daily, I am also a Democrat, despite the abominable sin of abortion being a loathesome part of the Democrats political agenda. I am this because the greatest evil speading across the United States today is the worship of business, the idea that all good flows not from God, but from humungous corporations. The despicable U.S. Supreme Court decision to make a corporation the equivalent of citizens when spending its pre-tax profits to buy political influence means these heartless oragnizations now control political policy. Republicans are their chosen means of ding this, but Democrats in the government are already falling into the same line up for their money.
Corporations never go to war, get maimed, shot, bleed or die for the country, but they out vote the people who do. They wield power to rape the environment with impunity, and we see that effort gaining power all the time. Walmart has more to say about China policy than the President does. The corporation drives down wages, and neglects its people, Profit alone is all it worships. Abortion kills only infants, Corporate Greed kills across the age spectrum, so I remain a Democrat until something better comes along.

[brokerallen]

10:03 PM on 05/07/2011

You said the exact things I think about almost everyday. I was a Republican all of my adult life, mostly because of abortion. Then I realized of the Republics were fronts for big business.
They were only using Christianity to get votes. Every other issue I am in basic agreement with the Democrats. Now I only vote for Democrats. Letting someone die for lack of medical care is murder when medical care could be provided.

[scottyknows]

06:32 PM on 05/16/2011

What nonsense. No one dies from lack of medical care, which is why so many ER's have closed; so many illegals getting free care that no one pays for.

You don't think "Big Business" supports democratic candidates? If not, you didn't switch parties because of moral superiority but intellectual deficiency.

[scottyknows]

12:33 AM on 05/07/2011

First, take the d.em.o.c.rats out of the poll, since they will say anything to make Christianity look bad. That changes the headline right there. "Majority Don't See Clash with Christianity and Capitalism."

Ah, leftist journalism. You can count on the bias every time.

[flipacoin]

10:15 PM on 05/05/2011

The Jews, God's chosen people, have received over 30% of the Nobel Prizes in economics since 1901. Remarkable considering that Jews only take up one quarter of one percent of the world's population beating the law of averages by over 100 times. Those prizes haven't been work espousing the pitiful weak economic systems of socialism or communism. The Bible doesn't teach that the government should steal to give while taking a cut of that money and then getting votes from those that they give to. Big conflict of interest there. Section 8 housing is there for the disavantaged, food stamps, and importantly there are food pantries and 7 day a week soup kitchens and free clothes giveaways that largely Christians and some atheist participate in. I myself buy appliances for the poor at times and work the soup kitchens. That's where charity florishes. Keep the government from taking Jesus' place. Confiscatory tax rates, like 50% inheritance tax is theft. Then giving it to buy votes is disingenuiness. Higher tax rates lowers charitable giving. Atheistic socialist and communist with no successful example of any nation with their system, will use Jesus' name and Bible to push their agendas. Don't be one of Lenin's favorite people.

[Kris Starring]

01:40 PM on 04/28/2011

So apparently, the act of exchanging money for goods and services offered, and competing for limited resources is against the very tenets of Christianity. This is exactly one of the many reasons why I'm not a Christian.

[Larrythetarheel]

11:37 AM on 04/27/2011

Read Randy Alcorn's book, Money, Posessions and Eternity. and I believe you will come away with a fair and sound asessment of the biblical view of capitalism.

[TYRANNASAURUS]

10:43 AM on 04/27/2011

Poll: Americans See Clash Between Christianity, Capitalism........

Not that I'm a big believer in capitalism....... but at least it deals with reality......that's something the bible doesn't do.

[dthorsen]

04:56 PM on 04/26/2011

Christians should use critical thinking, when evaluating various economic systems, e.g., capitalism and socialism. They should beware of those who claim biblical legitimation for a particular economic system. Although some systems may seem more biblically appealing, that does not exempt them from moral as well as economic assessment. My concern for friends who seem to claim that 'Jesus was a capitalist' have uncritically bought into a kind of prosperity gospel that bifurcates personal and social economic accountability. Personally, they are generous, but socially (e.g., business, government), they seem to have a dog-eat-dog approach. (My apologies to dogs.)

[Kyrillos Wickenberg]

04:16 PM on 04/26/2011

Jesus said to win friends with unrighteous mammon which is capitalism

[Freikugel]

12:51 PM on 04/26/2011

Jesus taught things like "sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven" and "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Christians SHOULD see a clash. I think that's a pretty clear message.

