Religion and business have been closely intertwined throughout American history. The original corporate charter for the Virginia Company in 1606 addressed matters both commercial (such as the granting of mining rights) and religious (such as the propagation of the Christian faith). Puritan merchants in New England started each new ledger with the inscription “In the name of God and profit.” So long as God came first in their lives and businesses, they saw nothing wrong with pursuing financial success. Some Puritans even believed material wealth was a sign of one’s future salvation.
Over the centuries, the nation’s religious diversity has increased, so that the United States is now home to many different religious traditions, and many different religious views on money-making. Some groups profess that God wants them to be fabulously wealthy, while others seek God by adopting a life of poverty. In a religiously pluralistic society, such a diversity of views on religion and money-making is hardly surprising.
What is surprising is that, increasingly, governments and private parties are arguing that there is only one appropriate view of the relationship between religion and money-making: Exercising religion is fundamentally incompatible with earning profits.
via www.thepublicdiscourse.com
Excellent summary of the issues.
