Religious and economic institutions R

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

– C.S. Lewis ELIGION MAY be defined as beliefs concerning the cause, purpose and nature of the universe, and is the creation of a superhuman force. It involves devotional and ritual observances and contains a moral code governing the conduct of human interaction/behaviour. Religious instruction and belief remain, today, the lifeblood of society’s moral ethos. Not only does religion teach virtue, it catalyses moral action.

It can further be looked at as a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons. Religion, therefore, serves to connect our individual existence to a deeper realism. It touches some of the deepest and most powerful ethics and ideals in the human character.

Religious organisations, however, are exceptional in several regards. Their inspired callings result in unique polities and authority and, often, in values and practices that may be divergent to the prevailing secular culture and the civil laws reflecting that culture. Religious institutions are called to serve the susceptible and the broken, which carries special liability risks. Pastors, rabbis, pastoral counsellors and others deal daily with highly confidential information involving their people attending worship. Because churches, synagogues and religious schools teach and preach particular beliefs and high ethical standards, departure from those teachings may give rise to outrage and stronger civil claims.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGION

Beliefs

This is the core of religion; important rules that followers must follow in everyday life. It forms from the ideas, based upon faith, that people consider true. The sacred and profane

Sacred: That which has supernatural qualities, belief in a God.

Profane: Relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or biblical, but is secular. Rituals

Routines that reinforce the faith: these are customs kept and passed down to new generations, either through celebrations or to spread the good news. Moral communities

People who share a religious faith, the congregation, help in giving meaning to life. Sacred texts

Scriptures or holy books that convey the central importance to a particular religion.

Provide understanding about individuals’ faith and daily life.

THE FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION

Positive functions 1. To keep people adhering to a standard code of ethics while worshipping with others with the same beliefs.

2. An agent of socialization and social control; it has significant role in organising and directing social life of members.

3. To strengthen self-confidence: It supports and consoles individuals and groups. There are certain beliefs found in various religions that give strength to the individual and promotes self-confidence.

4. To close the gap between hope and reality (e.g., the final victory over death, evil, etc, is in heaven).

5. To make virtue out of social necessity, encouraging and requiring the individual to sacrifice for others.

6. To enhance social stability through projecting sacredness upon social norms, and through the creation of authoritative sources of opinion regarding moral matters, the ‘priestly function’ of religion.

7. To promote social change when religion is in conflict with the prevailing order of society, through social criticism and the ‘prophetic function’ of religion.

8. To provide a source of personal identity in pluralistic societies afflicted with anomie. This is accomplished by facilitating personal growth and maturation, as they are conceptualised by the religion.

9. To rationalise social, political and economic inequality and, most important, to reduce conflict in stratified societies. Negative functions 1. Excessive guilt and repression: This may result in individuals suffering emotionally for failure to live up to religious ideals.

2. Authoritarianism: Religion has been known to support oppressive authority in society.

3. Self-mortification: This is obvious in the way people are induced to endure physical suffering or to cause themselves to suffer deliberately for religious reasons.

4. Ethnocentrism: Causing people to have narrow, culturally centered perceptions of other groups and their choice of religion.

5. Promoting intergroup conflict: This is possible by causing individuals to feel urgent about telling others about their religion, and to respond negatively to the religions of other people.

WORLD RELIGIONS PIE CHART

Source: age-of-the-sage.org The major religions of the world include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.

These along with the other religions help to add meaning and purpose to the lives of followers, granting them an appreciation of the past, an understanding of the present, and hope for the future.

ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS

Network of commercial organisations such as manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, retailers, and buyers who generate, distribute and purchase goods and the use services. The function of an economic institution in society is to enhance development and financial security through the provision of financial services.

The term ‘economic institutions’, therefore, refers to two main things:

1. Specific agencies or foundations, both government and private, devoted to collecting or studying economic data, or commissioned with the job of supplying a good or service that is important to the economy of a country. The Internal Revenue Department in any country is a good example of economic institutions

2. Well-established arrangements and structures that are part of the culture of society, such as the markets and the banking system.

The credit union is a typical example of an economic institution.

The credit union is member-owned financial cooperative, democratically controlled by its members, and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members.

Credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that the members who have accounts in the credit union are the owners of the credit union. Members elect their board of directors in a democratic one-person-one-vote system, regardless of the amount of money invested in the credit union.

It is argued that credit unions are ‘community-oriented’, and ‘serve people, not for profit’. Credit unions offer many of the same financial services as banks, often using a different terminology; common services include: share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (chequing accounts), credit cards, share term certificates (certificates of deposit) and online banking.

Only a member of a credit union may deposit money with the credit union or borrow money from it. As such, credit unions have historically marketed themselves as providing superior member service and being committed to helping members improve their financial health.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT

In the credit union context, ‘not-for-profit’ should not be confused with ‘non-profit’ charities or similar organisations. Credit unions are ‘not-for-profit’ because they operate to serve their members rather than to maximise profits. However, unlike non-profit organisations, credit unions do not rely on donations, and are financial institutions that must turn over what is, in economic terms, a small profit (i.e. ‘surplus’) to be able to continue to serve their members.

ACTIVITY

1. Suggest THREE reasons the religious and economic institutions are seen as important to any society.

2. State THREE factors that differentiate a bank and a credit union, explain your answers.