This week in Abu Dhabi, the annual Summit on the Global Agenda – the world’s largest brainstorming event – brought together the thought leaders of the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils, comprising more than 80 groups of experts from academia, business, civil society, international organizations and government.

Among these councils, members of the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith aim to provide thought leadership that furthers within World Economic Forum activities the understanding of faith’s complex influence on global affairs. The council and its members seek to raise awareness of the criticality of “religious literacy” – ensuring leaders from government, business and civil society adequately comprehend religion’s nuances and drivers, as well as its impact on communities, markets and governance. It aims to transform perspectives on faith in government and the private sector, specifically in nations experiencing dramatic change (for example, immigration dynamics, internal conflicts, freedom of beliefs/religion and emerging market challenges).

The council is developing a toolkit to teach religious literacy through awareness, assessment and analysis. The first part of this toolkit highlights the impact faith has on economies, particularly through demographic and market analysis.

As part of this toolkit, Brian Grim presented a new study by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, Changing religion, changing economies, to the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith at the annual summit in Abu Dhabi.

For a summary of the research, see How Religious will the world be in 2050?

The study has been covered in the media, including articles in Forbes, Christianity Today, Deseret News, Il Folgio, Acton Institute & the World Economic Forum.

MESSAGE TO THE PARLIAMENTARIANS’ FORUM

• By +John Cardinal ONAIYEKAN, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja – Nigeria

NEW YORK, 19 September 2015 – In the face of rising religious persecution of people on the grounds of faith or belief, on September 18-19, over 100 parliamentarians from almost 50 countries assembled in New York City to discuss ways to advance freedom of religion or belief.

The event was cosponsored by the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPP FoRB), a network launched last year in response to the rising crisis of religious or belief based persecution, both by terrorist groups and authoritarian governments.

The IPP is an alliance of parliamentarians committed to advancing religious freedom for all, as defined by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Following is the address of +John Cardinal ONAIYEKAN, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, to the assembly.

+John Cardinal ONAIYEKAN

Let me first sincerely thank the Baroness Berridge, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and the other organizers of this forum for inviting people like me and the Ayatollah Damad, who has just spoken, to contribute from our particular perspectives to the topic of this forum. I thank God for the concern and interest which you all, as parliamentarians from many parts of the world, are showing about this very important topic of religious freedom. This gives us great hopes that from you parliamentarians the interest and concern will reach your governments and then real change will begin to happen where it needs to happen.

As would be expected, since I was given the assignment before leaving home to speak at this occasion, I did prepare the short five minutes observation requested of me. But having heard much of what has been said since this session began, I have decided to put my prepared text aside and to share a few brief reflections with you from my own perspective as one who could be called “a religious leader”.

Permit me to simply list out my observations as follows, in no particular order or logical sequence.

a).  In the matter of restriction and harassment of religious freedom, an important distinction has been made between what governments do by law and what is the result of social habits and pressures [see The Price of Freedom Denied, Cambridge Univ. Press]. As regards legal framework, religious freedom has been an important provision of the universal declaration of fundamental human rights, a code that every member of the United Nations has agreed to respect. However, the reality on the ground still leaves much to be desired. Some nations still have laws, which are against at least the spirit, at times even the letter of the code. The UNO should no longer allow such countries to continue to get way with going against the rules that they themselves have signed on to. There should be no more benign neglect or diplomatic double talk in this matter. As parliamentarians, it is your duty to make sure that the laws of your nations uphold and defend the fundamental right of freedom of religion for everyone, citizens and visitors alike. We hope that a strong resolution will come out of this forum on this matter.

b). As for the so-called “social” restrictions which derive from traditional habits, to the extent that such behavior are outside the law or even against the law, the state must take effective action to uphold the law. Where such discriminatory behavior claims to be based on religious tradition, there is need to review such traditions.

c.) Let me at this point focus on the responsibility of religious leaders in this regard. In many cases, the negative attitudes of some religious communities against others are determined by the teachings and examples of the religious leaders themselves. They therefore have the duty to correct traditional religious teachings and habits, which wound or kill religious freedom. If it means reviewing their theologies, they should do so. My Church, the Catholic Church, went through such a review of theology fifty years ago during the great Second Vatican Council. Two important documents of that council deserve special attention here.  The first is the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium which explains the theological nature of the Church in such a way that we can now have a positive view of other religious communities, both Christian and non-Christian. The second is the Declaration Nostrae Aetate, which gave practical directives on how to relate in a positive manner with people of other religions. These documents, and the entire work of the Council have had a great positive impact, both within and outside our Church. This should be an on-going project for all religious communities.

d.) A particularly urgent task for religious leaders is to clearly disengage themselves from government restrictions and harassments of religious minorities. Often, rulers and politicians claim to be promoting the interests of the dominant religion by oppressing and suppressing other faiths. Unfortunately sometimes the religious leaders make themselves willing partners in this ungodly policy. It is time that religious leaders stand up against laws that restrict religious freedom and work for a change in such laws, even if they have for long been the legal basis for long established practice. Serious examples of this kind of situation are the cases of so-called “blasphemy laws” or laws against conversion, or the imposition of the religious law of a particular creed on all citizens.

e.) In the same vein, religious leaders ought to be in the forefront to defend the right to differ in religious conviction. This should be done, not only for other faiths but also for dissidents within the dominant faith. The right to freedom of religion is a gift of God to every individual. Religious leaders should be seen to be defending God-given rights, not destroying them.

f.) What about the violent religious extremists who commit crimes and acts of terrorism claiming to be acting in the name of God? We see here the limits of freedom of religion. They now constitute a major challenge in our world of today, with the exploits of groups like the Boko Haram in my county Nigeria, the ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Al Shabab in Somalia, etc. They are a small minority, but as dangerous to the entire community as a dose of poison is in a dinner. All the groups mentioned above claim to be Muslims. This puts a great challenge on the Islamic community globally. It is good that the main Islamic organizations have consistently condemned the terrorists, although unfortunately the mass media seems not to be able to give such statements the coverage that I believe they deserve. But I have always insisted that there is need to go beyond mere condemnation. There is need to engage the terrorists, as erring members of the same faith family. Our experience in Nigeria has shown that military engagement is important and necessary but not enough. There is also need for religious and theological dialogue within the house of Islam, a dialogue that only Muslim religious leaders have the capacity to undertake successfully, thereby building a much needed bridge between the extremists and the rest of the community.

g) Finally, let us not forget that violent religious extremism is a product of some non-violent religious extremism. Before people begin to throw bombs in the name of religion, they have already been exposed to the use of “verbal bombs” from extremist preaching that have nothing good to say about anyone who does not agree with them. It does matter what people preach and what people believe. There is need for vigilance.

h.) In conclusion this forum, and especially this session brings out the need for joint reflection and action between politicians and religious leaders in the task of upholding and defending freedom of religion, which is the greatest of all fundamental human rights, after the right to life itself. This joint task must be tackled both nationally and internationally. It is then that we can have religious peace and cooperation. Above all, it is only then that religion will be liberated from all charlatans and manipulators, liberated to do good, not evil, to promote the well being of humanity, not kill people, IN THE NAME OF GOD!

