Chapter 11

International Religions

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

• realize the major conceptions of international religious faiths and beliefs,

• understand the general means and ends of a religion,

• understand the various monotheistic and nonmonotheistic religious beliefs of international religions,

• understand the psychosocial effect of religious faith on human behavior,

• describe the nature of individual moral and ethical beliefs in supernatural power(s),

• analyze managerial styles on the basis of sociocultural, psychological, and behavioral characteristics of a dominated religion in a host country,

• discuss how managers should cope with home and host countries religious beliefs, and

• describe religious types and traits of different people that affect international business.

Introduction

This chapter is concerned with the impact of religion on human behavior. It also analyzes the impact of religious faith and behavior on political economy and policy implications for international business management. Ever since political and scientific ideologies began drifting away from the ancient wisdom of religions, each has dreamed of subsuming the other. No one can doubt that religions have survived between these extreme struggles and many generations who have been scientists, politicians, and religious people are confused whether a bridge can ever span the divide. Politicians and scientists speak of explaining away all the mysteries by empirical inquiry, leaving no need for spiritual discoveries. In contrast, religious people fervently believe in unmeasurable forces as miracles. Since scientists and politicians focus their attention on the smallest material things and on the utility of the profit-making power, religious people focus on a holistic happy life without misery and unwanted incidents.

Every few decades, this hope for reconciliation and integration of all experiences becomes a dilemma. For example, in the late 1910s, Marxist and communist ideologies eradicated religious faith from Russian, Chinese, Cuban, and Eastern European cultures. Barry and Barner-Barry (1987: 32) indicate that: “A longstanding tenet that is traceable to Marx, atheism remains a principle fully supported by the (former) Soviet leadership. The degree of toleration and harassment of believers and religious organizations has varied over time, but the basic opposition remains. No overt believer would be allowed to occupy a position of political responsibility in the country.” However, in the late 1980s, such an econopolitical ideology lost its ground during the disintegration of the former Soviet Union into the fifteen independent states and again religious faith was revived in these countries. In contrast to the former Soviet Union, in the 1970s, some nations tried to merge politics with religion. These attempts, such as the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979, tried to integrate religious faith with political ideologies. At the beginning of the revolution, they promised to integrate religious faith and ethical and moral doctrines with politics. Here, the effort was not to make politics spiritual but to make religion political.

Life is full of joy and sadness, of natural and historical goodness and evils. So when people become upset and disappointed by scientists and politicians, they turn to religious faith to transcend incoherence, incongruities, and the ills of life. Religious faith is such a psychosocial transmutation (Niebuhr, 1968: 1).

We must not ignore the efficacy of religious faith on individual behavior and organizational culture. Nor must we make too little of effective religion in the field of international business. It is well known that many religions restrict the consumption of some items. For example, no beef for Hindus, no pork for Moslems and Orthodox Jews, no red meat on Fridays during Lent for Roman Catholics, and no alcoholic drinks for Baha’is.

What Is Religion?

We need not undertake a history or a catalog of definitions. A hundred or more can be gathered. However, we need to identify this mysterious phenomenon that most people accept without empirical proof of its existence. Geertz (1966: 4) defines religion as: “(1) A system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.”

One of the most expressive types of religious definition is related to its valuation, which indicates what ought to be the truthful universal beliefs in eternal existence. Through this dimension, religion is believing in Maxim of Excellence of Spiritual Being(s)—God(s). It refers to heavenly perceptual value systems, such as doctrines, rites, sacred texts, typical spiritual group structures, and the like. However, all religions deal with certain phenomena: the issues for definitions and meanings and (2) the issues for inspirations and intuitions.

Issues for Definitions and Meanings of Religion

Some people perceive religion in terms of moral virtues (the system of norms and usages of designating right behavior—believing in the Godly intentions and actions) or in terms of essence (organized holistic spiritual tendencies toward excellence—having faith in God’s excellence of existence). Religion deals with individual mental forces, cultural value systems, and sociopolitical structural establishments. For example, among Hindus, people dip their bodies in the Ganges River on auspicious days which is believed to purify the soul and release it from the bondage of reincarnation days. In India, a holy man sits as he has sat for many years in unmoving contemplation of the Nameless Reality that is his own self. In China, a nobleman meditates on the manner of the universe and seeks to conform his own being to its rhythms. In Israel, a rabbi meditates on the “laws” of Yahweh (God). In the United States, a congregational television evangelist gathers Christians on Easter morning to reaffirm the resurrection of the Lord (God). The wealthy, qualified Islamic pilgrims fulfill a vow by making their way to the “House of Allah—God” in Mecca (Comstock, 1972: 3). In all of these psychosocial efforts, people strive for and desire ritual experiences to escape from sinful, unfair, unjustified, and cruel behaviors of self and others, wishing eternal salvation and revelation. We can refer to all of the above religious experiences as ascetic, mystical, prophetic, intentional, and tendentious thoughts and actions.

Therefore, religion has direct relevance to individual spiritual wisdom. It manifests the spiritual power of a person through a symbolic form of activity, such as meditation, contemplation, praying, dancing, chanting, singing, whirling, and the like.

Religion is a socially shared set of beliefs, ideas, and actions that relates an individual’s insight to a reality that cannot be verified empirically, yet is believed to affect the course of natural and human events (Terpstra and David, 1991: 3). Religion can refer to substantive mental experiences, like feelings of sacred places such as the existence of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and the like. Religion can be viewed as mystical visions through physical movements such as symbolic systems that include behavioral forms of communication. Religion could be manifested through body movements such as making the sign of the cross (Catholics), lifting hands over the head and crying (Fundamentalist Protestants), bowing or kneeling on the ground and praying (Moslems), whirling around self and objects while chanting and singing (Sufi Moslems in Turkey).

Religious ritual ceremony may include body movement, such as moving back and forth while a person reads religious scriptures on front of the Wailing Wall (Jews in Jerusalem, Israel). Religion can include mystical visions and ritual acts like a sacred dance with gospel songs in a church in Harlem or beating on the chest and head repeatedly and the performance of an ablutionary rite (Shiites in Mashhad, Iran).

Through a philosophical methodology, religion can be defined as an empirical order of existence. Everything in the universe is subject to the order of nature. Nature is evolving (evolution), or as a super-empirical order of existence. It is subject to the will of creator(s)—God(s), creation. Religion can be defined as the sacred and holy belief in God’s words and actions. The experience of sacred or holy phenomena can be conceived in the sense of tremendous, which refers to a feeling of majestas, that overpowering sense of urgency, and mysterium, which refers to the uncanniness and mysteriousness that pervades the spiritual experience (Otto, 1965).

Issues for Inspiration and Intuition

The question is: What criteria are we going to use to determine whether a person is religious? How is an individual a religious person? What concerns a person most fundamentally? How widely do people share their faiths and beliefs with others? What types of groups form a religion? Are we perceiving religious people by their thoughts or actions? Is the best indicator of a religious person one who regularly attends services in worship places?

These are the main issues for labeling people who are or are not religious that can help to define spiritually what religion is and who is a religiously oriented person. The meaning of religious faith is not only attending mass (Catholics), service (Protestants), Jama’at (Moslems), and gatherings (Baha’is), it is also a cognitive behavioral measurement to be used as a criterion for the acceptance of religious cultural and ritual traditional forms of beliefs and practices. Much religious inspirational faith remains invisible because we are trained to look only for the traditional behavioral manifestations, not for the invisible and intuitive thoughts and inspirations (Luckmann, 1967).

Religion and Politics

For thousands of years interrelated political and religious movements have caused many events: Christian Crusades, Islamic Conquests, Ireland’s Catholic and Protestant bloody struggles, and the like.

It is not surprising that the relationship between religion and politics has been the subject of a great deal of discussion and disagreement, for these relationships are complex and highly variant. It is obvious that spreading misconceptions through rumors can mislead people and using the radical and biased mass media’s propaganda against a faith is a very destructive tactic. In addition, religious sensitivity in promoting other religious doctrines and symbols can create controversial issues among multinational businesses, governments, and religious circles. For example, a soft drink company marketed a brand of nonalcoholic drink called Three Stars in Libya. The logo of that company had three six-pointed stars on the label and bottle cap. Because of the visual similarity of the logo with the Israeli Star of David, this soft drink was banned in Libya, a Moslem country (Terpstra and David, 1991: 102). Another example is the case of McDonald’s in Israel. On June10, 1998, a conservative Jewish religious group wrecked the outdoor tables of a McDonald’s restaurant near Netania, north of Tel Aviv, Israel. They said they did it because that fast food restaurant sold pork and did not observe the Jewish Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of religious observance among Jews. The group left a note on cardboard and identified themselves as “Commando Habbadr.” Habbad is an ultraorthodox group that engages in Jewish missionary activities. The McDonald’s owner in Israel denied selling pork, which Jews and Moslems consider offensive. The manager said the meat they served was kosher because most Israelis want to conform to Jewish dietary laws (Meat Industry Insights, 1998). Kosher means a meat is ritually slaughtered in accordance with the law of Moses. Halal is an equivalent religious word for kosher in the dietary laws of the Islamic faith.

Political ideologies frequently have been designated to establish Godly coercive power. It can be used by tyrants to enforce their personal power under the guise of religious faith. Religious uprising can have dangerous consequences. When people appeal to their religious faiths to destroy their enemies, they establish a solid unified dynamic movement in order to exert their synergistic power. Such a monolithic power can destroy all barriers, because people feel that they are obligated to the heavenly cause of their faith either to destroy the enemy or to be destroyed. They perceive it as a Godly inspiration to go forward to a Godly destiny. A political movement becomes very crucial when the cause of uprising integrates the divinely justified causes in such a movement. For example, in 1979, the mandate of the Jurist’s Trusteeship of the Ayatollah Khomeini led people to depose the Shah and caused the establishment of the Islamic fundamentalism cleric regime in Iran.

