Greed is God: The Genesis of the Christian share index

[IndianaGreen]

Greed is God: The Genesis of the Christian share index

They have no links to gambling, pornography or birth control (but pollution is OK). Jerome Taylor on a new portfolio of companies aimed at religious investors

Wednesday, 28 April 2010

They say that money is the root of all evil. Or do they?

When St Paul penned his first letter to Timothy, little did he know that his musings on wealth would turn out to be one of the most misquoted passages of the Bible. Christianity's most zealous convert was actually making a much more nuanced point. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils," he wrote. "It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."

Cash has always been a thorny subject for the devout. How can one be rich and pious? There can't be too many Christian bankers who are unaware that, according to Christ, camels have a better chance of passing through the eye of a needle than bankers do of getting into heaven. Yet the wealthy may be able to sleep more soundly following the creation this week of Europe's first "Christian equity index". The Stoxx Europe Christian Index is the brainchild of a German investment firm that has spotted a gap in the market to provide a list of companies that the faithful can happily invest in without feeling like they are sinning at the same time.

Using a committee of ethicists and theologians, the company has drawn up a list of 533 European companies that can be described as working "according to the values and principles of the Christian religion". It won't say which companies it considered too sinful to invest in, but it has said that any firm benefiting from gambling, pornography, weapons, tobacco and birth control is out.

Those that have been given the all clear (the index will only release its Top 10 to the public) include some of the largest companies in Europe – a number of whom have controversial environmental track records. Mining and oil giants such as Rio Tinto, BP and Royal Dutch Shell – all of whom have been accused by environmentalists of being major polluters – have been approved as ethically Christian companies alongside other multinational giants including Nestlé, HSBC and Siemens.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/faith/greed-is-god-the-genesis-of-the-christian-share-index-1956176.html