This material is about our human nature and how the social forces of culture and religion can

bring people together for cooperative success or can divide people for persecution and suffering.
Culture defines the social forces within a community involving its conventions for behavior,
ranging from food preparation techniques, to forms of entertainment that keep the community
together like music or dancing, to dating rituals, and so on.
Religion defines how the community members interpret their role in the universe, with this
teaching based on the local culture, so different religions rise out of different cultures. Similarly
when members of one religion convert members of a foreign culture often the resulting religion
in that area is affected by the host culture.
According to the book by Jonathan Haidt, the Righteous Mind, most of humanity seems to fall
into valuing one of two tendencies higher than the other, either tolerance or loyalty and
conformance. I suspect those valuing conformance higher than tolerance can be influenced into
intolerant behaviors. This book also points out the inherent groupish nature of people. These
tendencies provide the foundation for the typically divisive political leadership of today.
According to the book by Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel (GGS), religion only surfaces
as something important to a community after the group is has grown to such an extent that layers
of leaders are in place to manage the larger population and its resources. Religion is often a tool
of politicians.
Religion is a divisive tool for political leaders as it enables one group to be defined and divided
from another, just as race has been used. Whenever one political group can unite against an
opposing group, persecution and suffering is often the result for that group now isolated from the
others. The book GGS also describes how different cultures have invaded or disappeared over
the course of human history around the world.
In our modern times of high rates of literacy across so many different cultures around the world,
we should have learned that cooperation is part of our human nature and its practice will be
successful in most endeavors, where a group of people of diverse skills and backgrounds can
succeed when individuals or a group of uniform skills cannot. Instead the problem is 'divide and
conquer' remains the most widespread leadership technique, so only a privileged few will benefit
to the detriment of so many others.
I started this web site because American political and religious leaders were using the Christian
religion to justify the wars in the Middle East. This message is emphasized throughout our
media, with the ever present phrase 'God bless America' as if our country is exceptional as the
conduit for God's master plan during our campaign of dominance over competing cultures and
religions in the world.

The point of this web site is we are all part of this global community and it is not fair that only a
few benefit while most suffer. I find it quite appalling our world is approaching the dystopian
world described in the infamous book of fiction 1984, as if no one of importance has recognized
such dangers.

(http://www.cultureandreligion.com/index.html)

How does religion influence how a culture develops?

Religion influences culture in many ways. People of different cultures have a set of beliefs that
influence their daily lives and how they act. For example, muslims pray five times a day in the
direction of Mecca, the most sacred place on earth to them. The women of Islam must dress in
cloaks that cover their whole bodies and hair. Also, in the fall, they have Ramadan where they
must fast for their religion. If someone were to convert to Islam, it would really change their life
because of all the things they have to do or sacrifice.

Religion is like a way of life. Many people take their religion very seriously, so their lives and
cultures are majorly affected by their religion. For example, serious Christians read their Bibles
daily, get baptized to express their faith to their peers, and attend church every Sunday. They
also pray multiple times a day. The Bible states that Christians are supposed to love and help
each other always. Many Christians try to be kind and help people in need. What someone
believes in will help them to make choices that shape their daily lives.

Whether people realize it or not, religion makes up a huge part of someone's life. If affects the
way people look at life, communicate with others, spend their time, and how they act. Religion
unifies and separates people based on what they believe in. For example, Christians and
Muslims don't get along that well because of differences in beliefs. Disagreements and fights
have occurred because of them not getting along. Many people wish that all religions could
coexist and live peacefully with each other, and we are working together towards coexisting with
each other.

Economists have increasingly emphasized the role of institutions in shaping economic activity.
Among the many studies on institutions, however, there has been relatively little resarch on the
economic role of religion in modern societies or in recent episodes of economic growth and
change. This lack of research is suprising because religious practices, traditions, and philosophies
are important components of national cultures that shape institutions.
By Joshua J. Lewer and Hendrik Van den Berg

Religious cultures are clearly legitimate subjects for scientific study. This paper contributes to
the research on the economic impact of religious cultures and religious institutions by examining
the empirical relationship between religious cultures and international trade.

The effect of religion on work habits

Religion can impact international trade in several ways. First, religion is a cultural institution that
directly guides human behavior. For example, if a religious culture encourages production, hard
work, and commercial activity, [...]it is likely to also encourage international trade. On the other
hand, many religious cultures discourage the short-term pursuit of happiness , and this could
suppress peoples desire to engage in short-term welfare-enhancing economic transactions.

