Influence of Catholic Religion on Investment Motives

Abstract

The article is devoted to analysis of problem of influence of Catholic religion on investment motives. Authors made analysis of Thomas Aquinas's ethics which is the foundation of Catholic teaching. The basic idea of Thomas Aquinas's ethic is the rationalization of life by the ordering of the sensible, non-rationalistic motives in the mind. The essence of the virtue in the thought of Thomas Aquinas is in the fact that the sensuous attraction is subordinated in the mind as the more moral beginning of human life. Thus, the basic Aquinas's idea of rationalization had a significant contribution to capitalist investment thinking. The investor who wants to increase his savings in accordance with the values of Catholicism should avoid giving away his money to firms which give internal bonuses to unmarried couples. Catholicism tries to limit investments in companies supporting contraceptives and abortions, as well as research on weapons of mass destruction and embryonic stem cells. Approved companies are companies that promote environmental responsibility and support trade unions.We made the conclusion that despite some limitation catholic teaching support rational investing motives.