Forbes

Protecting Religious Freedoms Will Strengthen Our Global Economy

In Forbes, by Brian J. Grim & Brian W. Walsh

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, long a priority of administrations from both parties, highlights how the world’s economy is shifting in multiple ways. The United States is still the world’s largest economy, but today two Asian countries—neither historically nor majority Christian—have the second and third largest economies. The Pacific Rim as a whole, one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions on earth, is now also one of the most economically dynamic.

The strength of the global economy has become religiously diverse, and this diversity will only increase in the next few decades. According to a new study released today by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (of which one of us, Brian Grim, is president), the globe’s growing religious diversity is likely to be one of the 21st century’s most important developments for businesses and policymakers around the world. … read more

World Economic Forum’s Agenda

Today, seven of the G8 nations have Christian-majority populations. But by 2050 only one of the leading economies is projected to have a majority Christian population – the United States. The other mega economies in 2050 are projected to include a country with a Hindu majority (India), a Muslim majority (Indonesia), and two with exceptionally high levels of religious diversity (China and Japan). … read more

Christianity Today

Treasures on Earth: How Religion Is Redistributing the World’s Wealth

International Media

Italy

Bangladesh

IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 21, 2015

• Media inquires: brian@religiousfreedomandbusiness.org, 401-268-7809
• See media coverage in Forbes, World Economic Forum, Christianity Today, Deseret News

Religious populations are projected to outgrow religiously unaffiliated populations worldwide by a factor of 23 between 2010 and 2050. This will increase religious diversity and alter the distribution of wealth, according to new study by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, Changing religion, changing economies.*

This growing religious diversity can be an economic strength if national and business leaders promote interfaith understanding, protect minority groups’ human rights, and advance freedom of religion or belief, thereby ensuring sustainable and peaceful development for all.

Among the report’s main finds are that the rising economic fortunes of Hindus and the rising numbers of Muslims in particular will produce a more economically and religiously diverse planet, while the relative position of Christian populations will be weakened overall.

At the same time the growth of the global religiously unaffiliated population is slowing at a much faster rate than global population growth although their economic growth is expected to track global trends in the years ahead. Although population growth among Buddhists is expected to stagnate, economic growth is also expected to be on par with global economic growth, largely due to China’s economic rise where half of all Buddhists live and two-thirds of all religiously unaffiliated people live.

Economic growth among the global Jewish population is expected to increase, but be significantly less than economic growth in the world as a whole as Jewish population growth is slowing more quickly than the world as a whole.

The number of people belonging to other religions in the world is expected to grow by about 30 million people between 2010 and 2050 but decrease as a share of the world’s population. The largest share of the world’s other religious populations lived in the Asia-Pacific region (notably China). Despite its slow population growth, economic growth among these faiths is expected to outpace global economic growth, largely due to China’s projected economic growth.

* Changing religion, changing economies – authored by Brian Grim and Phillip Connor – is part of a “toolkit” being developed by members of the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith to increase “religious literacy” in our complex world.

The study provides insights into the global marketplace’s growing religious diversity by linking the best available demographic and economic data from sources including the Pew Research Center, the World Religion Database, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the United Nations, and various country-specific census and survey datasets.

It is important to note that the study does not aim to provide a direct causal link between religious behavior and economic practices. Instead, it seeks to connect selfidentified religious affiliation with economic environments around the world. In this way, religion and religious change is neither analyzed as a causal force leading to economic change nor is economic change analyzed as a causal force in religious change. Instead, the analysis provides a global perspective of how the relative size and economic power of religious groups occur today and how these dynamics are expected to change in the near- and long-term future.

Economic Growth Among Hindu Populations

Hindu populations are expected to experience the sharpest increase in economic strength of all major faith groups between 2010 and 2020, based on a global analysis of census and survey data. Though economic forecasts to 2050 are notoriously weak, those that exists from the Organization of Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) see this trend continuing.

The economic gains for Hindu populations are largely driven by the rising fortunes of India. Yet Hindus in the United States also contribute significantly to the global economic resources available to Hindus, according to the study. For instance, the size of the Hindu-American population has nearly doubled since 2008 to more than 2 million, according to Pew Research, and on average, they are among the wealthiest Americans.

The economic power of Hindus and other Indians was on display during Indian Prime Minister Narend Modi’s recent visit to California’s Silicon Valley, where he was met not only by CEOs such as Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen – both Hindus – but also by an Indian diaspora that filled an 18,000-seat stadium. And next month during Modi’s visit to the UK, he is expected to fill Wembley, the country’s largest soccer stadium with some of the 1.5 million million people of Indian origin in the UK.

Previously, Modi – a Hindu nationalist – was banned from even entering the United States due to alleged complicity in anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat, India’s westernmost state directly south of Sindh, Pakistan. And all eyes are on how he will manage India’s economy, a question that has a direct bearing on the global fortunes of Muslims.

Muslim Populations

Globally, economic growth among the Muslim population is expected to significantly outpace global economic growth, in large part because the number of Muslims in the world is expected to nearly double between 2010 and 2050. Indeed, Muslims are expected to lead the world in population growth compared with other religious groups, despite global trends among Muslim populations for lower fertility. For instance, in Iran today, the total fertility rate has dropped below replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.

The largest share of the world’s Muslims lived in the Asia-Pacific region as of 2010 and will continue to live in this region in the decades ahead, making this region the engine of economic growth for Muslim populations.

To some extent, a part of global Muslim economic advance will also ride on India’s economic coattails. India is expected to have the world’s largest Muslim population by 2050, surpassing Indonesia. This, along with the growing economies of countries like Indonesia, will make Asia the Muslim world’s center of economic power. The study finds that more than half of the economic influence associated with Muslim populations will come from the Asia-Pacific region in the decades ahead.

Other Populations

Aside from Hindu and Muslim populations, the demographic and economic forecasts for other large religious blocks is mixed.