[non-radical]

04:27 PM on 04/26/2011

Jesus was addressing a young rich jewish man who came to Jesus and wanted to show Jesus how righteous he was. He asked what he needed to do to gain eternal life. Since he was asking a rabbi, he commited himself to do what the rabbi told him. Jesus told him to go and sell all he had and give to the poor. Then you will have riches in heaven and eternal life. The young rich man went away sorrowful. Jesus showed him his heart that he trusted in money more then GOD. So then Jesus turned and said to those followers: it is easier to go to the the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of GOD. You quoted most of it correct. People in those days, like these, seem to think that the rich get to do whatever because of their money. That is not how GOD sees it. He looks upon the heart. GOD never said not to be rich. But to tithe-10% but to also give gifts and sacrafices money above 10%. There is no scripture on this percentage. So being rich is not a sin or a crime. GOD blesses whom he will bless and Curses well...I think you can figure that one out.

[Numberwang]

01:57 PM on 04/27/2011

Stories. Stories of Jesus 'claim' he said and did these things. These stories were ALL written tens and in some cases hundreds of years after the fact and NONE by actual witnesses. One might think that an all powerful god might leave a slighyly bigger footprint.

[Andres64]

01:44 PM on 04/28/2011

--Ahhh the insults keep coming.

The point, which obviously went over your head, is that just because someone believes something enough to die for it has no bearing whatsoever on the validity of the belief.

[flipacoin]

09:49 PM on 05/05/2011

This man was asking what kind of works he needs to do to get to heaven. However it is faith in Jesus' redemption work, not works that saves your soul. His disciples were astonished and alarmed about the camel thru the eye of a needle comment and asked, "Who can get into heaven?" Jesus answered, "What is impossible for man is possible thru God." meaning 'not by our works; but by faith in God's work in which is taking the free gift of salvation that is apart from works. See John 3:16 for Jesus' description of what is and how to, to recieve this salvation.

[CLamb]

11:40 AM on 04/26/2011

Clash is a bad word to use. They can work together with each other. Capitalism is an economic system and Christianity is a religious/moral system. Each one complements and moderates the other. Its like saying there is a clash between muscular strength and intelligence.

[Numberwang]

01:58 PM on 04/27/2011

Christianity is not any kind of system. There are far too many holes in it to be considered a system, unless flawed counts.

[AKL1985]

12:48 AM on 04/26/2011

Capitalism: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.

[Henry Plantagenet]

11:12 PM on 04/25/2011

The same guy founded both Christianity and capitalism: Saint Paul. He met the original Christians, and he built Jesus Incorporated. He was open-minded enough to embrace totally new ideas. He turned Christianity into a message that could be spread across an Empire, like a marketing guy. He persuaded the original leaders of the sect that they must let go of Jewish law if they were going to sell the new creed successfully – it would be impossible to win new adherents if their first decree to converts was to chop off their peepees. He travelled across the Empire repeatedly, selling the message, making the Church grow. He added to that with letters, yelling at the other Christians to stay on message and spread the word. He refereed a lot of arguments. He built a Church strong enough to grow in a sometimes hostile environment, and refined the original teachings into a stronger doctrine. He converted Christianity from a tiny sub-sect of Judaism into a religion which blew away ten centuries of paganism and conquered an Empire, and then a continent. By the time Paul was done, he had laid the groundwork for a global enterprise which survived challenges from Luther, Henry the Eighth, Galileo, Darwin. And the church he built remained powerful and profitable for almost 2000 years. Profitable for two millennia. Name a CEO who ever accomplished anything of the kind. Saint Paul, founder of capitalism. Not Adam Smith, not Ayn Rand, not Henry Ford.

[AKL1985]

12:49 AM on 04/26/2011

he may have made the church grow as you say, but he did that by radically altering Christianity. I don't think that's a positive thing. How do we know what is real and what is just innovations?

[sweetgreensnowpea]

10:18 AM on 04/26/2011

i suspect what most people consider "christianity" is really "paulism".

[Murphdogg]

02:20 PM on 04/25/2011

I spent an evening with a former close friend who is a business owner and an evangelical christian, For the first two hours he preached to me. The next two, he proceeded to outline how he cheats on taxes and how he cheats his bank.

[Numberwang]

06:15 PM on 04/25/2011

sounds about right.

[shilow]

02:42 AM on 04/26/2011

He's a Christian in name only.

[Murphdogg]

11:07 AM on 04/26/2011

My experience is that the evangelicals are very christian but only only toward people they persaonally know. They will help their neighbors and friends in any way but have zero sense of the larger world around them. Just my perspective.

[songbookz]

12:48 PM on 04/25/2011

The first church was set up as a Socialist organization (Acts 2:44).

Old Testament Law regulated business practices (Lev 19:36) and labor relations (Lev 19:13).

The forms of business we see in the Bible are farming, crafts businesses, Socialism, and what we would today call micro-capitalism. Corporations (which predated Christ by 300 years) are not mentioned.

[Numberwang]

06:16 PM on 04/25/2011

what is Socialism as a business?

[songbookz]

08:39 PM on 04/25/2011

Simply speaking, Socialism is when workers own and control the means of production - think: "employee owned and operated." Often confused with Communism which is an extremely Conservative co-option of Socialism just as Fascism is a Conservative co-option of Capitalism.