The relative strengths of religions positive and negative institutional effects on international
trade differ from one religious culture to another because each provides somewhat different
incentives for human behavior.

Second, the sharing of particular religious cultures by people in different countries may enhance
trust and, therefore, effectively create networks that facilitate complex international economic
transactions when other supportive government and social institutions are missing (Rauch, 1999,
2001), Barabasi (2002), and Rauch and Castela (2003), examine the economic role of networks.
For example, Greif (1989, 1993), describes how the Maghribi traders, a small ethno-religious
group dispersed throughout the politically fragmented Mediterranean region in the Middle Ages,
established a long-distance trade network. Ensminger (1997) similarly discusses how Islamic
merchants created trade networks in the Mediterranean region and North Africa more than 1,000
years ago. Adam Smith (1776) anticipated todays literature on networks when he described how
the strict social organization of religious sects provided a behavioral gurantee that could

substitute for formal government institutions to enforce contracts. Fafchamps (2003) recent
study on Africa finds that the sharing of religious cultures still enhances trust and enables trade.

Discriminatory and Non-Discriminatory networks

Trade networks do not necessarily maximaize trade, however. Networks are by nature exclusive,
and they can divert trade as well as create trade. Networks based on the sharing of religious
culture may discriminate against non-believers and divert trade away from partners with the
highest potential mutual welfare gains. Greif (1994) argues that improvment in non-religious
institutions during the Renaissance expanded trade to a more diverse set of traders than was
possible with the earlier ethnic networks. Freund and Weinhold (2000) find that the Internnet had
little effect on international trade before 1995 when was somewhat exclusive, but after 1997,
when it became more inclusive, had a significantly positive effect on trade volume.

Finally, religious cultures indirectly affect commerce and trade through their influence on
institutions such as social traditions, customs, laws, government and other organizations. For
many of the same reasons that the direct influence of religious culture may, or may not, make a
countrys government, laws, regulations, social customs, and traditions supportive of
international trade. In summary, theory and evidence give us an ambiguous picture of how a
religious culture in general is likely to affect international trade

Trade-enhancing networks and religions

Only two religions, Buddhism and Judasm, have positive direct and indirect institutional effects
as well as trade-enhancing network effects. That Buddhism is so positively and consistently
correlated with international trade would not surprise Lal (1998), who argues that the examples
of Japan after World War II, and China, India, and many other Asian economies more recently,
prove that rapid economic growth can be achieved in non-Western societies.

Judasms positive network effect suggests that Jewish traders may still form implicit networks,
that expand international trade, not unlike the Jewish Maghribi traders 1,000 years ago as
described by Greif (1989, 1993).

The result that the Hindu culture does not generate any noticeable network effect is surprising,
given the Hindu Diaspora throughout Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Perhaps the mixed results
are driven by the remnants of the Hindu cultures divisive catse system, or, aus Uppal (1986) and
Eisenstadt (1968) note, the cultures lack of a single unifying written doctrine.

It is difficult to explain why Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Catholicism, and Protestantism, the
three Christian religions in our sample, do not provide strong direct institutional support for
international trade. The three Christian religious cultures have positive indirect effects on trade
through their influence on other institutions that enhance bilateral trade, which may be a very
important contribution by those religions in that part of the world where seculairsm and
individualism are also strong cultural traditions.

This finding that, indirectly, Protestantism is likely to have inspired other institutions that
encourage international trade is supportive of Webers (1905) hypothesis that Protestantism is
instrumental in the growth of capitalist institutions.

Effects of cultural tendencies

Among the authors who have addressed Roman Catholicisms direct economic incentives , Stulz
and Williamson (2001) report that Catholic countries protect the right of creditors less than
other countries... . Blum and Dudlet (2001) and McCleary (2002), argue that contactual defaults
are more common in Roman Catholic countries because the Catholic sacrament of penance
permits people to obtain pardons for their sins at any time and thus lowers the cost of
violating a contarctual agreement.

Islams negative network effect is surprising. Unfortunately, the literature on the economic
implications of Islam, such as Kuran (1995, 1997, 2004), Lal (1998), Nafissi (1998), and Noland
(2003), provides no consistent explanation for why Islamic trade networks do not expand total
trade. Perhaps Islamic networks are specially exclusive. [...]

Confucianisms positive network effect confirms Rauch and Trindades (2002) findings of the
important trade relationships among the ethnic Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia,
Hong Kong, Tawan, and Indonesian maintain.

RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Religion is a very important factor in international business and the way the negotiations are
done, because the religion has the power to influence all the things that people do in certain
countries and regions, in almost every developing country there is some religion or caste that
tells the people through pastors, priest or leaders how to behave, what is good or bad, and the
best way to obtain the salvation of the spirit: and a lot of people say that this is way these
countries never reach to develop and continue on the material poverty.
However, when doing business it is important to understand the beliefs of other cultures to get
the best of it and to have a better negotiation climate.
How can we create an ethical relationship between religion and business so that they may
cooperate towards a more sustainable and respectful development of life?
It is important to develop laws and an ethical code that helps to improve the relationship between
the humans; both religion leaders and business leaders or negotiators should recognize the
importance of each other and should find the way to cooperate to create development and growth
in the best way, without passing over people beliefs.
Can you imagine a world without religion where everyone would be trying to get immediate
satisfaction to their individual needs?

It is difficult to imagine a world without religion, since everybody would try to obtain the best
for themselves and without caring of other people. It is possible to have a world like that, but it
will be destroyed in just few years, since the most likely is that people and complete countries
fight against each other and destroy us about little things. In addition religions and castes make
people from all over the world different and special, the religion is the basis of many cultures and
ways of thinking, so without them almost everybody would think the same way and do the same
things.
On the other hand, it would be great if religion was not a business and our priest and leaders do
so more by conviction than by money.

Religion can create networks of trust and familiarity that facilitates economic transactions. Can
you name other positive aspects of this relationship?

With this relation negotiators also can get to know better the other culture and what is good to
them, so with this trust and familiarity the negotiations can get better outcomes and reach winwin situations where everybody get something useful.

Do you think that stereotyping based on religion has been influenced by economical or political
interests, why, whose? What is the role of The Media in this issue?

It has been so influenced by economical or political interest, since gubernators want to

manipulate the society to get advantage and get profits; they have cataloged the third country as
undeveloped because of their religion and beliefs. Also, Asian countries and its people are seen
as spiritual and without desire to develop.
by conviction than by money.

How can we create an ethical relationship between religion and business so that they may
cooperate towards a more sustainable and respectful development of life?

Religion guides behavior of people, and therefore it can be used at every level of society,
including organizations, to build positive relationship within it. The real complication arises
when dealing with a multicultural environment, in which different cultures and religions have to
find place as a common unit in order to work properly. Under these conditions, religious
differences can pose a major challenge to the way in which an organization works. Therefore the
better way to create an ethical relationship between religion and business is to promote tolerance
and understanding of the different religions, in a way that different religions and a common
business goal find an ethical balance that allows the organization to work properly.

2.
Can you imagine a world without religion where everyone would be trying to get
immediate satisfaction to their individual needs?

Absolutely not. Religion is implies different behavior regarding for example economic issues and
in this way we can state that religion plays a very important role in determining the diversity of
cultures including the nature of the needs of people and the way the achieve them. In a world
without religion where everyone would be trying to get immediate satisfaction of their individual
needs, meaning that all cultures would be individualist as they measure success in terms of their
job and wealth and they are always aiming for a higher salary and position in the organizational
hierarchy as a reward for their performance. The world would be selfish and the diversity at a
cultural and business level wouldnt exist as it does today providing a world balance; diversity is
important because it allows learning from others.

3.
Religion can create networks of trust and familiarity that facilitates economic transactions.
Can you name other positive aspects of this relationship?

Another positive aspect of the networks of trust and familiarity created by religion is that it
facilitates cooperation as religion provides the bases for ethical behavior. Therefore governments
and organizations can trust others whose religious bases are strong, which means that they are
ethical and are appropriate partners for business relations.

4.
Do you think that stereotyping based on religion has been influenced by economical or
political interests, why, whose? What is the role of The Media in this issue?

I believe that stereotypes based on religion have indeed been influenced by economical or
political interests because religious differences have posed difficulties and limitations to
governmental and business relationships given that each religion and culture has different
perceptions regarding economic and political relations. From this impeded relationships surge
stereotypes that spread thanks to the media.

An example of this is that eastern cultures and religions have been more reluctant to the western
capitalism leaded by the USA, by standing up to their beliefs and defending their way of carrying
relationships with other cultures at the social, political and economic level. One may say that the
economic and political interests of the USA havent been fully achieved because of the
opposition of other cultures and religions, and the American opinions and judgments regarding
those religions based on political and economic matters have spread widely thanks to the media.