Christian populations are expected to increase in size and economic power, but slower than the demographic and economic growth of the world as a whole. This is in part because the growth of the global Christian population is projected to be about the same rate as overall global population growth between 2010-2050. And much of the growth of Christianity will occur in Africa, which is projected to grow economically, but not commensurate with the demographic growth. Half of the world’s demographic growth will occur in Africa, but a significantly smaller share of the world’s economic growth will occur there.

By 2050, only one of the five leading economies is projected to have a majority Christian population – the United States. The other mega economies in 2050 are projected to include, as mentioned, India (Hindu majority), as well as Indonesia (Muslim majority), and China and Japan countries with high levels of religious diversity.

China

China’s religious landscape, in particular, present a clear picture of the importance of successfully navigating religious diversity. Aside from India, China has more religious believers than any other country – some 600 million.

Almost one-in-two people in China follow a faith. This includes about 300 million practicing folk religions, 244 million separately following Buddhism (half of all on the planet), 68 million Christians (the world’s seventh-largest population), and approximately 25 million Muslims, constitute the world’s 17th largest Muslim population, right after Saudi Arabia and before Yemen. Certainly, China’s economic success would not have been possible had the country kept religion and other forms of identity completely suppressed. And its future success requires the un-coerced buy-in of all these groups.

The globe’s growing religious diversity might be one of the 21^st century’s most important developments, especially as it is backed up by growing and shifting wealth. This could be very good for innovation and sustainable development – if accompanied by increases in human rights and interfaith understanding.

If not, social hostilities involving religion ranging from discrimination and hate crimes to terrorism and conflict may continue to rise, as documented by an ongoing Pew Research study.

New survey results described by Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Global, find that Millennials are motivated by purpose-driven leadership, not just financial success.

Renjen notes that in addition to all things digital, Millennials want to see social justice, the environment protected, and work and personal lives balanced. To gain a better understanding of Millennials’ goals and aspirations and learn more about their views on business, leadership and their own careers, Deloitte began surveying Millennials annually four years ago. According to Deloitte’s 2015 survey of more than 7,800 Millennials in 29 countries, “the majority believe that business needs to reset its purpose – 75 percent say businesses are too focused on their own agendas and not focused enough on improving society.”

In order to engage Millennial talent, businesses that equate purpose with business excellence are best positioned to get the brightest and most energetic of the next generation.

The survey found that “60% of the Millennials surveyed say a “sense of purpose” is part of the reason they chose to work for their current employer. Among the “super-connected” Millennials – those who are relatively major users of social networking tools – that number increases to 77 percent, compared to just 46 percent of those who are the least connected. And, in businesses where Millennials say there is a strong sense of purpose, there is significantly greater financial and recruitment success and higher employee satisfaction.”

Renjen concludes: “The bottom line is that Millennials have strong opinions that will influence how we develop our business strategies and define and articulate our organization’s core purpose. For Millennials, conducting business with a purpose that goes beyond making profits is critically important in determining the kind of company they want to work for – and the kind of company with whom they are willing to do business.”

Brian J. Grim, President, RFBF

Following Pope Francis’ visit to the United Nations, I joined U2 rock star Bono, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, together with and 350 business and private sector leaders to discuss how we can and already do promote the newly adopted sustainable development goals.

In his opening comments, the Secretary-General specifically called for increased private sector partnerships. For instance, the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation has partnered with the UN Global Compact’s Business for Peace platform to hold the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards during the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic games. The Awards will recognize business leaders who are promoting interfaith understanding and peace – foundational elements of inclusive growth.

To see how business can be a powerful force supporting interfaith understanding and peace, see our joint publication which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon helped launch last year together with the Indonesia Global Compact Network, led by Y.W. Junardy, who also attended the private sector forum.

Private-Sector Potential

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated: “The United Nations has transformed its relationship with the private sector in the past decade and a half. Many Governments also support the complementary role that business can play to advance sustainable markets and build trust. Now I call for even stronger commitment to partnership, especially on our most pressing challenges. In the realm of peace and good governance, companies are taking actions that help – like fostering inter-religious understanding in the workplace and enacting zero tolerance policies on corruption.”

The forum, part of the UN Global Compact initiative, focused on the role of the private sector in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted on Friday and include a 15-year global plan of action to end poverty, reduce inequalities and protect the environment.

The meeting included CEOs committed to this vision from industries ranging from housewares giant IKEA – with its mission to make everyday life better – to AVIVA, the largest insurer in the UK with businesses across Europe, Asia and Canada – with its mission to be a good ancestor inspired by its own ancestors that set up the company in 1696.

Click here to see examples of what companies are doing to make the world a better place while making a profit.

Religious Freedom, Poverty Alieviation & Sustainable Development

Religious freedom also addresses poverty, facilitating faith groups to join together to help the most vulnerable. Last week while I was in London, we saw significant progress toward piloting our Empowerment+ initiative, which links business and job training with interfaith spiritual principles that help people become self-reliant, contributing members of society. St. Mary’s University will work with the foundation to pilot it in East London, one of the UK’s most religiously and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) as follows: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

An oft used definition for Sustainable Development is: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, 1987).

So, what might be the connection between these seemingly very different concepts? The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation is publishing a new series of analysis and data on the connection between religious freedom and sustainable development.

Related articles

By Pablo Talavera

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation has been licensed to create an interfaith version of the Self-Reliance Curriculum developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) in order to pilot the Empowerment+ initiative in London to counter extremist radicalization. The initiative will be carried out in collaboration with St. Mary’s University, the U.K.’s largest Catholic university.

In this short article, I briefly explore how the self-reliance concepts apply to Catholic Doctrine, Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Inter-religious Dialogue.

The LDS Church promotes the well-being of its members by elaborating on the principal of becoming self-reliant, that is: empowered, integrated, contributing, loving, serving and successful members of society. This revealed truth – in their terms – is manifested in temporal and spiritual forms. The LDS Church has created a toolkit (curriculum) composed of five manuals that help develop the important skills to reach self-reliance. (To explore manuals and videos click here.)

The five printed curriculum materials comprising the Self-Reliance Toolkit are: (1) My Path to Self-Reliance; (2) My Foundation: Principles, Skills, Habits; (3) Starting and Growing My Business; (4) My Job Search; and (5) Education for Better Work.

The first manuscript is a guideline to critically examine one’s life to determine what step he or she should take next, whether it is the path of education, finding another job, or starting a business, all with the goal of becoming self-reliant.