It is very evident that sometimes political ideologies cannot solve problems of order in some societies, because politically elite power groups cannot guarantee the approved means for achieving equitable resource distribution among people. The main reason for such crucial issues is the politically elite groups themselves—those who have currently established right to use coercive power—may violate the approved means to their own advantage.

Prevailing sociocultural values and econopolitical privileges, such as power, prestige, income, and the like, become scarce to common people. Subsequently, religious faith can help people set and enforce the limits of these scarce resources by coercive self-mandated power for the benefit of those who legitimately earned them. In religiously oriented societies, emphasizing common values through belief in God’s decision reduces the sharpness of the tensions that result from the econopolitical inequality.

Religious faith is often empirically mixed. From an analytical view, we can see vividly how religion consistently can be in conflict with opposing political ideologies. Appeal to forcing a political ideology may ultimately lose the original heavenly cause of the religious faith and convert it into a political instrument, which can destroy itself and other political ideologies.

The relationship of religion to politics varies widely, from person to person, and from people to politicians. It depends on the religious tradition and/or socioeconomic situation in which it is found. The question is: Can we draw a distinctive line between religion and politics in a systematic way? The answer for individual behavior is no, for a political system, yes. A religious faith is a belief in spiritual goodness. Religious faith is a manifestation of human psychosocial and spiritual character. Religion is one aspect of an individual’s life—the relationship between psychological anxiety and concern for the individual’s eternal salvation and sociological concern for a happy life. In contrast, political ideologies, by and large, are the social phenomena of an ongoing class ordering among people in a society. It is a sociocultural phenomenon to establish justice, while avoiding error, injustice, and suffering. These are indeed the critical orientations of human earthly life. Political ideologies promise to establish justice through laws and cultural values through ethics and morality. But religion searches to purify psychosocial misconducts through Godly behavior. However, the combination of both, as Parsons (1951) indicates, is a political-religious effort toward manifestation of a mobilized effort by the masses for purifying ideas, values, and desires. Expressed in terms of his vocabulary of motivation, these are cognitive and valuative oriented behaviors.

Religion and Science

There are different thoughts concerning the relationship between science and religion. Some people believe that science deals with ideas that are falsifiable. In contrast, scientific religion deals with matters of truthful faith. Faith is not omnipotent, nor it is always benign. Religious faith is arguably the most successful psychological therapy ever invented, but it has also fomented ignorance and intolerance. The benefit of scientific knowledge must outweigh the benefits of faith. Otherwise, why practice science at all (Horgan, 1999: A72)? However, some people believe that it is of vital importance for the fields of both science and religion to stick to their separate turfs (Krauss, 1999: A88). In the United States, there is a trend that separates church from state. People such as Sir John Templeton believe that a path of cooperation between the sciences and all religions can lead humanity to a deeper understanding of the universe (Johnson, 1998: B12). This group of people believes that science has discovered absolutely nothing in the past century of remarkable activity that has any spiritual implications (Krauss, 1999: A88).

The debate between science and religion is about selection of paths of discovery. Scientists believe in observation and empirical experiments starting from the smallest matter, such as an atom, then they generalize some conclusive facts; religious authorities believe in holistic theoretical methods in exploration of whole facts in relation to life. Religious philosophers search for objective truth in order to explore the “evidence of universal purpose of the cosmos.” Also, religious authorities believe that consciousness, the very hallmark of humanity, could be directed to an extrinsic part of the universe and is related to the perceptual nature of God. All religions scientifically explain the source of some perceptions that we posit the existence of outside reality—a god or gods.

The problem between these groups is: Why should it not be something instead of nothing for such debate? How is it that animated matter can organize and contemplate self without ignoring the source of existence? Religion is an unknown spiritual science. Science, like religion, is ultimately built on a platform of beliefs and assumptions. No one can prove that the mystery of the existence of the cosmos is bounded only with science, because the laws of the outer hemisphere could be different from the laws of the inter hemisphere. Scientific religion is concerned about the universal laws of both the inner hemisphere and outer hemisphere. If scientists do not have empirical access to the whole cosmic truth, then it is not fair to deny the content and causes of the existence of religion. Religion covers causes, processes, and conclusions of the existence. Scientific religion is the discovery of the “undiscovered mind.” It is related to the holistic spiritual end result of neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, behavioral genetics, sociology, kinesthetic intelligence, cosmology, and the like.

Categories of Religious Behavior

Although the range of religious behavior is wide, it can be classified. Wallace (1966: 518) categorizes thirteen minimal behaviors. He believes these types of behaviors are found in all religions. Yinger (1970:16) has made some modifications and has outlined fifteen types of religious behavior:

1. Prayer and exorcism: addressing the supernatural power

2. Performing religious arts and playing music: dancing, singing, chanting, playing musical instruments, and whirling around self and objects

3. Psychophysiological exercises: physical manipulation of psychological states through deprivation (e.g., fasting)

4. Exhortation: addressing others as representatives of divinity

5. Reciting the code: use of the sacred written and oral scriptures, and literatures, which contain statements regarding the pantheon, cosmology, myths, and moral injunctions

6. Simulation: imitating things for purposes of control

7. Mana: touching things possessed of sacred power. Mana refers to a kind of power that could produce extraordinary occurrences in nature and also enable man to perform acts beyond his normal capacity (Comstock, 1972: 8). Marett (1909) argued that the belief in mana probably preceded the belief in specific souls that operated at the animistic stage.

8. Taboo: avoiding things to prevent the activation of unwanted power or undesired events

9. Feasts: sacred meals

10. Sacrifices: immolation, offerings, and fees

11. Congregation: processions, meetings, and convocations

12. Inspiration: pursuit of revelation, conversion, possession, mystical ecstasy

13. Symbolism: manufacture and use of symbolic objects

    All of the above religious behaviors are isolated systems and, therefore, according to Yinger (1970: 17), can be extended in two directions:

14. Extending and modifying the code: in connection with number 5
15. Applying religious values to nonreligious contexts: the consequential dimension

There are three types of behaviors in religious ceremonies: (1) ritual performances, (2) praying and (3) begging to God. All of the above ceremonies involve asking God to provide human beings with earthly comfortable life, repenting of wrong actions, and asking God to forgive sinful and cruel intentions, decisions, and actions. In addition, for some religions that believe in doomsday, they ask God for eternal graceful attention, blessing, and salvation.

Descriptive International Differences in Religion

Emergence of religious faith is as old as human history. Religion is the first spiritual cultural foundation of basic norms, models, insights, and visions which have influenced and shaped human faith. Gradually, through the evolutionary trends from original to advanced cultures, the spiritual foundations of humanity in the forms of believing in magic, miracles, inspiration, ethics, morality, and prophetic foundations were laid in China, India, Persia, Palestine, Arabia, and Greece. The world has a unique religious profile (see Table 11.1).

In Table 11.2, Jaspers (1953: 1) has enlarged boundaries to include the following religious and philosophical figures.

Through historical research, Toynbee (1954: 83) found that religion is one of the cultural forms through which a given civilization could be studied. Later on, he found that “historic religions catch a new vision of the spiritual presence, higher than man, in which these presences are no longer seen through the medium of human economic and political needs and activities but are seen as direct powers that are not implicated ex-officio in their local worshipers’ human concerns.” However, it should be indicated that today, religion has some direct impact on a community’s econopolitical performance. For example, Islam restricts Moslems from taking or giving predetermined interest, irrespective of the purpose of the loans or rate of interest charges. Accordingly, on Thursday, December 23, 1999, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled for the country’s financial system to be free of interest. The court ordered all people, banks, and institutions in Pakistan to obey Islamic law. The ruling was driven by the view that interest amounts to riba, or usury, under the Islamic system of running an economy, and therefore is considered forbidden (Bokhari, 1999: 4).

Smith (1965) has specified a number of Asian countries, such as Burma, Thailand, and Ceylon, that values of polity influence directly the relationship of religion and politics:

1. Theory of history. The course of history tends to increase a religion’s involvement in politics.

2. Attitude toward other religions. Attitudes of intolerance reinforce the tendency to use the political process for communal advantage.

3. Capacity for ecclesiastical organization. The more highly organized the religion, the greater its involvement in politics.

4. Political and religious functions. Fusion of politics and religion tends to change spiritual faith into political beliefs.

5. Tendency to regulate society. The more religious influence on daily sociopolitical values, the more tension between state and religious authorities.

The focus of this section is descriptive for the following major religions: Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Sikhism as major religions in Asia; and Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Babism, and Bahaism in the Near and Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Australia, and North and South America.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is an animated and humanized religion. It was born in Iran in 660 B.C.E. Zoroastrian faith in its final shape was evolved as “the Thoughts, Words, and Deeds of Goodness,” by a single personality, the prophet Zarathushtra or Zoroaster (Yasna 30 verse 3). The Zoroastrian holy scripture is called Avesta. It is divided into five holy books: (1) Yasna, (2) Yashtha, (3) Vaspered, (4) Vandidad, and (5) Khordeh Avesta. The Zoroastrian population around the world is estimated at 272,000 by one account, who live mainly in Iran, India, North America, Europe, and Australia (World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1999: 687).

Elements of the Zoroastrian Faith

Zoroastrianism may have been the first monotheistic religion. It was the first religion not intended to be a privileged sphere for a mediating priesthood or hierarchy. On the contrary, it obviously came into being through Zarathushtra’s opposition to ancient rites and guardians, the priest class of the magi. This religion, as represented by the original preaching of Zarathushtra, the Gathas, meant a broadening of the religious basis, expanding contact between the deity and people, and a universal inclusion of all people from every walk of life in the circle of the gods (www.religioustolerance.org).

In the Zoroastrian faith, people believe that the struggle between good and evil did not occur in the origin of life in the past, but it goes on in the universe as well as in the human soul. Furthermore, it will end in the ultimate triumph of light and goodness over darkness. Both the good and the evil have many attendant spirits or demons that have been degraded to a lower sphere. The features of good are the best justice, the sacred devotion, obedience, truth, and hope. The features of evil are unjustness, untruths, disobedience, and pessimism (Kahler, 1956: 58–59). The six major religious principles in the Zoroastrian faith are:

1. Light is the main source of truth.

2. Light is a source of life.

3. Life has been created by enlightenment of knowledge and wisdom.

4. Ahura Mazda is the source of light. Ahura is perceived as the creator of the cosmos, and Mazda is conceived as the source of (ultimate?) wisdom.

