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Survey says business people prefer divine
counsel over spouse, religious leaders

(WSJ) A survey of business leaders found that when
faced with a serious business decision, 74 percent "pray
to God for help or inspiration." By contrast, only 65
percent said they "talk it over with your spouse."

The survey, commissioned by Central Lutheran Church of
Minneapolis and conducted by Lawrence Research of
Santa Ana, California, polled a random national sample of
500 business executives, defined as company owners,
officers, executives, directors or managers. Three out of
five of those surveyed were owners or managers of
companies with more than 10 workers. A
higher-than-average percentage of these executives
claimed membership in a church or synagogue,72 percent
as compared with 64 percent for all Americans.

The poll wasn't related to the ethics controversy
ensnarling corporate America. Yet on the subject of
business ethics 70 percent said they believe that business
leaders try to obey the laws. However, six out of 10 said
they believe their specific competitors had done
something unethical to gain an advantage, and 13 percent
said their competitors had done it frequently.

Central Lutheran commissioned the poll because the
church is located near downtown Minneapolis and yet
experiences minimal interaction with the business
community. The poll illustrated that gap: While 74 percent
of the surveyed executives would pray about a serious
business decision, only 33 percent would talk it over with
a spiritual or religious leader--even though 44 percent had
had a serious conversation within the past three years
with a pastor, priest or rabbi.

The poll concluded that executives talk to religious
leaders not about business issues but rather about
personal and theological matters. Only 19 percent said
they had ever discussed a business problem with a
religious leader.



International Society of Interfaith Ambassadors
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/inroads/society.html