The second manuscript helps people put into practice principles of faith, education, hard work, and trust in the Lord to better enable people to receive the temporal blessings promised by the Lord. The 12 lessons are: (i) Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ; (ii) Use Time Wisely; (iii) Be Obedient; (iv) Manage Money; (v) Work: Take Responsibility; (vi) Solve Problems; (vii) Become One, Work Together; (viii) Communicate: Petition and Listen; (ix) Persevere; (x) Show Integrity; (xi) Seek Learning and Education; (xii) Stay on Task, Receive Ordinances (i.e., sacraments); (xii+) Final Activity: Go Forward and Serve.

The remaining three manuscripts are topical and serve as one of three tracks an individual would be directed toward based on the initial self-assessment.

The theological understanding of self-reliance comes from earlier teachings and revelations in the LDS Church and is grounded in temporal and spiritual truths. LDS President Thomas Monson has taught that self-reliance is ‘the ability, commitment and effort to provide the necessities for self and family’ and that ‘[it] is an essential part of temporal and spiritual well-being.’ The spiritual understanding of self-reliance lies in the ability to practice generosity or charity — ‘only when we are self-reliant can we truly emulate the Savior in serving and blessing others,’ said Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The spiritual understanding of self-reliance then, lies in love for others—a principle that comes across any religion, tradition or humanitarian practice. While the temporal component underlines the dignity of the human person and the ability to provide a clear way to bring about well-being in the holistic sense of the human person. As described by the official site of the LDS Church here, self-reliance embodies temporal well-being through: education, health, employment, family home production and storage, and family finances.

Having provided the above quick synopsis of the theological belief of Self-Reliance in the LDS Church, let us now explore how the Self-Reliance Toolkit corresponds to Catholic Teaching. First, four main theological principles are outlined throughout all manuscripts: (1) Love of God and Love of Neighbor; (2) Faith in God and His Providence; (3) The Divine Dignity of the Human Person; and (4) God’s will and Calling: Talents and Gifts. The theological understanding of self-reliance builds upon these four theological truths.

The LDS Church holds a firm belief that the teaching of self-reliance is ‘not an end in itself but a means to an end’ and the end should be the spiritual truth of Love of God and love of neighbor. By being self-reliant, one is able to help his or her neighbor in temporal means, in the same way, through non-temporal means; one is able to pass down spiritual understanding and revelation to his or her neighbor. Self-reliance is then the means through which we care and love our neighbor.

The self-reliance toolkit also expresses the firm belief of providence in God. While the theological understanding of self-reliance asks of you to be ‘independent’ in the means in which you direct your life, this does not oppose the theological belief that everything comes from God. In fact, the self-reliance toolkit expresses continuously that God provides, but one must ask, seek and knock.

The divine dignity of the human person is a principle that the LDS Church articulates through the Self-Reliance Toolkit as well, with the intention of underlining the primacy of well-being. The human person holds high self-respect and self-esteem as created in the image and likeness of God, and this self-evident truth is set forth by expressing the need to provide for temporal needs. These needs are education, health, employment and financial stability.

Finally, the theological understanding of God’s will and calling can be a vast one. However, the Self-Reliance toolkit narrows this down on the principle of what God has handed-down to you in gifts and talents. Because there is a heavy emphasis on service, the toolkit explores real questions, such as tasks people perform well and helping explore them. Another approach to this question is also through desire and zeal to partake in something—another way of saying God’s calling you to do something. The end again is to obtain fulfillment and at the same time to put the talents and gifts to service for your fellow neighbor, equipping him or her to also reach their own fulfillment and capacity—the Toolkit expresses that talents are to be put in used for the betterment of a community.

To see how these principles unfold through the use of LDS Church scripture and how they pertain to New Testament scripture as well, we have developed a draft document:

Interfaith Faith Principles Scripture Comparison (DRAFT)

This draft document quotes LDS scriptures found in the Self-Reliance Toolkit and it shows how the New Testament scriptures upholds these theological principles. The curriculum is intended to be inter-faith and will provide theological background for other religious traditions as well.

Outlining how the principle of self-reliance ties into these four theological truths — (1) Love of God and Love of Neighbor; (2) Faith in God and His Providence; (3) The Divine Dignity of the Human Person; and (4) God’s will and Calling: Talents and Gifts — the correlation to Catholic Teaching is evident and complementary – there is no contradiction between the Self-reliance principle and Catholic social teaching. In fact, Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Doctrine add to the understanding of these truths.

For the intent of summarizing Catholic Teaching, only few documents will be mentioned that aim and address these self-proclaims truths. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church explicitly outlines all of these principles in full length. Chapter 3 outlines the human rights that each individual possess in virtue of ‘being of image and likeness of God.’ Chapter 6 gives insight on the dignity of work and rights of workers, Chapter 7 talks about the economy well-being highlighting that ‘wealth exists to be shared,’ declaring as well the right to private property and business initiative.

In addition, the LDS Self-Reliance Toolkit is a great asset for inter-faith work. The Empowerment Plus Initiative that seeks to counter radicalisation with this toolkit by the application of it across faiths and tradition, sets forth a great opportunity to build upon Second Vatican Council in The Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue: Dialogue and Proclamation, specifically in the forms of dialogue as it is prescribed in this document, the dialogue of life, the dialogue of action, the dialogue of theological exchange and the dialogue of religious experience.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Goodwill Ambassador for the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards, Jason Smyth, has confirmed his title as the world’s fastest Paralympian.

On Brazilian National Day, 7^th September 2015, Jason Smyth crossed the finish line to be crowned ‘Fastest Paralympian on the Planet’. In the photo, Jason celebrates the win (see BBC coverage).

The race, organised by the Rio 2016 Paralympic Organising Committee, was part of a celebratory weekend of Paralympic sport, marking one year to go until the opening ceremony of the Rio Games. The top Paralympic sprinters from each category came together to determine who the fastest sprinter was. Taking part were Evan O’Hanlon of Australia (T38), Petrucio Ferreira (T47) and Felipe Gomes (T11) of Brazil, Jason Smyth of Ireland (T12) and Richard Browne (T44) and David Brown (T11) of the United States. This was the first time sprinters from different Paralympic categories raced head to head.

Jason comfortably won his heat on Sunday September 6^th, crossing the line in 10.63. This result cemented Jason’s reputation as the dominant force in global Paralympic sprinting.

In the showcase final, Jason lined up in lane three; alongside Richard Browne (USA), Evan O’Hanlon (Australia) and the home favourite Petrucio Ferreira (Brazil). Jason lead from the start and took the title with a time of 10.73, finishing a meter and a half ahead of his nearest rival.