5. The animation of the spirit of goodness in human nature has been gifted by Ahura Mazda.

6. The duality of good and evil is the misconception of human pleasurable deviation into Ahriman. “Spenta Mainyu” as good and “Angra Mainyu” as evil (Ahriman) and an evil spirit of violence and death (Mehr, 1991).

The Six Pillars of Zoroastrian Faith

Zoroastrian faith inspires people to convert new societal features of goodness into their intentional behaviors through application of “Good Thoughts,” “Good Words,” and “Good Deeds.” These features are personifications of abstract qualities and attitudes of goodness to the identical conception with the soundness, the wholesomeness, and the usefulness. These values are inspiring, and they manifest the evidence of goodness in a human deed. The following consequences will emerge:

1. Presentiment that human destiny as a whole is the progression of mankind’s goodness.

2. There will be a day of final judgment (doomsday) when the world of good will prevail and the evil will disappear. That is, truthful life will continue according to the universal law of “asha,” righteousness.

3. Ethics is a hygiene and a source of practical advice for people. Its main objectives are purification, perfection, and usefulness of a clean and sound natural life.

4. Goodness is not only contained in an individual character. It also includes societal congregations, such as the six five-day-long ceremonial thanksgiving celebrations during a year.

5. The cleanliness of the four vital essences of existence and enlightenment—water, air, earth, and fire (as symbols and sources of energy)—is a consequence of ethical environmental hygiene.

6. Zoroastrian temples keep the sacred fire lit as a permanent symbol of life and enlightenment for eternity.

Pragmatic Behavioral Life of Zoroastrians

In a pragmatic analysis, Zoroastrian religion shows three important features in human life:

1. A sober life, which is not to be attached solely to materialistic aspects of life.

2. A character, which is dynamic in nature

3. A tendency, which is a motive toward abstraction

In a conclusive statement, Zoroastrianism is a faith that directs people to make a distinction between good and evil. Also, it is a belief that is composed of a dual struggle between wisdom and ignorance, light and darkness, sound and silence, justness and unjustness, and pleasure and lustfulness.

Hinduism

In contrast to other religions, Hinduism has no founder. It is a cultural religion that dates back, perhaps, to prehistoric times. There is no standardized principle of faith among Hindus. Hinduism differs from region to region, from caste to caste, from class to class, and from rural illiterates to urban intelligentsia. Hinduism is a specific religious attitude of self, where intellect is subordinated to intuition, dogma to experience, and other experience to inward realization (Radhakrishnan, 1993).

To many, religion in India appears to be a confusing tangle of myths and many different gods and goddesses worshipped in countless forms (Sahay and Geoff, 1997: 419). Hindus recognize many gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, the god of protection and preservation of the world. Shiva is the god of destruction and restoration. Brahma is the god of creation. The elephant is god of personality and good luck. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge and learning. Indra is the god of the storm and fertility (Passion for India, 1999. “Spirit.” http://Passionforindia.com/spirit.html.).

Hinduism is a tolerant and peaceful religion; minorities have nothing to fear (Baird, 1998). Hinduism is a very complex and synthesized religion which has been influenced by many generations of Aryan (Indo-European) and Persian (Iranian) civilizations with the indigenous Dravidian tradition of southern peninsular India. Eighty-two percent of India’s population practices Hinduism. In addition, other long-resident Hindu populations are on the Indonesian island of Bali and northern Sri Lanka. During British colonial rule, Hindus immigrated into Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Fiji. Hindus have a sense of international adjustment and tolerance in difficult environments. According to the 1997 Encyclopedia Britannica, there are over 746,797,000 Hindus around the world.

Hinduism started with Mitraism, Gitaism, and Vedaism around 2000 B.C.E. The early sacred literature of Hinduism has the retrospective title of Vedas. Mitra is the Vedic god of justice. Gita is the song of the Vedic gods. Veda means “knowledge” and the Vedas are written in Sanskrit. Some historians argue that the basic concept of Hindu religious text is based on the philosophy of reincarnation. Hindu religious philosophy is based on an extreme view that everything is temporary and all things that exist are associated with birth, life, death, and rebirth, including gods. Hindus view that all five units of the existence of the cosmos (gods, humans, plants, animals, and inanimate substances) are composed of natural substances that are not only different, but are also inherently unequal. All five units in the domain of the cosmos (e.g. sun and stars, clouds, winds, thunder, and lightning) are ranked according to the power and purity of their substances. Accordingly, in a domain of living things (gods in a pantheon, castes of humans, and species of animals) higher forms in any domain are purer and more powerful than lower forms in that domain. There are four types of Vedic religious books:

1. Samhitas: Rgveda Samhita (Veda of Chants) the Samaveda and Yajurveda Samhidas (Vedas of Melodies) discuss multiple gods, the universe, and creation.

2. Brahmanas: Brahmanas are the elaboration of Vedic religion into the sacrificial religious systemization. Brahmana means a statement on Brahma that is on the cosmic importance or meaning of the Vedic sacrificial ritual, whether regarding each individual act (karma) and formula (mantra) or a combination of such acts and formulas that constitute a particular sacrifice. Brahmanas describe animal sacrificial formulas to gods. However, five male animals, including men, horses, bulls, rams, and goats, were among cosmic sacrifices.

3. Epics contain legendary stories about gods and humans. These texts are Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

4. Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedic texts. These texts speculate on the origin of the universe and the nature of deities, atman (the individual soul), and its relationship to Brahman (the universal soul). They introduce the doctrine of karma (one is born to a higher level of existence based on moral behavior in a previous phase of existence; life on earth is regarded as a burden) and recommend meditation and the practice of yoga.

Overall, Hinduism can be broken down into four periods characterized by an oscillation from disunity to unity, from unity to disunity, and disunity to unity. Fundamental to the self-definition of Hinduism is the distinction it takes between two classes of literature: Sruti and Smrti. Sruti is “what is heard,” and refers to the whole corpus of Vedic literature (also called Veda) from the four Vedas. Smrti is “what is remembered,” or tradition includes all that falls outside this literature. The most prospective corpus of Smrti literature is concerned with dharma (law or duty).

The Hierarchy of the Caste System

Hinduism can be interpreted as the most dynamic of religions because followers of this faith believe in reincarnation. Orthodox Hindu people are divided into four major heredity classes:

1. The Brahmin (priestly and learned class)

2. The Kshatriya (military, professional, ruling, and governing occupation)

3. The Vaishya (landowners, merchants, and business occupations)

4. The Sudra (artisans, laborers, and peasants)

Jainism

Jainism is an ancient religion whose community follows the religious path of Vardhamana Mahavira, a prophet known as Jina, or “Victor.” He was born in Northern Bihar, India, in the sixth century B.C.E., the same time as Buddha Gautama.

The community of Jainism in 79 B.C.E. split into two main sects: (1) The Digambara, “sky or space-clad” (and thus naked), and (2) the Svetambara, “white-clad” (wearers of white cloth). In addition to the fifth commandment of Zoroastrianism, the animation of the spirit of goodness in human nature has been gifted by Ahura Mazda—that they were practicing in their religion, Jainism added two more principles: (1) confession and repentance and (2) nakedness. These two principles were recommended among those believers who took religious vows.

The earliest existing documents for Jainism’s holy book are the canonical scriptures of the Svetambaras and the systematic teratism (Prakarana) of the Digambaras.

Jainism is based on pleading to many gods. Adherents believe that the cosmos is composed of three main parts: the lower, middle, and upper world. They believe in stellar gods (suns, moons, planets, constellations, and stars). Jains believe that these stellar gods overlook them at all times. They should not violate the nature of the principles of the faith.

Religious Practice of Jainism

Practicing Jainism is based on two elements: specific Jain convictions and the general Indian environment. Members of the fourfold congregation (samgha) composed of all Jainism believers include all monks and nuns, laymen, and laywomen. They share a common belief in the Triratna (three jewels): (1) The Right Faith, (2) The Right Knowledge, and (3) The Right Conduct.

The monks and nuns should take six more “great vows,” as they are pleading to abstain from:

1. injuring life,

2. false speech,

3. taking what is not given,

4. unchastity,

5. appropriation, and

6. taking food at night and in darkness.

Monks should cultivate samvara, the spiritual path defined by the cessation of karmic influx, by means of established ethical and behavioral practices as follow:

1. The triple supervision of mental, verbal, and bodily activities.

2. The “fivefold care” not to hurt living beings when they are walking, acting, speaking, begging, or performing excretory functions.

3. The “tenfold righteousness” of patience, humility, uprightness, purity, truthfulness, restraint, austerity, renuciation, voluntary poverty, and spiritual obedience.

4. The twelve mental “reflections.”

5. The twenty-two “traits” ranging from hunger to confusion (Eliade, 1987: 507–514).

Confucianism

The best known of all of China’s ancient sages is Confucius. Confucius (K’ung Fu-tzu) was born in the northern state of Lu in China (551–479 B.C.E.). He is neither viewed as a prophet nor as a spiritual leader. Instead, he is considered a philosopher and moralist leader in the Oriental culture. The teachings of Confucius were compiled in a large volume simply called the Analects, which was to become the bible of the Chinese way until modern times. According to the 1998 statistical religious population of the world, there are 6,112,000 people in Chinese folk religions (The Learning Network: <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001484.html>).

Confucian Philosophy of Faith

The basis of faith for traditional China and East Asian countries is the principle that the universe is composed of and held together by two forces, the yin and the yang, or positive and negative. In this type of faith, there is a plus for every minus and it is the interaction of these yin and yang forces that creates life and gives the universe the form and the cycles that we see. Also, this belief is referred to as the principle of duality.

