2. The role of Religion and Philanthropy in labor, institution and industry :

An important practical function of religion is to encourage the virtues that make for economic success, such as: industry, frugality, concern for home and family, delay of gratification for a future goal, honesty in one's dealings, and perseverance in an undertaking.

In addition, religion should give positive value to worldly success and the labor required to become prosperous. Max Weber's well-known thesis on the rise of capitalism credits the Calvinist Protestant ethic with the rise of capitalism in the West by encouraging believers to interpret their success as a sign of God's favor. He doubted that modern industrial societies could arise in people of other religions. Today, however, it is impera- tive that the wealth of Western capitalism be shared by all peoples, and this requires that every society develop its own economic base. And indeed, as the economic rise of the Confucian-based societies of East Asia proves, other religions also possess--or potentially can develop--the foundations necessary to support the development of a modern society.

In the Anthology of Sacred Texts edited by the international Religious Foundation, a few texts from scriptures which support industry and value the accumulation of wealth are given. They approve of honest work as its own reward, condemning sloth, laziness, and profligacy. A person has the obligation to make the best use of what has been given him.

But labor is even more sanctified if its wealth, once accumulated and enjoyed, is then devoted to charitable and public ends. Philanthropy is the logical end of capitalist accumulation, and one of its most important religious justifications.

Source : World Scripture, A comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts, a project of the International Religious Foundation, 1995