Jason Smyth and RFBF president Brian Grim recently got together before the race (see picture).

“I am honoured to be appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador and look forward to progressing the relationship between business and interfaith understanding. Just as sport creates a common bond between athletes, our shared faith, morals and ethics can create a similar bond when it comes to business.” – Jason Smyth

Winning the title capped a wonderful 10 day visit to Rio de Janeiro. Apart from training and competition, Jason also took advantage of his time in the ‘Marvellous City’ to undertake outreach and to promote understanding of Paralympic sport in local communities. During these activities, Jason met with hundreds of school children and teenagers, visited a favela/ slum community to talk about the transformative effect of sport and discussed realising your potential with a large youth organisation.

Jason’s visit to Brazil was organised and facilitated by the Rio2016 Paralympic Organising Committee. In a visit to their headquarters, Jason discussed Rio’s readiness for the Games, the promotion of ticket sales, community engagement and education with a number of the Directors. The organising committee thanked Jason for his assistance, allowing them to gain insight from an elite International Paralympic athlete.

Dominating the media coverage of the event, Jason was featured in all the main sports pages and TV segments. In recognition of his local popularity and friendship with Brazilian athletes, Jason was sought after by local and international media, completing numerous interviews for print, TV and radio.

Jason is pictured with Brazil’s Terezinha Guilhermina, Paralympic sprinter in the T11 category, and one of the faces of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Jason would like to thank the Rio 2016 Paralympic Organising Committee for the invitation to compete in this unique race, as well as all the assistance and support received during his visit to Rio de Janeiro. He looks forward to returning in the near future, and of course, to competing for gold in the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Jason was born and grew up in Ireland. He was diagnosed with an eye disease at 9 years old which has reduced his vision to under 10%. In spite of this, he has been blessed to have achieved some fantastic things in life thus far. He won gold medals in both the 100m and 200m In Beijing 2008 at the Paralympic Games whilst breaking both world records.

At the Paralympic Games in London 2012, he repeated these achievements and won gold in both the 100m and 200m, again setting new world records and becoming the fastest Paralympic athlete ever.

He narrowly missed out on making the 2012 Olympics by 0.04s. This was the first attempt in his quest to be the first visually impaired athlete to make both Games in the same Olympiad which I hope to achieve in Rio 2016.

Jason, pictured below, chats to potential future athletes at the Instituto Francisca Paula de Jesus School in the Meier neighbourhood, Rio de Janeiro.

Jason is married and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, making him a religious minority in Catholic-majority Ireland. He looks forward to being part of an interfaith Paralympian team of global Goodwill Ambassadors for interfaith understanding and peace, which is in the works. More to come, so stay tuned.

 Fouad Makhzoumi is a leading industrialist, philanthropist and statesman. In 1997, Mr. Makhzoumi founded the Makhzoumi Foundation, a private Lebanese non-profit organization that contributes through its vocational training, health care and micro-credit programs to Lebanese civil society development.

The following are Mr. Makhzoumi’s prepared comments for a 21st August 2015 address to the Rimini Meeting, a gathering attracting up to 800,000 people from across Italy and the world each summer.

This is part of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s new Leaders Speak series of talks and articles where business, religious and civic leaders speak out on countering violent extremism and increasing interfaith understanding and peace. For more on the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s own work on countering radicalization, see the Empowerment+ Initiative.  

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Religious freedom is a fundamental pillar of democracy, and we cannot talk about democracy in its absence. However, the process leading to religious freedom has been difficult and, could be characterized by discriminations, persecutions and religious wars.

Christians began as a persecuted group but then Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, and later, for the Catholic powers of medieval Europe. The Catholics moved from being persecuted to intolerance as Inquisition and forced conversion in Central and Latin America have shown.

Europe has been ravaged by religious wars between Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century. Only after roughly 150 years of conflict the relationship between State and Church has been settled in Europe. Also in America dissenting religious groups were outlawed. A significant change came only with the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which affirmed not just “toleration” of dissenters, but the “free exercise of religion.”

Islam’s schism, simmering for fourteen centuries, does not explain all the political, economic, and geostrategic factors involved in the current conflicts in the Middle East, but it has become one prism through which to understand the underlying tensions. Two countries that compete for the leadership of Islam, Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, have used the sectarian divide to further their ambitions.

Early theological differences between Sunnis and Shias on the legitimate successor of the Prophet are still played today for political purpose.

Shias, like Catholics, believe that God always provides a guide, first the Imams and then Ayatollahs, or experienced Shia scholars who have wide interpretative authority and are sought as a source of emulation. Shi’ites believe that the 12th Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi is kind of the messiah figure, which Christians hold in Jesus (except non-divine). They think he did not ever die, but basically went into an extended mystical ‘hiding’ period which he is still in today. And that he will come again at the end of days, just before the return of Jesus and together they will usher in the apocalyptic era which will bring peace and true justice to the world before the resurrection and final judgment.

For Sunnis, like Protestants, authority is based on the texts, the Quran and the traditions of Mohammed. Sunni religious scholars are constrained by legal precedents. Sunni groups have no central authority they all report to. Even Osama Bin Laden at his height had multiple partners who were killed (like Abdullah Azzam) or sidelined (Ayman Al Zawahiri), not to mention that multiple branches of Al-Qaeda refused his direct orders like Zarqawi in Iraq (which later became ISIS).

Sunni militants like Muslim Brotherhood and now ISIS do not follow one particular school, only their perception of the Koran and the life examples of Muhammad and his companions; which they may interpret in their own way. This is why it is more difficult to tame Sunni radical groups.

Alongside the proxy battle is the renewed fervor of armed militants, motivated by the goals of cleansing the faith or preparing the way for the return of the messiah. Today there are tens of thousands of organized sectarian militants throughout the region capable of triggering a broader conflict.

Two points should be clear notwithstanding all the news you hear and watch:

(1) Muslims have not found yet, as the Christians did after 150 years of war, a reasonable compromise between State and Church; still today for many Muslims it is quite difficult to accept the concept of Nation State. This fact can help in understanding why the appeal of the Islamic State and for the rebirth of the Caliphate is so strong among certain Muslims and why there is still so much resentment in the Muslim world for the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924. This latter decision, even if executed by the Young Turks was unanimously attributed to a nefarious Western cultural influence.

(2) The overwhelming majority of the victims of Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism are Muslims and mainly Sunnis. Therefore, while I fully agree with the wise words of the of the Italian Republic President Mattarella in his message to this Meeting about the planting of the seeds of a Third World War by fundamentalism, I would also like to highlight that this war is mainly fought in the Middle East and its casualties are almost entirely Muslims.