In Chinese faith, every aspect and facet of life must be in balance—in harmony—for things to be right with the world. In the modern scientific conception, scientists empirically accept that this philosophy of life from protons and electrons all the way up is based on the same principles, which originally were expressed by Chinese faith. The divined Chinese faith is the milestone of accepting the nature of universe (De Mente, 1989: 19).

Principles of Confucianism

1. Confucianism derives from the cult of ancestors, which places the spirits of dead relatives at the center of each household’s praying.

2. Confucianism believes in maintenance and continuity of literal dialogues with ancestors through praying.

3. Confucianism believes the proper foundation for society is consideration of propriety based on respect for human dignity, which in turn is based on two principles: fairness and reversibility. Fairness means what is fair to all is fair to one. Reversibility means willingness to be the recipient of one’s own manners and actions.

4. Confucianism is little concerned with metaphysical discussion of religion or with spiritual attainments. Instead, it emphasizes moral conduct and duty in relationship to the human sphere.

5. Confucianism is based on cultivation of virtue as a central tenet of humanity.

6. Confucianism provides a model for social relations, based on the doctrine of Tam Cuong, which prescribes how five important sets of interactions are to be considered. These five relations are between the king and/or ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older and younger brothers, and friend and friend.

These relationships are reinforced by participating in ritual ceremonies such as ancestor worship. In the field of business, Chinese and Vietnamese employees expect their employers to be paternalistic, kind, and soft-spoken. At the same time, employees should be obedient to employers without question.

Taoism

Taoism is one of the major religions in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It is a philosophical belief that originally was presented by Tao Te Ching’s “Classic Book of Tao and Its Virtues.” Traditionally, this book was thought to be the work of Lao-tze. The name of Lao Tzu (604–517 B.C.E.), the founder of the Taoism religion, is associated with philosophical paradoxes. He began by talking like a fool and ended by making his listeners wise. For example, Lao-tze himself spoke of it thus: “There is a thing which is all-containing, which was born before the existence of Heaven and Earth. How silent! How solitary! It stands alone and changes not. It revolves without danger to itself and is the mother of the universe. I don’t know its name and so call it the Path,” (Kakuzo 1956: 37). Lao Tzu as a philosopher himself, with his quaint humor, says: “If people of inferior intelligence hear of the Tao, they laugh immensely. It would not be the Tao’s wisdom unless they laughed at it” (Kakuzo, 1956: 37).

Taoism is a matter of spiritual enlightenment through empirical observation that most, if not all, believers combine with group and individual enlightened elements. This dual reference may derive from the fact that each of the functions of Taoism is carried on most effectively within a religious belief. In Taoism, individuals need to use their maximum efforts to attain their religious objectives. Taoists refrain from disturbing the natural order of things.

By cultivating wu-wei, a type of inaction characterized by humility and prudence, a person can participate in the simplicity and spontaneity of Tao. Taking initiative is considered to be vain, the active life is disdained, and passivity is valued. These doctrines are summed up in the Taoist maxim: “Do nothing and everything will be accomplished spontaneously” (Furnham and Bochner, 1986: 99). Also, the groups need collectively to use their faith for inspiring and supporting their group member efforts. Tao, “The Path,” is the ultimate reality of the universe. It is a creative process, and humans can live in harmony with it by clearing the self of obstacles. Confucianism paid scant heed to the question of individual salvation, for example; but this may account for the spread and the direction of development of Taoism and Buddhism, with which Confucianism learned to live in a somewhat uneasy coexistence.

Taoist Philosophy of Faith

The Tao literally means a “Path.” It has been translated also as the Way, the Absolute, the Law, the Nature, the Supreme Reason, and the Mode. These renderings are not incorrect, for the use of the term by Taoists differs according to the subject matter of the inquiry. In addition, Taoist religion has emerged from the ancient philosophies of traditional shamanism; by the second century B.C.E., it constituted an organized religion.

Taoists believe that there is a thing which is all-containing, which was born before existence. With reluctance, it is called the Infinite. Infinity is the Fleeting, the Fleeting is Vanishing, the Vanishing is Reverting. Life is the Path because it passes by. Therefore, Taoism is believing in birth, passing through life, and reverting to the next growth cycle.

Taoism is believing that the spirit of Cosmic Change is the eternal growth which returns upon itself to produce new forms. It folds and unfolds, because subjectivity is the mood of the universe. Its absolute is the relative. Taoism cannot be understood without some knowledge of Confucianism and vice versa because it is related to ethics more than religious faith. Taoism is proknowledge because knowledge is power. Taoists do not believe in the nature of God as an absolute power because they believe “Absolute is the Relative.” They believe in the laws and moral codes of society; to them, right and wrong are not different phenomena, they are relative in terms. “Absolute,” “fixed,” and “changeless” are terms meaning a stoppage of growth.

Taoists strongly believe in changing the truth, inventing a new path of values, and evolving in growth. Taoists accept the mundane as it is and, unlike the Confucians and the Buddhists, try to find beauty in our world. They believe that the comedy of human life could be made more interesting if everyone would preserve unity. To keep the proportion of things and give place to others without losing one’s own position is the secret success in the mundane Path.

Practical Path of Taoism

Taoists strongly believe in mental concentration for longevity and immortality. They believe if followers of the faith harmonize body and mind energies through breathing exercises, meditation, use of medical plants, talismans, and magical formulas, they can discover the path of enlightenment. Since the beginning of Taoism, many sects have arisen within this faith. Some have emphasized the worshipping of immortals through meditation; others use alchemy for healing and exorcism.

Shintoism

Shintoism, the native religion of Japan, is primarily a system of nature and ancestor worship. The religious-cultural philosophy of Shintoism focuses on the worshipping of the kami. A kami is a host of supernatural and beautiful beings that could be known through forms. Shrines dedicated to particular kami are visited by parishioners for praying and traditional ceremonies, such as presenting a newborn child to the kami. These forms of kami could be perceived as objects of nature, such as a plant; extraordinary individuals, such as the emperor, spirits of ancestors; or abstract concepts, such as justice. Shintoism has been influenced by Taoism: shin tao means “way of the gods.” Also, it has been influenced by Confucianism and by Buddhism. In the fifteenth century, Japanese people brought tea into Shintoism as a religious reflection of aestheticism—Teaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of a beautiful drinking ceremony among the sordid details of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony in the romanticism of social order (Kakuzo, 1956: 4). Nevertheless, these mysterious and beautiful habits ultimately contain power for healing, inspiring, motivating, and energizing an individual’s mental ability.

Shintoism has no principles of faith, such as believing in a holy writ. Through a political-cultural tradition, it is considered as the belief in brotherhood. However, Japanese culture, in supporting the morality of a nation and the emperor as preeminent in the hierarchy of values, departs markedly from the interpretation found in other religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism in China (Bobilin, 1968). Also, Holtom (1947: 54) indicates that according to the ideology of Shinto: “The sacred quality of the divine emperor attaches to a Japanese war. All the wars of Japan are holy wars since they are under the supreme command of an emperor who can do nothing wrong.” Shinto made the Japanese state not merely a secular power, but a sacred place of worship as well.

It is a great mistake to think of the political nationalism ideology of Shintoism as a religious faith. Shintoism culturally believes in “war dances” as a religious ceremony. Religious-political ideology of Shintoism, like many other religions, is considered an effort to the degree of unity necessary for modern war by inspiration of the emperor of Japan (The Learning Network: <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001472.html>).

Buddhism

Buddhism is a major religious faith in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It was founded in 563 B.C.E. in northern India by a son of a warrior prince known traditionally as Siddhartha (“he who has reached the goal”) Gautama. According to The World Almanac and Book of Facts (1999), there are 353,141,000 Buddhists around the world, roughly 6 percent of the world population.

Buddha is not a name of the founder of Buddhism. It is a title signifying the Enlightened One. Prince Gautama spent his two decades in a life of ease and luxury. One day, he left his home, wife, and child to wander as an ascetic, seeking religious insight and a solution to the struggles of human existence. He was disturbed by human suffering and tried to release himself from such a condition through many trials and practical meditation to the extreme of self-denial. Gautama meditated for forty days under a sacred bodhi tree (“tree of perfect knowledge”) and finally he discovered the enlightenment of the truth. His path of discovery to the truth was called the Middle Way, because he was avoiding the two extremes of self-indulgence and Hindu asceticism. Gautama taught his followers about his new spiritual discovery.

Despite the Hinduism that they believe—that the Brahmin caste (the class of people of great culture and intellect) alone can perform religious functions and attain the highest spiritual understanding—Buddhism is more egalitarian and accessible to all classes of people, regardless of their caste, who wish to be enlightened.

Elements of Buddhism

Like Hindus, Buddhists believe that existence consists of reincarnation, a continuous cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. Despite monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Buddhists believe in anatman (that a person has no actual self) and the idea that existence is characterized by impermanence. Buddhism is highly tolerant of other religions.

Buddhism faith is considered as being a reformation of practical Hinduism. At the core of religious faith of Buddhism, there are four Noble Truths:

1. All existence begins with suffering.

2. The truth of this suffering is desire. Desires of all kinds are never fulfilled.

3. Desires can be overcome. Suffering ceases when desires cease.

4. There is a path that leads to avoid desires. This is the Noble Eightfold Path. There are eight conditions that a believer should consider:

   1. Right view is understanding and accepting the Four Noble Truths.

   2. Right thought is viewed as avoiding lust, ill will, cruelty, and untruthfulness.

   3. Right words is avoiding lying, talebearing, harsh language, and vain talk.

   4. Right conduct is abstaining from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.

   5. Right livelihood is avoidance of violence and freedom from luxury.

   6. Right effort is avoidance of badness and maintenance of what is good.

   7. Right concentration is contemplating the fact that the body is transitory and loathsome, and contemplating the feelings of oneness and of others, and contemplating the mind and other phenomena.

