What is Biblically Responsible Investing and Why is it Important?
Have you considered whether your investments reflect your Christian Faith? When I became a financial advisor after a career of working in corporate tax, I was thinking to myself: How would I be a Christian financial advisor rather than a financial advisor like all the others who just happens to be Christian? How could I live out my values not only in my personal life but also in my investments. As someone with a background in accounting and tax, I was taught that you find the companies that are the most profitable and you try to invest in those companies. Working at Fortune 500 companies, the most important thing was how to grow revenue and cut costs. While that alone can be a few of the parameters for good stewardship, there had to be more.
The question we may struggle with is this: If God owns everything, as we are reminded in Psalm 24:1, then giving our 10% tithe isn't all we should consider, we need to consider what we spend, save and invest as important aspects of being a good steward. I too used to believe that you could just put your money into index funds and hope that the companies were doing good things - if they weren't it wasn't my fault and I'm supposed to invest and grow my money like we were told in the parable of the talents, so what could I do but just be like everyone else. That didn't sit right with me, so I took time to do more research, to join Kingdom Advisors, to earn the Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation. In doing so, I learned the value and importance of Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI).
If I'm not doing the best that I can to avoid companies that are engaged in abortion, pornography, human trafficking, predatory lending and other areas the Bible talks about, am I being a good steward of what God gave me? I'm not here to tell you that you need to do the same things I'm doing, but I urge you to search your heart prayerfully and if you decide that BRI is something you are interested in, I'd hope you will read more.
Initially, I was thinking there was perhaps one way to go about this journey and that was to search out the companies that were not doing the things that aligned with my beliefs and eliminate them. As I began to dig deep I found that there are three areas of BRI and combining them together makes for a solid foundation. These areas are known as "avoid, embrace and engage". I'll share what each of these things mean and give you an example of how each element works.
Avoid
The first category would be companies that you want to avoid investing in. For many these will be ones where they directly or indirectly participate in activities that are not God-honoring. The obvious ones would be pornography, abortion, and gambling among others. These businesses are ones that hurt people in so many ways. The rapid growth of sports gambling has raised important concerns about the financial consequences and wellbeing of those participating in it. An article by journalist McKay Coppins in The Atlantic discussed that if you are gambling throughout the NFL season and you are up 1 cent for the whole season, you are in the top 2% of all gamblers.1 Beyond the potential individual experiences shared in that article research from the University of Southern California and UCLA found that legalization of sports gambling has been associated with decreased consumer financial health particularly when sports betting became available online. The explosion of mobile sports betting has set off a silent crisis for young adults, turning gambling into a video game of sorts that is causing financial issues for so many.
It's not just our investments, but our spending behaviors that matter as well. A few years ago when Roe vs. Wade was overturned a handful of large companies decided they would pay for their employees to travel to states outside their home state to obtain an abortion. One of them was a bank that I had done business with for 22 years. I felt God tell me it was time to find another bank and I did.
Embrace
Of course as Christians we want to support other Christian businesses and we should. In addition we can support companies that are promoting clean water, fair labor practices, human rights and more. While the latter may not be Christian companies, we want to also look at companies that are doing good from an objective perspective. Supporting companies that align with your values can be fulfilling and give you peace of mind. A common concern is whether investing your values means a sacrifice to financial returns and that is a reasonable question. Dr. Shane Enete at Biola University's Inspire Research Institute for Biblically Responsible Investing examined historical performance of the Inspire Small/Mid Cap Impact Equal Weight Index. The results were favorable compared to its non-screened benchmark over the period analyzed.3 While this study was encouraging, it should not be interpreted as a guarantee that BRI will outperform the broader market. Results will depend on the screening criteria, investment selection and other factors. There will be times where BRI strategies and other values-based portfolios will perform differently and could underperform the market. I personally balance expectations and the potential that my portfolio may not perform as well as the broader market with Mark 8:36 (NIV) which says "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"
Engage
Now that we have discussed the Avoid and Embrace areas, the middle ground is engage. This is where having open conversations with companies about our values can help move them in the direction of alignment with our faith values. Unfortunately, most of us can't walk into the office of a publicly traded company and ask to speak with the CEO or schedule a meeting with the board. Large investor blocks like ETFs can and when we invest our money with these funds, they can gain access to share our values.
Faith-based investors have used shareholder engagement to raise concerns about religious freedom, corporate policies, and business practices that conflict with their convictions. One published account describes a campaign involving shareholder proposals, meetings with company leadership, and subsequent policy changes at a large financial institution.4
While engagement with companies can motivate them to change their policies, there are many times these efforts aren't successful. In those instances further engagement can sometimes help and other times disengagement for at least some period of time might be the course of action.
While I could share additional examples of corporate engagement, the broader point is that thoughtful conversations can sometimes encourage companies to reconsider their policies.The Apostle Paul is a powerful example of how dramatically a person's direction can change. Before his conversion, he persecuted Christians. After encountering Christ, he devoted his life to sharing the Gospel. His transformation reminds us that change is possible. While corporate change is different from spiritual transformation, the principle still matters: when we engage thoughtfully and constructively, we may help encourage better decisions. Even incremental progress can make a difference.
Summary
While we may not be able to completely change the world in a day, when our actions and our practices - including investing and financial decisions - align with our values, we can make an impact, even if we are just a small part of the overall picture. As a Christian financial advisor, I want to walk alongside my clients as they make sound financial planning and legacy-building decisions that align with their beliefs and help them steward their resources in ways that honor God.
Sources:
Rosin, Hanna. “If You Win One Penny, You’re in the Top 2 Percent of Bettors.” The Atlantic, March 12, 2026. Read article and podcast transcript.
Hollenbeck, Brett, Poet Larsen, and Davide Proserpio. “The Financial Consequences of Legalized Sports Gambling.” April 2025. UCLA Anderson School of Management and University of Southern California. Read research paper.
Enete, Shane. “Performance Attribution of the First Biblically-based SRI Index.” Inspire Investing, November 8, 2018. Read article and research summary.
Bowyer Research. “JPMorgan Changes Policies on Cancellation, Viewpoint Discrimination, and ESG.” May 24, 2024. Read engagement account.