Today, the majority of Muslim leaders have, of course, gone on record favoring religious freedom and tolerance, and with the sea of change happening now in the Muslim world, there has never been a better chance to apply the freedom principle. Moderate Muslims should insist upon religious freedom as an essential part of any new democratic order as it prevents instrumentalization and misinterpretation of religion and its political misuse.

Unfortunately, even nowadays, we are assisting in religious discrimination in many countries such as Switzerland against Muslims; China against Christians and Buddhists; and Iraq’s abuses of Christian, Yazidi and Kurdish minorities by IS militants.

We all know that economic development is driven by the freedom to develop new ideas, to test them and the related risk taking. A disproportionate share of the innovations and entrepreneurship that raises living standards occurs in cities because urban environments offer particularly great opportunities for expressing new ideas freely, challenging established ways of doing things, and experimenting. By the same logic, restrictions on producing, sharing, or executing ideas can limit economic development. Religious restrictions can hold back economic development by constraining to a larger extent what can be discussed, by narrowing the social spaces in which new ideas can be shared, by limiting communication among social groups, and by ruling out certain ideas merely because of their religious associations.

For decades, Turkey’s secular governments limited entrepreneurship outside of Istanbul and Ankara through policies that diminished the resources going to the businesses of devout Muslims. With the softening in the 1990s of these implicitly anti-Muslim policies, entrepreneurship received a massive boost and the country was transformed into an industrial country and one of the world’s top six tourist destinations. Releasing the resources, talents, and energies of devout Turks has played an important role in this rapid transformation.

Pakistan offers a sad example of a country that has harmed its economic development through cascading religious restrictions imposed in the name of religion. In stages since the 1940s, Pakistani Islamists have narrowed the definition of a good Muslim, stigmatized Muslims who interpret Islam differently, and declared certain strands of Islam heretical. They have limited the contributions that they and their followers could make to debates on economy.

Religious freedom does not automatically promote economic freedom, dynamism, development, and prosperity. The results depend partly on the unleashed political agendas. As essentially secular regimes allowed Islamists more political rights, some of the ideas that the latter promoted in the name of Islam did economic harm. As a case in point, in the 1970s Islamists in Egypt, Pakistan, and Libya, among other places, promoted the idea of “Islamic socialism,” which contributed to keeping Muslims wedded to economically inefficient state policies. During its year in power (2012-13), Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood resisted calls to reduce inefficient food and fuel subsidies, mainly on the ground that this would be unfair from an Islamic viewpoint.

Nevertheless, religious freedom generally promotes economic advancement by boosting other freedoms that are essential to economic development. Where religious freedoms are respected, people find it more natural to respect political, artistic, and social freedoms. This is a basic reason why international freedom rankings are highly correlated across contexts. Countries with high religious freedoms have high political freedoms, and vice versa. Religious freedom advances economic development by making people comfortable with diversity of opinion, the expression of new ideas, and challenges to vested interests.

But it is also important to remember the value religion provides for society as a whole. When we shift our attention to the benefits religion provides as a public good, then the case for protecting religious freedom becomes even stronger. Religious freedom is about respecting the rights of others to believe and worship according to their own consciences and then to live out those beliefs in their various walks of life.

Religious freedom thus energizes participation in civil society, which in turn supports democracy and economic development.

According to a study conducted in 2014 by researchers at Georgetown and Brigham Young Universities, religious freedom is one of the factors significantly associated with global economic growth. The research compared the GDP growth of 173 countries and found a positive relationship between religious freedom and 10 of the 12 pillars of global competitiveness. According to the study, among the effects of having religious freedom there are:

(1) Reduced corruption: Nine of the 10 most corrupt countries have high or very high governmental restrictions on religious liberty. This includes North Korea one of the most religiously restrictive countries.

(2) More peace: When religious freedoms are not respected, the result can be violence and conflict. Normal economic activities become vulnerable to disruption, with local and foreign investment driven away and sustainable development undermined.

(3) Less harmful regulation: Some religious restrictions can directly affect economic activity, creating legal barriers for import and export industries, using anti-blasphemy laws to attack business rivals, and others.

(4) Reduced liabilities: Stocks of Abercrombie & Fitch dropped when news broke that the clothing retailer had allegedly refused to hire a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf, potentially a violation of American equal opportunity employment laws. By avoiding religious discrimination in the workplace, businesses can avoid such liabilities.

(5) More diversity and growth: Freedom of religion can contribute to a rich pluralism that is itself associated with economic growth. For instance, the world’s 12 most religiously diverse countries each outpaced the world’s economic growth between 2008 and 2012, according to recent research. A study led in part by Professor Ram Cnaan, of the University of Pennsylvania, finds that a wide diversity of religious congregations in a city contributes many millions of dollars to the economy through direct spending and activities ranging from educational and health services to a network of relationships that helps provide jobs and a safety net for those facing hard times.

Religious hostilities and restrictions create climates that can drive away local and foreign investment, undermine sustainable development, and disrupt huge sectors of economies. Such has occurred in the ongoing cycle of religious regulations and hostilities in Egypt, which has adversely affected the tourism industry. A few current examples from the Muslim-majority countries, which are countries with particularly high levels of religious restriction, illustrate how the lack of religious freedom contributes to worse economic and business outcomes.

Religious restrictions in Muslim-majority countries take many forms. One direct religious restriction that affects economic freedom involves Islamic finance. For instance, businesses involved in creating, buying, or selling Islamic financial instruments can find themselves in the situation that one Islamic law board deems a particular instrument acceptable while another board does not, making the instrument’s acceptance on stock exchanges subject to differing interpretations of Islamic law. Other examples include the banning of Hollywood films in some Arab countries for religious reasons and the misuse of anti-blasphemy laws to attack business rivals.

And it is not difficult in a Region, the MENA, where the young population constitutes more than 40% of the total adult population and registers the highest unemployment rate in the world, as for the IMF data.

On this regard, it is very interesting how the original and authentic concept of Jihad has been transformed by ISIS from a personal spiritual battle that every person is constantly requested to fight within his inner soul, and eventually, in rare cases, towards real enemies into a fight against not only the representatives of all the other religions and secular powers, but also against the moderate Muslims, perceived as a product of the Western culture.

One of the first actions to be taken in support of economic development and inclusive growth is, without any doubts, job creation and with jobs come dignity, stability, choice, and typically moderation. The estimated need for MENA region is of over 100 million new jobs in this decade.