   8. Right meditation or ecstasy is complete devotion and concentration on a single object or phenomenon to achieve purity of thought: through freedom from all desires, hindrances, and distractions, and eventually, freedom from all sensation.

Sangha, the Buddhist monastic order is very well organized. Buddhist monks renounce the world. There is no attempt in Buddhism to regulate society, whereas in Islam, the law is detailed and full (Smith, 1965).

The Triple Factions in Buddhism

Buddhism, like other religions, has numerous sects. There are three major sects: (1) Theravada, (2) Mahayana, and (3) Vajrayana.

Theravada. Theravada is the oldest tradition, interested in the “Way of the Elders.” By this faith, Buddha is considered a great sage but not a deity. This practice emphasizes meditation and ritual ceremonies that help individuals become arhats (enlightened beings). These believers depart from daily social life and dedicate themselves to the cause of meditation. Its followers believe in the earliest Buddhist scriptures. This sect is prevalent in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.

Mahayana. The second sect is based on the belief of the Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) tradition of Buddhism to concentrate more on humanity and social life. Members of this sect believe in Buddha as a supernatural eternal power, as the ideal of the bodhisattva (enlightened being). Followers of this sect pray to Buddha. This sect is prevalent in China, Korea, and Japan.

Vajrayana. The third sect believes in mentoring and guiding by a spiritual leader for enlightenment. These people believe in Zen. Zen is the name derived from the Sanscrit word Dhayana, which signifies meditation. It is a belief in contemplative actions. Zen is believing in nothing real except that which concerns the working of our own minds. Zen Buddhism encourages individuals to seek the Buddha in nature within their minds and practice their faith through continuous meditation to reach satori (spiritual enlightenment). This sect is prevalent in Japan, Tibet and Mongolia (The Learning Network: <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001470.html>).

Zen

Zen is actually a collaborative faith among Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Zen is a name derived from the Sanscrit word Dhayana, which signifies meditation. It claims that supreme self-realization may be attained through consecrated meditation. Meditation is one of the six ways through which Buddhahood may be reached, and the Zen sectarians affirm that Sakyamuni laid special stress on this method in his teachings, handing down the rules to his chief disciple Kashiapa. Kashiapa, the first Zen patriach, imparted the secret to Ananda, who in turn passed it on to successive patriachs until it reached Bodhi-Dharma, the twenty-eighth. Bodhi-Dharma came to North China in the early half of the sixth century and was the first patriarch of Chinese Zen (Kakuzo, 1956).

Zen seems to have affinity, on one hand, to the Indian Negativism of Nagarjuna and, on the other, to the Gnan philosophy formulated by Sanchracharya. Zen, like Taoism, is worshipping relativity. One master defines Zen as the art of feeling the polar star in the southern sky. It is a strong advocate of individualism. Nothing is real except that which concerns the working of our own minds.

Principles of the Zen Faith

Zen faith is based on spiritual adjustment to and harmony with nature. Followers of this faith believe that there is no absolute thing or phenomenon in the universe because everything is subject to the cycle of change. The followers of Zen aim at direct communion with the inner nature of things, regarding outward accessories only as impediments to a clear perception of truth. They believe that the present status of life is the moving identity toward the future. It is the legitimate sphere of the relativity in which everything is a function of other things. Relativity seeks adjustment; adjustment is art. They believe that the art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.

Zen was often opposed to the percept of orthodox Buddhism even as Taoism was opposed to Confucianism. To the transcendental insight of the Zen, words were but an incumbrance to thought. Zen, with the Buddhist theory of evanescence and its demands for mastery of spirit over matter, recognized the house as only a temporary refuge for the body. The body itself is but a hut in the wilderness. Taoism furnished the basis for aesthetic ideals; Zen made them practical.

Judaism

Judaism is the first literate religious system. It also became the polity of the Jews. It is one of the oldest of the monotheistic faiths. There are around 14,890,000 Jews around the world; 5,836,000 in North America; 4,257,000 in Asia; 2,432,000 in Europe; and 1,084,000 in Latin America. Jewish population comprises of 0.26 percent of the world population (The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1999).

The origin of Judaism faith goes back to the prophet Ibrahim. It was founded in Canaan, Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was an ancient country in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in north Iraq. According to Scripture, Judaism affirms the existence of one God. Ibrahim’s line descended through prophets Isaac and Jacob (also called Israel; his descendants came to be called Israelites).

According to Scripture, twelve Hebrew families migrated to Egypt where they were enslaved. Finally, they were led out of bondage by the prophet Moses. He united Israelites in line to worship Yehweh and called them Hebrews. The Hebrews returned from Egypt through the Nile River and Sinai desert after a forty-year sojourn, conquering from the local peoples the “promised land” that God had provided for them.

During the reigns of Saul and David (1200–1000 B.C.E.) the twelve Hebrew tribes lived in a covenant association, during the period of the judges. They were known as wise, knowledgeable, and heroic people. David’s son, Solomon, unified the land of Israel and made Jerusalem its religious center. Hebrews were ordered to worship in that temple. Following Solomon’s death, the kingdom was split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

Judaism’s holy writings are known as the Torah, specifically, the five books of Moses (traditionally called the Old Testament by Christians, and the Sacred Books by Moslems) and the compilation of oral tradition known as the Talmud (which includes the Mishnah, or oral law).

Elements of Judaism

A glance at Judaism reveals that in early Hebraic religion, a combination of rules of ritual, prescribed beliefs, and moral requirements was initiated by Moses. In this tradition, Jews were ordered to follow a source of goodness and a sustainer of morality, such as the Ten Commandments.

As previously stated, Moses was a prophet of God. God had instructed Moses to climb Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments. God spoke these commandments to Moses who then recited them to his followers. The Ten Commandments are:

1. I am the Lord your God who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.

2. You shall have no other gods but me.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4. You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

5. Honor your mother and father.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbors.

Judaism Essenes and Zealots Split

In 721 B.C.E. political conflicts resulted in the conquest of Israel by Assyria; also Judah was defeated by Babylon in 586 B.C.E. Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, and many Judeans were exiled to Babylon. During the era of the kings of Babylon and Persia, the Jewish prophets were active in Israel and Judah. Their sacred writings emphasized faith in Yahweh as the God of Israel and the entire universe, and they warn of the dangers of worshipping other gods. They also cried out for social justice. After Babylon was defeated by Persian rulers, all Judeans returned to Israel and resumed their faith and restored the temple of Jerusalem. Persian rule was ended by Alexander the Great and he conquered Israel in 332 B.C.E. The rule of Judea alternated between Egypt and Syria. Finally, the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E.

During this period, the Sadducees (temple priests) and Pharisees (preachers of the law in the synagogues) offered different interpretations of Judaism as (1) Essenes and (2) the Zealots.

The Essenes, Pharisees, and Rabbinic Judaism

Essenes were smaller religious groups who believed in a religious order. Also, they were called Apocalyptists, who expected divine deliverance led by the Messiah. Rabbinic Judaism’s philosophy was developed according to Pharisaic practice and centered on the Torah and synagogue as the primary expression of the Judean faith. The Scriptures became codified, and the Talmud (the Script of David) took shape. In the twelfth century, Maimonides formulated the influential thirteen Articles of Faith, including belief in God, God’s oneness and lack of physical or other form, changelessness of the Torah, restoration of the monarchy under the Messiah, and resurrection of the dead.

The Zealots and Zionists

Zealots were majority groups of Jews who were prepared to fight for national independence. The Jews were scattered in the Diaspora (dispersion) and experienced much persecution. When the Zealots revolted in Jerusalem, this time the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and its temple (C.E. 70). During the early twentieth century, the Zionist movement emerged from the European persecution of Jews. The full flowering of this movement occurred after the Holocaust of World War II, which took the lives of more than 6 million Jews. Finally, in 1948, the “promise of God” for the “Promised Land” became reality and the state of Israel was created (The Learning Network: <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001462.html>).

International Business and Judaism

Two expressions of present-day Judaism are: Orthodox and Reformed. Orthodox Jews’ daily behavior is based on traditional faith and practice with great seriousness in all aspects of life, including social, political, and economical decisions and actions. They follow a strict kosher diet and keep the Sabbath with care.

Reform movements, resulting from the Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment), began in Western Europe but took root in North America.

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religious faith founded by Jesus of Nazareth. He was born in about 7 B.C.E. Jesus proclaimed his prophecy in the kingdom of God to promote a loving life. The Christian holy book, the Bible, describes Jesus as a spiritual leader and a miracle prophet. The Roman Empire feared that Jesus’ spiritual power and his faithful followers would destroy their political system. Consequently, the Roman Empire crucified Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus’ brutal death was viewed as the worst form of punishment for those who were considered a political threat to the Roman Empire and to the Jewish temples.

Followers of Jesus pursued his truthful legacy with faith in God. Christians believed him to be Christ, the Messiah. According to the 1999 World Almanac and Book of Facts there are 1,929,987,000 believers in Christianity: Roman Catholics, 981,465,000; Protestants, including Anglicans, 755,414,000; and Eastern Orthodox Catholics, 218,350,000.

Trinity and Christianity

Christianity began to take shape as a distinctive doctrine, liturgy, and ministry in the first and second centuries. In 313 C.E., the first ecumenical councils defined the Trinity. Differences in the Christian doctrine and the threat to divide the church became a serious matter in an effort to standardize a creed and formulate it by bishops. The first of such ecumenical councils was held in 325 C.E. in Nicaea. In that congregation, the Christian creed as an important doctrine was defined concerning the substance of the Trinity. The creed defined clearly that there is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Also, the nature of Christ is considered both divine and human. In other words, the concept of “substance,” “person,” and “nature,” dominated the effect to express the doctrine of God as “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Christians believe Jesus to be “of one (not like) substance with the Father” (The New Encyclopedia Britannica: 271–289).

The Nature of Jesus

Christians believe that Jesus has two “natures,” divine and human. He is simultaneously “one in being” with God and “one in being” with humanity, and therefore he is able to mediate between them. Christianity shows its continuing affinity for participating in the kingdom of God, as loyalty to the divine, based on the prior loyalty of the divine to the world and humanity.

