The Public Research Religion Institute (PRRI) has spoken: non-tea-party Americans think Capitalism is at odds with Christian values. What is not readily apparent is how one defines Capitalism. I have spent the last few years researching the topic of Faith-based Financing (FBF) to find out whether Capitalism springs from the mind of our Maker or the schemes of man. Do I agree that capitalism is at odds with Christian values? Not at all, IF one is talking about real Capitalism. In the US, however, what we have is a bad cocktail of Materialism and Interventionism, not Capitalism. Second, I suspect that when some people responded to this survey they heard “capitalism” and translated it to mean “materialism.” Had the question been, “Is Materialism at odds with Christian values?” I would have said, “Of course!”

My two cents is that this survey is not very helpful, except for a sentence or two at the bottom that says, “Americans across the political and religious landscape agree that the federal budget is a moral document that reflects our national priorities.” We can separate church and state, but we cannot strip economics of its foundations and hope to have a just, equitable, fair society. In my book, Repurposing Capital, I make the point that our modern economic systems have lost their moral moorings.

So, is this survey helpful? A USA Today article seems to be generating some discussion with polarized responses, perhaps reflecting the underlying confusion about the difference between capitalism and materialism. From a data perspective, I am not convinced the survey is useful; from the perspective of fostering the public discussion, I like it.