Unfortunately, the current political and economic situation, characterized by wars and uncertainty, makes this task even harder. The solution could not be found in large governmental employment programs or welfare state policies; entrepreneurship must fuel the next generation of jobs.

To encourage entrepreneurship, governments need to reform the regulatory framework reducing the time and the cost of setting up a business as well as the barriers to operate including severe laws on local ownership, bankruptcy, labor relations. The movement of goods and services must be relaxed and protectionist policies need to be stripped away.

In Dubai, for example, where my company is headquartered, business friendly policies have meant that thousands of new companies have incorporated in the last year alone. Dubai has solidified its position as the regional business capital. The supportive steps the UAE took include free zones to allow international investments within commonly recognized corporate structures, relatively fast and efficient incorporation practices, more transparent regulations, and lower barriers to the movement of global talent and capital.

A more comprehensive and inclusive growth could lead to better results both at the social and economic level. One of the elements that can foster this process is, without any doubts, religious freedom and tolerance that are the way to peace and stability, the pillars of economic development. Where stability exists, in fact, there is more opportunity to invest and conduct normal and predictable business operations, especially in new and emerging markets as it has been proved by the 2014 study by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Religious freedom is a key ingredient to peace and stability, as measured by the absence of violent religious persecution and conflict. This is particularly important for business because where stability exists; there are more opportunities to invest and to conduct normal and predictable business operations, especially in emerging and new markets.

Beyond promoting peace and stability, religious freedom can contribute to positive socioeconomic development in much the way that freedom in general does. Removing impediments to religious freedom facilitates freedom of other kinds. Religious freedom is highly correlated with the presence of other freedoms, such that it can be considered part of a bundled commodity of social goods that have significant correlations with a variety of positive social and economic outcomes ranging from better health care to higher incomes for women. Indeed, when religious groups operate in a free and competitive environment, religion can play a measurable role in the human and social development of countries. This is not the case of the Arab world.

Poverty, some argue, can only be effectively tackled by governments enforcing top-down, big-P Poverty reduction policies and programs. But a host of religious groups haven’t gotten the memo. Innovative faith-based initiatives worldwide are tackling poverty using bottom-up, small-p poverty alleviation approaches that empower individuals to be resourceful, resilient and self-reliant.

Also see: Poverty: What is is and what we’re doing to end it, by Anna Kučírková

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Indeed, a central aspect of religious freedom is that it gives faith groups license to innovate and contribute to the wellbeing of individuals, communities and nations. But where religious freedom is curtailed, so are such innovations. For instance, reform-minded Saudi princess Basmah bint Saud argues, religion “should not be a shield behind which we hide from the world but a driving force that inspires us to innovate and contribute to our surroundings.”

In this new installment of an ongoing series on the connection between religious freedom and sustainable development, Brian Grim describes these small-p initiatives and concludes with a case study of how one faith group – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – is directly targeting and reducing poverty in its congregations worldwide. Such faith-based activities are facilitated by religious freedom and directly contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 – Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Poverty: Big-P vs. small-p

The causes of poverty are complex. On the macro, big-P level, Poverty is sometimes associated with systematic inequality far beyond the direct control of individuals. These can be national or global in scope.

Big-P trends at the national level may include such things as caste (e.g., India’s Dalits or untouchables), gender (e.g., Saudi Arabia’s socio-economic isolation of women), ethnicity/nationality (e.g., poverty among Native Americans) or religion (e.g., economic discrimination against Baha’is in Iran).

National governments try to address such systematic causes in various ways, including the Indian governments “scheduled caste” affirmative action programs, Saudi Arabia’s Fund for the Support of Women’s Projects under Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, and the U.S. government’s Tribal Law and Order Act.

Big-P trends at the global level cited by many include such things as the huge debts owed by developing nations to developed nations, despite earlier forgiveness of billions of dollars of debt. The World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral, bilateral and commercial creditors try to address globalized symptoms through multiple programs including the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). And the United Nations works through the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the proposed 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On the micro, small-p level, poverty is often explained as a result of individual circumstances and/or characteristics. These include education, skills, connections, experience, intelligence, health, handicaps, age, work orientation, cultural orientation, etc.

From Aid to small-p Enterprise: “They already know how to fish!”

Religious groups are known for their programs to address poverty and/or care for the poor. For instance, almsgiving, one of the five pillars of Islam, is widely practiced by Muslims worldwide according to a Pew Research survey of 38,000 Muslims. And Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and many other faiths have a wide variety of organizations to care for the poor. And earlier this year, global religious and faith-based leaders convened at the World Bank to issue a call and commitment to end extreme poverty by 2030.

Familiar to many is the work of global organizations like Caritas, which shares the mission of the Catholic Church to serve the poor and to promote charity and justice throughout the world. Caritas development initiatives range from investment and training in agriculture and business to building homes and schools. Among other well know initiatives is World Vision, a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

What many people do not know is that faith-based thinking on poverty has moved far beyond just delivering aid or “teaching a man to fish.” As Doug Seebeck, president of Partners Worldwide, says, “They know how to fish! The oft-quoted Chinese proverb tells us that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. People at the margins know how to fish, but they don’t have access to the pond. They aren’t able to engage and participate in the economic systems, markets, relationships, networks of support and collaboration and cooperation, tools, and models many of us take for granted.”

Such faith-based poverty alleviation programs are using a bottom-up, small-p approach. For instance, PovertyCure, a new faith-based network of some 300+ partner organizations working in 144 countries highlights how people have moved from poverty to prosperity, sharing what faith leaders have learned along the way.

This new wave focuses on “self-reliance” or “self-empowerment” rather than the delivery of aid, or as Alejandro A. Chafuen writing in Forbes puts it, From Aid To Enterprise: How To Intelligently Cure Poverty. Chafuen is a senior fellow with the Acton Institute, which is one of the lead sponsors of PovertyCure. The Acton Institute seeks to propel this approach within faith-based communities by integrating Judeo-Christian teachings with free market principles. While the Acton Institute is not a Catholic organization, it is led by Rev. Robert A. Sirico, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is influencing the thinking of many U.S. Catholics. (See an Acton critique of the recent Papal encyclical on the environment.)

The Economic Principles of Self-reliance

Is poverty and the lack of empowerment it brings inevitable? No, says author Paul Godfrey, Professor of Strategy and Associate Academic Director of the Melvin J. Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management. In his recent book, More than Money (Stanford University Press, 2013), he shows how organizations can win the fight against poverty and create prosperity for people at the base of the pyramid in the developing and developed world.