Principle Faith in Christianity

Christianity is a system “of faith,” “of hope,” and “of love.” It is a pattern of belief (thought), a community of worship (culture), and a way of life (society). Most Christians past and present have a shared body of beliefs about God, Christ, and the way of salvation. The Christian faith is viewed as:

• loyalty to the divine, based on the prior loyalty of the divine to the world and to humanity;

• confidence that God is trustworthy in truth and love;

• dependence on the Father of Jesus Christ, who is the source of all good in this life and in the life to come;

• given by divine revelation;

• the source of all good in this earthly life and in the life after in eternity;

• the source of commitment to inspire all thoughts and motivate good behavior in accordance with the divine word and will;

• a change of heart and repentance for sins; and

• love of God and concern for justice.

Split in Christian Faith

Like other religions, Christians of the East and the West broke their unity of faith, separating the church into three major groups. In 1054, the religious center for the Eastern Orthodox Church became Constantinople, and the Roman Catholic Church defined doctrine and practice of the Christian Faith for the West. In 1517, Christians of the West began the Reformation, which ultimately caused a schism in the Western Church. Reformers wished to correct certain practices within the Roman Church and also came to view the Christian Faith in a distinctively new way. The major Protestant denominations—Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, and Anglican [Episcopalian]—came into being. For further familiarity with differences of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodoxy, we will describe them in the following sections.

Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholics believe in the action of Jesus Christ himself. They trace and rest their faith as a mandate that Jesus Christ’s action are the foundations of Christianity. Also they believe that Jesus Christ invested his power in Peter, and through Peter invested that in the Pope. Roman Catholics believe that Christ is the invisible head of his church, and, by his authority, the Pope is the visible head. This interpretation of the origin and authority of the church determines the attitude of Roman Catholicism.

Roman Catholics believe in the Trinity. There are three distinctive doctrines that have achieved definitive formulation during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:

1. The infallibility of the Pope

2. The Immaculate Conception, and bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary

3. Centrality of the seven Sacraments: (1) Baptism, (2) Confirmation, (3) Eucharist, (4) Extreme unction, (5) Penance, (6) Matrimony, and (7) Holy orders—as channels of divine grace

The Church, the Sacraments, and the Mediators show that:

1. The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally emphasized the Church as not merely an organization, nor is it a school of doctrine, but the Church and the Sacraments are the principle elements of salvation.

2. The Church is the place where God and men (and women) meet, as God approaches humans through grace and humans approach God through worship. Hence, the focus of Roman piety is the Eucharist, which is both a Sacrament and a sacrifice.

3. The Church has a global hierarchy of holy offices. The Pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests constitute a formal religious authority.

4. The Church is the place for confession. The priest can ask God to forgive people’s sins because the priest as a mediator between God and humanity can forgive sins through truthful confession.

5. The Church and its priests are viewed as the intermediaries between God and people. People do not approach God directly, but rely on the Church and priests. There is a clear distinction between religious orders and the laity. Different requirements and standards of conduct apply to each. Roman Catholics believe that they cannot directly worship God. Catholics believe they need a mediator to speak to God. That mediator is clergy.

6. The church should baptize people. Roman Catholics believe that every human being faces the same choice between good and evil as Adam and Eve faced. Also, they believe that humanity since Adam and Eve has been under a curse: “original sin.” Even a person without committing acts of sin is corrupted from birth. Therefore, each person needs to be baptized.

Protestantism. Historically, rejection of the authority of the Pope as the sole mediator between God and the Christians has caused the redefinition of the nature of authority and the church. Protestants stress less value on the role of Sacraments, mediating role of Mary, and the intermediary role of priests or ministers than Roman Catholics. Protestants believe that people can approach God directly through Jesus Christ. They believe that they do not need any mediators as priests or clergy between them and God other than Jesus himself. Protestantism is an individualistic faith that, in its understanding and practicing of worshiping God, calls upon followers to come together in a pluralistic praying behavior within the church. The church is defined as “the community of Christian worshipers.” For such a principle of belief, there is great diversity among Protestants. The essence of Protestantism in two basic principles contains the one eternal truth and the one universal salvation. The divinity in Jesus’ consciousness founded the divine spiritual mission that was inspired in Jesus by God through infusion of the Holy Spirit.

Eastern Orthodoxy. Neither belief in God as Trinity, nor the dogma of Christ as divine and human in nature, nor the doctrine of humanity as created in the image of God are the main issues in Eastern Orthodoxy. The principal difference, at least as seen both by the Protestant reformers and by the Roman Catholic adversaries, lay in the area of religious authority. Followers of Eastern Orthodoxy believe in the Bible alone. Their faith resides in the Scriptures, the ancient creeds, the decrees of the seven ecumenical councils, and the tradition of the church. The chief dogmatic difference between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy thought is the question of procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son.

Eastern Orthodoxy has identified itself more intimately with national cultures and with national regimes than has Roman Catholicism. The church in Eastern Orthodoxy has sometimes tended toward the extreme of becoming a mere instrument of national policy.

Econopolitical Impacts of Christianity on Global Business

Since one-third of the worldwide population is Christian, the faith and doctrine of Christianity play an important role in international trade. Both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism periodically modify their religious practices in line with changing norms of social behavior in wider society. They influence decision-making processes in businesses. Third world countries are sometimes ambivalent toward Christians because Catholics and Christian priests, monks, and missionaries provide education, medicine, and shelter for needy people.

Recently, some Christian denominations are more involved in activism. One example is the concerted effort by the Catholic bishops in the United States to oppose abortion in family clinics; another example is opposing nuclear armament. In addition, since the Christian faith has been promoted dynamically in developed nations, it is viewed as an influential factor in the international econopolitical policy. For example, the Christmas season is known to the Western countries as a high season for retailers and the annual peak in sales. Also, church properties and business affairs play important roles in international relations and transactions. Religious holidays affect the production and transactions of businesses. Religious leaders play an important role in confrontations between church and businesses. For example, on June 18, 1997, the Southern Baptist Convention led a boycott of Disney and its subsidiaries. Delegates at the convention voted overwhelmingly for a boycott, saying the entertainment conglomerate promotes homosexuality, inappropriate sexuality, and antifamily themes (The Salt Lake Tribune, 1997).

Islam

Islam means “submission to the will of God,” the almighty, who determines the cosmic fate. Islam is one of the five major monotheistic faiths. It was founded in Arabia by Mohammed between 610–632 C.E. Mohammed was born in 570 C.E. at Mecca. Moslems believe that Mohammed, at the age of forty, with a strong image of believing in one God, was appointed by God as the Moslem Messenger or Prophet. God inspired him through the angel Gabriel. Mohammed was honored because he was going to be the final in the line of prophets. Islam believes in all previous prophets. The prophets in line are Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jesus; Mohammad is the last one. Gabriel conveyed the eternal Words of God as the Koran (the Islamic holy book) to Mohammed. In the first phase of prophecy, Mohammed taught Islam in a secret way, gained only a small following, and suffered persecution. He eventually, in the year 622 C.E., made a Hijra (immigration) from Mecca to Medina, which marks the beginning of Moslem calendars. In most Moslem-dominated countries, there are two calender systems in addition to the usage of the Christian calendar: (1) Hijra lunar calendar and (2) Hijra solar calendar. Both Islamic calenders begin in 622 C.E. The year 2000 of the Christian calendar is the year 1378 of the Hijra solar calendar of the Iranian Shiites and the year 1420 Hijra lunar calendar, the Arab calendar. All Moslem countries use the Hijra lunar calendar, except Iranian Shiite Moslems, who use the Hijra solar calender for national events. For Iranians, the beginning of spring, which is March 21, is observed as the New Year (Now Rooz). And for Sunnis, the beginning of the year and months are in rotation. In Islamic countries, consideration of these calenders is very important because there are many religious holidays that corporations should observe—from paying salaries and wages to the closing of businesses on these days. Also, Fridays are consecrated days for praying in Moslem countries and most government and business activities are closed. Therefore, in Moslem countries there are four international working days: Mondays through Thursdays, because Saturdays and Sundays are holy days in the West and Fridays are sacred days in the East.

Islam succeeded in uniting a worldwide belief that has included all nationalities, races, colors, and cultures into a unified agreement that Mohammed is God’s last prophet, but disagreements concerning the succession of the prophet caused two major divisions, creating the Sunnis and Shiites. Moslems number an estimated 20 percent of the world’s population. Sunnis comprise 83 percent; Shiites comprise 16 percent; others equal 1 percent (The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1999). There are seventy-two sects in both Sunnis and Shiites, such as Wahhabi, Hanbali, Hanafi, Shafeii, Rafeii, Sufi, Ismaili, and others. Islam is more an ecclesia than a denomination. It is technically inclusive, but it exhibits a number of sectarian movements.

Sunnis-Shiites Split

All Moslems agree on the prophesy of Mohammed, but friction arose from succession of the prophet. As Christianity has Protestants and Catholics; Buddhism has Theravada and Mahayana; Judaism has Orthodox and Reformists divisions, so Islam is divided between Sunnis and Shiites. This division is based on the principle of heredity relations or cultural disciple-ship. The Sunnis (from the word tradition) accept the first three successors, Ossman, Abubakr, and Ommar, to Mohammed. Shiites claim that the fourth successor is Mohammed’s son-in-law, Ali, who is the rightful leader and the other three are usurpers. The Shiites have more formal religious philosophy and have given stronger allegiance to religious leaders who are called “Saints or Imams.” Through sociocultural and psychological views, each Moslem needs to accept the faith through four paths of perceptions: (1) wisdom, (2) Koran, (3) people, and (4) tradition: Hadith. These are considered the primary sources of Moslem theology, law, and practice. In the Sunni sect, there is no clergy (Molla), but Shiites are very dominated by a group of theologists called Ulama or Mollayan. Shiite Moslems need to be individual religious leaders if they believe that they are intellectually to guide themselves or to choose and “imitate” the views of one of these Mollas and exactly follow social-religious behavior with their Fatvas. A Fatva means the final religious order that followers of a high rank Molla, who is called Ayatollah or Imam, to be carried out. Slater (1968: 137), as a religious scholar, wrote that: “Islam is both belief and legislation which organizes all the relationships of man.”

