IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Business is a powerful force for peace, interfaith understanding and religious freedom, finds a new study by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.* The study breaks new ground by showing that business is good for religious freedom.
This new study, authored by Melissa E. Grim, builds on another recent global analysis that found the converse is also true – religious freedom is good for business.
While human rights organizations often focus on holding businesses accountable to human rights standards (perhaps understandably), these case studies begin with a different question: How can business be a force for social good and at the same time make a profit?
The new study examines a range of case studies and finds that “impact investments” by businesses can result in increased interfaith understanding, religious freedom and peace.
The case studies come from the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America, and were chosen to be illustrative, not exhaustive. The study’s limitation, however, is that it does not show the extent to which business is a force for peace, interfaith understanding and religious freedom. Rather, the study shows that business can be, and some businesses certainly are.
CASE STUDIES
- Coke Serves Up Love and Peace with Small World Machines – Last year, Coca-Cola brought some laughter and joy to one of the most volatile and dangerous regions on earth, when it installed two Small World Machines in New Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan.
- BMW AWARD, Driving Global Peace and Success – For luxury carmaker BMW, intercultural understanding is more than just a nice sentiment, it’s “an essential part of our daily work,” says Bill McAndrews, the company’s Vice President for Communications. Indeed, since 1997, BMW has been actively promoting cooperative dialogue between different cultures, giving out awards to support businesses that innovate interculturally. Awards highlighted are (1) Helping Muslim Youth in the Philippines; (2) Giving a Voice to the Voiceless in India; and (3) Promoting Understanding Through Tourism in the Holy Lands.
- Nigerian Conflict: Is Business the Answer? – In Nigeria, businesses and economic development NGOs are working to stop widespread religious violence between Christians and Muslims, which has already taken hundreds of lives and threatens to thrust parts of the country into civil war.
- World Cup Highlights Struggles & Contributions of Afro-Brazilians
– In Brazil, where religious freedom is generally well-protected, Brazilians of African descent still face discrimination for their appearance and beliefs, including their religious beliefs. But an NGO, the Afro-Brazilian Incubator, is working to fight this discrimination by promoting entrepreneurship among Afro-Brazilians.
- Indonesian Businesses Open Their Doors to Faith and Action – In Indonesia, businesses are at the forefront of efforts to promote interfaith understanding. For instance, EXPRESS Taxi, with a fleet of more than 7,000 taxis in Jakarta, promotes a faith-friendly workplace by setting up prayer rooms and facilitating Muslim and Christian observances as well as celebrations of Chinese New Year. In addition, businesses in Indonesia have worked to fix large, seemingly intractable social problems such as helping 4,541 poor couples in interfaith marriages to receive the proper marriage licenses.
* These case studies do not imply an endorsement of any company profiled. The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation has no tie to any of the companies studied. The case studies are part of collaboration with the UN Global Compact’s Business for Peace platform and will be presented at the next UN Alliance of Civilizations meeting in Bali, Indonesia, at the end of August 2014. The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation also solicits more case studies, and will recognize and give global awards for the best innovations in religious freedom & business in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, host of the 2016 Summer Olympics.