Godfrey argues that small-p poverty alleviation can have a big impact. More than Money provides an excellent survey of how five types of interrelated capital — institutional, human, social, organizational, and physical — enable development and sustainable growth. “Little p poverty gives way to individual and family flourishing when self-reliance leads individuals to acquire, employ, leverage, and preserve all five types of capital,” says Godfrey.

Godfrey’s work builds on three key lessons he has learned about the process and promise of eliminating poverty: First, we don’t eliminate poverty; individuals and families work themselves out of poverty and into prosperity. Second, eliminating poverty requires more than money, which alone often ends up in alleviating the symptoms of poverty but usually fails to create lasting solutions. Third, work, when it is most effective, requires organization. An effective organization has the capability to look past the thick branches of poverty and attack the roots. The following short videos by Paul Godfrey outline self-reliance economic principles.

Case Study: LDS Self-Reliance Global Initiative

Perhaps the most widespread and well developed new model of this enterprise-based, bottoms-up approach to tackling poverty is one carried out by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Religious freedom is a critical element to the LDS Church’s ability to deliver this innovative initiative to their members in countries worldwide, including some of the world’s poorest. Where religious freedom is limited, the LDS Church has greater difficulty in carrying out the initiative, if it can do so at all.

Doctrinal Basis

Theological reasoning is a common element of many faith-based programs to alleviate poverty. For Muslims, it is one of the faith’s five pillars. For Catholics, it is often expressed as a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable based on the basic moral test contained in the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46).

As a Catholic myself, I’ve been particularly struck by the innovative approach to poverty alleviation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons or Latter-Day Saints (LDS). For members of the LDS Church, attending to the needs of the poor is not only counted as service to God, but seen as essential to retaining a remission of one’s sins and walking guiltless before God (see Attitudes Toward Poverty by David J. Cherrington in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism).

To help fulfill this mission to the poor and needy, the LDS Church established an extensive Welfare Services program in 1935. Among the many faith-based approaches to poverty alleviation, this program is also animated by the church’s teaching on what Mormons refer to as “self-reliance.” The purpose of LDS welfare program is to “promote self-reliance and to care for and serve the poor and needy.”

Indeed, work is a guiding principle in the LDS Church’s welfare program, which directly involves promoting self-reliance as a way of life. President Thomas S. Monson, considered by Mormons to be a living prophet, has taught that self-reliance — “the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the necessities of life for self and family” — is an essential element of human temporal and spiritual well-being. For Mormons, “temporal welfare” is a term that deals with people’s condition on earth, and is intrinsically tied to a person’s spiritual condition.

The Global Initiative

The LDS Church now reports that it has more members outside the United States (8.9 million) as it has in the U.S. (6.5 million). Much of this growth has occurred recently, particularly in Mexico, South and Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

LDS Church leaders found that many of its members in these new growth areas struggled with temporal welfare issues, i.e., poverty, jobs, education and business skills. To address this, in just a few years years the LDS Church has rolled out a global self-reliance initiative, one that many Mormons in the U.S. don’t know about because it has not yet been rolled out in the U.S. The initiative began in sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin and South America, and is only now being rolled out in Europe. The U.S. will be the last region for the initiative.

The reason the initiative was able to be rolled out globally with relatively modest costs is that it is not an independent program, but a voluntary service provided through each congregation. Instead of creating a new infrastructure to offer the self-reliance services, they are provided as a regular program of the congregations, somewhat similar to how Sunday School classes are a standard feature of any congregation. The main difference is that instead of being based in a single LDS congregation (called a ward), a group of LDS congregations (called a stake, usually made up of five to twelve wards) go together to have one ward be designated to host a Self-Reliance Center, where members of any of the congregations in the stake can come for assistance.

What Are Self-Reliance Centers?

Self-reliance centers provide Internet access, mentoring, and other helpful resources to job seekers, the self-employed, and prospective students. Stakes establish self-reliance centers in Church buildings; they are staffed by missionaries and volunteers. A self-reliance center may share a location with existing family history centers, which are also spread worldwide.

Services Offered

Self-reliance centers are places where returning missionaries, unemployed or underemployed LDS Church members, and others struggling with self-reliance can receive assistance. In the centers, members receive guidance that will help them learn practical steps to become self-reliant as well as the doctrines of self-reliance.

The centers have curriculum and offer services on topics such as: How to start or grow your business; How to find employment; How to gain a good education; Personal mentoring; and Networking opportunities.

The LDS Church has documented the initiative’s success among their members in a series of videos, several of which are included below.

Self-Reliance Initiative Impact

Dorothy: Groundnut Paste – A self-employment group member discusses how the program taught her to expand her product offering to better meet the needs of the customer. (3:27 min.)

Bishop Diaz – A bishop discusses the economic challenges his members face and how the self-reliance program has helped them. (1:59)

Rafael: Job in 6 days! – A job search group member discusses his successful six-day job search following a period of seven months of unemployment. (2:20)

Daniel & Christiana: General Store – A self-employment group member discusses how the program taught him marketing and better customer relations. He also discusses the role of prayer and faith in his business. (3:04)

Education for a Better Life – Elder Joseph W. Sitati discusses how he overcame hurdles to get a good education in Kenya. Pursuing an education allowed him to find his wife, a secure job and the gospel of Jesus Christ. (4:55)

More resources on overcoming small-p poverty

Paul Godfrey: radio interview

Jason Musyoka, South Africa’s New Middle Class and its Entanglement with Big ‘P’ and Little ‘P’ Poverty

Christiaensen, Luc, Lionel Demery, and Stefano Paternostro, “Macro and micro perspectives of growth and poverty in Africa,”. The World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 17, no. 3 (September 2003), pp. 317-347.

More on India and Saudi Arabia

BBC News, “India’s Dalits still fighting untouchability,” BBC, 27 June 2012.

Fadaak, Talha Female Poverty in Saudi Arabia: A study of poor female headed households, social policies and programmes in Jeddah City, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2012.

Mosse, David, “A Relational Approach to Durable Poverty, Inequality and Power,”The Journal of Development Studies  Volume 46, Issue 7, 2010.

Nelson, Soraya Sarhaddi, “Poverty Hides Amid Saudi Arabia’s Oil Wealth,” NPR, May 19, 2011.

Shah, Ghanshyam, Harsh Mander, Sukhadeo Thorat, Satish Deshpande and Amita Baviskar, Untouchability in Rural India, Sage Publications, 2006.

Kevin Sullivan, “Saudi Arabia’s riches conceal a growing problem of poverty,” The Guardian, January 1, 2013.