Elements of the Islamic Faith (Iman)

The word Moslem means one who is accepting and submitting to the will of God (in Arabic, Insha Allah—God willing). Moslems do not like to be called Mohammedans, a term they resent because it implies that they worship the prophet Mohammed, not God. They respect Mohammed but they do not worship him because he was a human being.

There are three philosophical shared pillars of the faith among all Moslems—both Sunni and Shiites: (1) Towhid, (2) Nabov-vat, and (3) Ghiama.

Towhid means the oneness of God. There is no other god but the one Great and Almighty God. This is epitomized in the statement: La Ilaha Ella Allah (There are no other gods, except one God—Allah).

Nabov-vat means to accept all the monotheistic Messengers of God whose names appeared in the Koran (such as Ibrahim, Noah, Moses, and Messiah) with the same respect, and to confirm that Mohammed is the last messenger for the whole world and all time to come.

Ghiamat means believing in resurrection after death in doomsday. This day is called the day of reckoning or the last day. God by His will shall restore all humans and will determine their deeds. Good deeds will be rewarded at the Last Judgment in paradise with eternal blessing; those condemned for their evil deeds will be punished and sent to Hell—the eternal abode of fire and torture.

In addition to the above philosophical beliefs, Shiites believe in two more principles: Aaddl and Emmamat.

Aaddl means justice. Shiites trust in God’s judgment and justness for creating the universe with His excellent justified wisdom.

Emmamat means believing in heredity successorship of the prophet Mohammed immediately through twelve Imams—starting with Ali, his sons, grandsons, and ending with the twelfth Imam Mehdi. Shiiates, like Christians believe the Messiah will appeare before doomsday. However, Moslems believe that Mehdi will appear instead of the Messiah.

Principles of the Islamic Theological Mandates

1. Aghl: Wisdom

2. Jamaat: Society’s opinion

3. Koran: The Sacred Islamic Book

4. Sonnat: The Islamic Traditions

5. Ghias: The Best Comparison

6. Estehsan: The Best Practices

Principles of Best Pragmatic Religious Mandates

Pragmatic religious behavior in the Islamic faith mandates every Moslem should observe five duties: (1) Salat, (2) Saw in, (3) Zakat, (4) Hajj, (5) Jihad.

Salat means the daily ritual of praying five times within twenty four hours: before sunrise, at noon, during the afternoon, after sunset, and in the evening. Moslems need to wash their hands, faces, and feet before each time of prayer.

Sawm (or saum) means fasting during the month of Ramadan in order to suppress an individual’s desires and passions. During these thirty days, Moslems from sunrise to sundown should not eat, drink, smoke, or have sex.

Zakat means to pay financial dues to poor people. Every Moslem has to pay 2.5 percent of their annual cash balance and other liquid assets, such as gold, silver, and bonds, to those needy people regardless of their religious faith or political beliefs—supporting orphans, widows, impoverished, and unemployed people.

Hajj means an obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca—“The House of God.” Originally, Mecca was built by the Prophet Ibrahim. Each Moslem who is financially capable needs to make such a trip once in his or her lifetime in order to repent sinful behaviors and to promise to pursue pure goodness in daily life.

Jihad means to defend the Islamic faith. It is essentially a test of sincerity as a believer to the faith. Jihad is not viewed as a forceful and offensive behavior. It is a peaceful and spiritual defensive action. However, through a combination of religious-political ideology, it is changing its meaning and direction toward aggression and acts of terror.

The five pillars of Islam define the practical identity of Moslems. These pillars are related to Moslem spiritual faiths, beliefs, and practices which can bind humanity into a fellowship of shared ethical and moral virtues and sociocultural values and concerns.

Islam and Politics

Historically, Islamic faith spread very rapidly during the first two centuries largely through religious-political forces. For fourteen centuries, moral and ethical Islamic faith has integrated people from diverse nationalities, races, languages, regions, and cultural value systems. However, Islamic belief, faith, and practices do not match with political images of monolithic and homogeneous international cultures. In fact, like Christianity, Islamic political universalism is not a reality because each of the seventy-two Islamic sects perceives the Islamic political philosophy differently. Islam promotes brotherhood through the absence of racial discrimination. In India, for example, many converts were from lower castes who saw a way to sidestep the restrictions of the Hindu caste system (Terpstra and David, 1991: 90). In Arabia, many slaves were converted to Islam and became free. The ideal of Moslem brotherhood is not trivial. Malcolm X, the chief lieutenant of the separatist Black Muslim movement, revised his vision of social change after making a pilgrimage to Mecca. In Mecca, he was highly impressed by the harmony among Moslems of many races and colors (Malcolm X, 1973). In the United States, there are 5,167,000 Moslems. Black Muslims in the United States are estimated to number 1,400,000 (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998). Through contemporary political literature, some experts overwhelmingly perceive the Islamic faith as antimodernization, anticapitalism, and antidemocracy. Some writers even try to replace the Islamic faith by threatening worldwide political terrorism and antagonistic beliefs. Hadar (1993: 27) states: “America must prepare for a new global threat—radical Islam… —is described as a cancer spreading around the globe, undermining the legitimacy of Western values and threatening the national security of the United States.” Such a perception is shared by some Western scholars, who also hold misconceptions concerning religious faith and religious-political ideology.

The negative image of the Islamic faith in the West, specifically in Europe, is due in part to the lack of adequate information about that “exotic” and “strange” religion, but the negative image is also rooted deeply in history. Of all the world’s religions, Christianity is the closest faith to Islam. Hostility toward the Islamic faith is not a recent result of theological differences; it is a historical counterreflection of the political and ideological expansionism of the Arabs and the Ottoman Turkish Empires in Europe. The negative image of Islamic political power is due to the historical movements in medieval Europe when, for seven centuries, Arab and Turkish governments conquered parts of Europe and threatened the rest of it.

Max Weber (1952: 178) has brilliantly indicated how politics may enter into direct competition with religion, particularly in the human war for “an unconditionally devoted and sacrificial community among the combats,”— a community of united races, ethnicities, languages, and cultures that is internationally perceived as a brotherhood. The Arab and Turkish Ottoman armies culturally carried the Islamic faith to Spain, Sicily, and some other parts of Eastern Europe. They crossed the Pyrenees and raided France as far as Nimes. The Ottoman armies twice stood at the gates of Vienna and nearly occupied it. All this caused European politics to attack the Islamic faith rather to attack the Arab and Turkish governments, because European countries are in need of mineral resources.

International Business and Islam

The month of Ramadan, with its daylight fasting, is noted for its negative impact on both productivity and consumption. For thirty days, Moslem employees need to fast from sunrise to sunset. These employees observe very long days. At the end of the day, they lose their energy and are not capable of working productively. In addition, Moslem employees observe many religious holidays.

Most Moslem countries annually export mineral resources, such as oil, copper, uranium, magnesium, and phosphates, and import industrial goods and machinery from non-Moslem countries. For example, twelve member nations out of thirteen total members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are Moslem.

Since in the Islamic faith receiving and/or paying interest on a loan is viewed as a big sin, some Islamic bankers pay and receive interest as a commission (The Wall Street Journal, 1975a: 21). In Moslem countries such as Iran, if a lender files a lawsuit against a delinquent debtor, the Moslem court will award only the principle. Since non-Moslem believers should not have access to the sacred place of Mecca, businesspersons cannot travel to Mecca. Every year, around 2 million financially qualified Moslems, in a special day called “Ai’id A1 Azzha,” need to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. For international business transactions, this trip for individuals from all over the world will provide an opportunity to earn $50 billion for Saudi Arabia and other MNCs. For such a reason, bankers, airlines, hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and medical and health industries are benefitting from such a congregation. Another example indicates that a Swedish firm had the engineering responsibility of building a traffic system in the city of Mecca, but they could not have access to that city as nonbelievers. The solution was for the Swedish company to use closed-circuit television to supervise Moslem workers and their project (The Wall Street Journal, 1975b: 13).

Sikhism

Sikhism is a faith which has emerged from a combination of Hinduism and Islamic beliefs. The word Sikh is derived from Sanskrit sisya, meaning disciple. The Sikhs are viewed as disciples of ten gurus beginning with Guru Nanak (1469 C.E.) and ending with Gobind Singh (1708 C.E.). A Sikh is defined as one who believes in the ten gurus and the Granth Sahib (also known as the Adi Granth), a scripture compiled by the fifth guru, Arjun Dev, in 1604. There are 19 million Sikhs, most of whom live in India (The World Almanac, 1999).

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in April 1469. A mystical experience at age twenty-nine was the turning point in Nanak’s life. While he was bathing in a nearby stream, he disappeared and was presumed drowned. Sikhs believe that he was summoned by God. He was missing for three days and nights but reappeared on the fourth day, and then proclaimed himself to be a savior. The opening pronouncement of his mission was: “There is no Hindu, and there is no Moslem,” because Sikhs could not understand Hindu and Moslem scriptures for inspiration. Since Sanskrit was for understanding Hinduism and Arabic for Islam, Sikhs turned instead to their motherland language to read the guru’s hymns, which were couched in a language that they could understand. Then, many Hindus and Moslems became his disciples.

Principles of the Sikh Faith

Nanak accepted the most traditional beliefs of Hinduism pertaining to the origin of creation and its dissolution. Nanak accepted the principle of samsara, reincarnation (the belief that the soul, upon the death of the body, moves to another body or form): the birth, life, death, and rebirth cycle. Also, he accepted Islam’s principle of faith that there is only one God. However, he indicated that God changed his own nature and functions after creation of the world, and the nature of God himself is the authority of duality and delusion.

