Rabbi Shmuley Boteach spoke with BiblEconomy about the roots of the financial crisis and how we transcend it.
“The collapse of our economy was caused not by an economic crisis but a spiritual crisis called greed, where you become voracious and insatiable. I believe that the Jewish community, and the Jewish religion has unique values that need [...]

Tallahassee legislators are considering repealing the sales tax exemption on religious items as they grapple with an expected $5-6 billion state budget deficit for the 2009-2010 budget year. The House Finance and Tax Council heard testimony this week. Urging the tax exemption stand for the sale of religious items, including Bibles, Florida Baptist Convention legislative consultant Bill Bunkley says [...]

The BBC reports on the Church of England’s “prayer for the current financial situation” published online six months ago and which 40,000 have visited. It begins:
“Lord God, we live in disturbing days: across the world prices rise, debts increase, banks collapse, jobs are taken away, and fragile security is under threat.”
To reduce the decline in [...]

The Dallas Morning News’ Religion Blog convened a “Texas Panel” to ruminate over faith and the famous CNBC Rick Santelli monologue. Deal Hudson, director of InsideCatholic.com made this observation:
There is no obligation whatsoever for the government to “bail out” banks, investment firms, or individual homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages. The reason the government has started [...]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on the religious debate: should responsible taxpayers who took out affordable mortgages bail out those who didn’t?
Is it ethical for others to foot the bill for your bad financial decisions? And is it ethical to say no to those pleas for help?
The article quotes Mu Soeng, a Buddhist studies [...]

As if the sheer loss of their donor’s wealth weren’t enough concern for non-profit groups, here’s a good explanation of why 501(c)(3)’s, including religious charities, are worried about new limitations on charitable donation tax deductions.
Sheldon Steinbach, a DC-lawyer who represents colleges and universities says the proposal could have drastic consequences for many groups:
“Any disincentive to [...]

In this Letter to the Editor of the Pocono Record, the Rev. Marilyn Smith cites the experiences of Abraham and Jacob to argue for tithing even in tough times:
If we can’t be faithful giving God 10 percent of our little, why would God give us more?

Column worth reading by Kristine Frederickson in the Mormon Times on the perils of conspicuous consumption and how now necessity ”has engendered thrift, industry and charitable impulses and actions” prompting a new recognition of the difference between wants and needs, teaching us “to live well on less.”
She says that in 1869 Brigham Young:
…explained that others looked at the [...]

Hilton Head’s Island Packet Online reports on the booming business of bartering, during this cash-tight period:
John Roppelt’s eyes opened to the potential of bartering when he got Lasik eye surgery without spending a dime of his own money. A partner in Main Street Cafe & Pub, Roppelt started trading credits to his restaurant on the north end [...]

A modern-day demonstration that faith is a gift that keeps on giving, the Omaha World-Herald reports annual fish fries “flourish in economic chill.”
Aiming to feed multitudes, organizers hope to raise money for charitable projects. The paper said: 
Good food gets ‘em in the door,and a good cause doesn’t hurt.