According to the Sikh faith, there are three main functions that Sikhs must consider: One is Kirtan, which is the singing of hymns from guru Granth Sahib. Second is Katha, which is reading the Granth Sahib and explanations. The third main function, carried out at every Gurdwara, is the Langar, meaning a free community kitchen for all visitors of all religions.

There are six physical articles of Sikh faith:

1. Kesh, long unshorn hair—a symbol of hygiene and discipline

2. Dastar, turban—a symbol of royalty and dignity

3. Kjangha, comb—a symbol of hygiene and discipline to the matted unkept hair of ascetics

4. Kara, steel bracelet—a symbol to remind the wearer of restraint in their actions and remembering God at all times

5. Kachha, soldier’s shorts—a symbol of control and chastity

6. Kirpan, ceremonial sword—a symbol of dignity and the Sikhs struggle against injustice

The Sikh faith rejects idol worship, so the guru Granth Sahib is not sacred as an idol, but rather emphasis is placed on respect of the scripture for the writing which appears within. It establishes moral and ethical rules for development of the soul, spiritual salvation, and unity with God (http://www.sikhs.org/granth.htm).

Bábi Faith

On May 23, 1844, in Shiraz, Iran, a young man known as Siyyid (a title referring in Iran to a person who claimed that he was a descendant of Mohammed of Islam) Ali Mohammed—the Báb—announced the imminent appearance of the Messenger of God. The title Báb in Arabic means “the Gate.” The Báb declared his purpose was to appear to mankind for his advent. Báb spent long periods in “meditation and prayer” and the main proclaimed purpose of his mission was to prepare for the coming of the “Universal Manifestation of God.”

The principle belief of Bábi faith is based upon the creation of an entirely new society, one that retained a large measure of cultural and religious elements as events could arouse powerful new motivation. Bábis believe in an elaborate system of laws for the conduct of public affairs; for the maintenance of peace and public order; for the direction of economic activities; for such social institutions as marriage, divorce, and inheritance; and for the relationship between the Bábi state and other nations. Prayers, meditations, moral precepts, and prophetic guidance were revealed for individual behavior. Their aim is to affect a break with believers’ Moslem frame of reference and mobilize them for a unique role in human history (Effendi, 1891: 24).

The Báb’s claim was based on an ideology to change the whole system of Iranian sociocultural and econopolitical infrastructure. His desire was to seize political power from the Shah. For such an ideological motive, the Báb and his followers as Bábis were arrested and then all were executed in the public square of the northern city of Tabriz, Iran. Still, after more than a century and half, there are some believers in this path of faith. Thus, Bábi faith has been an introduction to the next religion as Baha’i.

Baha’i Faith

The founder of Baha’i faith is Bahaullah (1817–1892). Bahaullah was born in Mazandaran, the Northern State of Iran. Then he moved to Shiraz, a southern city in Iran. He meditated for many years in a mosque (Iil-e-Khani) in Shiraz and followed the path of Ali Mohammed Bob. After inspiration by God, Bahaullah proclaimed to be the prophet of God in Shiraz, Iran. There are 7,666,000 Baha’is living around the world (Famighetti, 1999: 687).

Baha’is believe in one God. For Baha’is, evolutionary process is an essential feature of all the phenomena of life, including the revelation of God. Since Bábi’s ideology was based on changing the religious-political infrastructure of a country like Iran, the Baha’is’ religious ideology is based on a message that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one centralized global society. They believe in breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation, and that the world will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principle challenge facing the people of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification. Thus, the main cause of the Baha’i faith is to establish a global centralized government. In order to accomplish the mission of the New World Order, Baha’is should work to surround leaders in high positions and especially target the key advisory positions in order to inspire them for a universal council.

A worldwide community of some seven million Baha’is, representative of most of the nations, races, and cultures on the earth, is working to give Bahaullah’s teaching practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland. Finally, Baha’is believe that since all religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are divinely inspired, therefore, Baha’i faith incorporates all religions into a unified faith, because Baha’is believe that such a unification is an integral divine plan (The Baha’i World: <http://www.bahai.org/bworld/main.cfm>).

Summary

The reality of today’s global free market economy is that multinational corporations must recognize religious differences among home and host countries. Religious faiths, along with cultural norms, create differences across national boundaries that influence how people interact with one another. Cultural beliefs and religious faiths about similar circumstances also vary from country to country. Where individualized worship attitude is central to the North American Protestant value structure, the need to be obedient to the church system dominates the value structure of their Latin American counterpart. Religious symbols and daily interpretation play important roles in the field of international business. Consequently, multicultural organizations must establish appropriate policies and procedures for interaction between home and host countries. Sometimes, because of religious sensitivity to some business trademarks, brand names, logos, and advertising messages, corporations need to modify their policies and strategic plans in order to be able to market their products in host countries. Compatibility or fit between the home and host business value systems and religious beliefs must be considered in order to be able to operate dynamically in international marketplaces.

Chapter Questions for Discussion

1. What is a difference between monotheistic and nonmonotheistic religions?

2. Why has religious faith influenced international business transactions?

3. What are some of the disagreements over religious values between Roman Catholics and Protestants?

4. What are some of the differences in values between Moslem Shiites and Sunnis?

5. What are differences between literate and nonliterate religions?

6. What is the difference between Sikhism, Islam, and Hinduism?

7. How does a religion becomes politicized?

8. How many religious holidays occur for Christians, Jews, Moslems, Baha’is, and Zoroastrians?

9. How do religious holidays affect international business transactions?

10. What is the difference between a solar calendar year and a lunar calendar year? Which one is used in Arab countries?

11. What are the major religious pilgrimage trips to sacred places in the world among Christians, Moslems, Hindus, and Shintos?

Learning About Yourself Exercise #11

How Do You Believe or Not Believe in a Religion?

Following are twelve items for rating how important each one is to you and to your organization on a scale of 0 (not important) to 100 (very important). Write the number 0–100 on the line to the left of each item.

As a believer or nonbeliever in a religious faith, it would be very important for me to:

Turn to next page for scoring directions and key.

Scoring Directions and Key for Exercise #11

Transfer the numbers for each of the twelve items to the appropriate column, then add up the three numbers in each column.

The higher the total in any dimension, the higher the importance you place on that set.

Make up a categorical scale of your findings on the basis of more weight for the values of each category.

For example:

After you have tabulated your scores, compare them with others on your team or in your class. You will find different judgmental patterns among people with diverse scores and preferred modes of self-realization.

Case Study: The German Private Businessman in Iran: When Business Intermingles with Religion

A fifty-seven-year-old German businessman, Mr. Helmut Hofer, was first arrested at Tehran Airport in September 1997 and was charged with having illicit sexual relations with a twenty-six-year-old Iranian female medical school student identified as Miss Vahideh Qassemi. Under the Islamic tradition and law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, that Mr. Hofer is a Christian and Miss Qassemi is a Moslem prohibits such a sexual relationship. Therefore, through a trial in the Islamic court, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the taking of American hostages in Iran, the new Iranian government faced financial difficulties in international trade. Consequently, American government froze all Iranian government assets in America (around $15 billion). Then the Iranian government established a close commercial link with European countries, specifically with England and Germany. Germany exported goods worth about $1.2 billion to Iran in 1999.

In the Islamic faith, any sexual affairs between a man and a woman outside of legal and/or religious marriage is considered a sinful action. In addition, through the Persian cultural value system, no man or woman should have sexual relationships outside of marriage, because it can cause serious social and familial consequences for both parties.

In Moslem countries, marriages between a Moslem man and a non-Moslem woman is permitted. The woman needs not be converted to the Moslem faith. It is very common for a Moslem husband to attend his Mosque, and for a non-Moslem wife to attend her church, temple, or synagogue. However, it is Moslem tradition and law that children must be oriented to the father’s religious faith. Conversely, marriage between a non-Moslem man and a Moslem woman is prohibited. The non-Moslem man needs to be converted to the Moslem faith before marriage. In addition, any sexual contact for both genders before marriage is viewed as unethical, immoral, and illegal within Islamic tradition and Islamic law.

In Iranian culture, females possess very high social and value statutes among family members. They are highly protected by males. Iranian male family members are very sensitive to the sexual relationships of their female family members with males before marriage. Caring and protection for female family members by family males is viewed as a religious, moral, and ethical duty. Iranian family members view female integrity and dignity as the most important and valuable spiritual family pride for their families. The female family members’ social and cultural statutes are viewed as a pluralistic shared pride with males.

Mr. Hofer appealed on the grounds that he had converted to Islam during an earlier marriage to a Turkish Moslem woman in Turkey and should receive a lesser sentence, but he was again sentenced to death in a retrial. Finally, on January 19, 2000, the case was dropped for lack of evidence, but Mr. Hofer was in and out of jail, facing new charges that resulted in retrial in the Islamic Revolutionary Court, where he was found guilty of insulting a prison warden. This time the charge became a political one.

Mr. Hofer had been a political pawn between the German and Iranian legal systems. Diplomats believed that the arrest was directly linked with the trial in Germany in 1997 of five men accused of assassinating four Iranian dissidents in a Berlin restaurant in 1992. Berlin judges found Kazem Darabi, an Iranian who worked as a grocer in Berlin, and Abbas Rhayel, a Lebanese man, guilty of murder and sentenced them to life in prison. Two of the other men were given prison sentences and one was acquitted (CNN, 1997).

On January 19, 2000, a Tehran court freed Mr. Hofer a day after the Berlin court handed down an eighteen-month suspended jail sentence to Hamid Khorsand, an Iranian, after finding him guilty of spying on exiled Iranian dissidents in Germany on behalf of Iranian secret services between 1995 and 1999.

The trial ended for Mr. Hofer with the payment of 20 million rials (Iranian currency), equivalent to $2,300, as a fine which was imposed for allegedly insulting a prison guard, although that charge was denied. Finally, Mr. Hofer flew back to Germany.