Personal Worldview Answers-Business Ethics Paper - Running...

Running Head: PERSONAL WORLDVIEW AND BUSINESS ETHICS 1
Personal Worldview & Business Ethics Paper
Liberty University BMAL 560

PERSONAL WORLDVIEW & BUSINESS ETHICS
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STEP 1
To what extent should personal religious beliefs impact our decisions about business ethics
Personally, I believe that the way we use our personal religious beliefs is more important
as opposed to the extent to which it is used for decision making in business ethics. As a
Christian one should refer to their religious beliefs, at all times, in the fair and respectful
treatment of a human being. God wants us to treat each other with love and dignity so it is a
responsibility of a Christian to do so. This is not to say that a non-Christian, as a decent human
being, should treat people any different than a Christian is supposed to. I think what many
people fear is the dark side of religious beliefs especially its history of intolerance by those who
replace God with religious doctrine and ritual (Fort, 1996, p. 465). As long as a person does not
use their religious beliefs to favor one person over another or violate an organizational or
government law, I do not see a negative impact.
To what extent do your personal religious (or non-religious) beliefs about life impact your
sense of business ethics and personal decision-making?
Being active duty military for over 25 years, I would have to say that my personal
religious beliefs coincide with my military values and ethics which is summarized in the
acronym LDRSHIP. LDRSHIP stands for Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor,
Integrity and Personal Courage values expected of a well-rounded leader and found in the bible
as well. Based on these values I would say, yes, my religious beliefs significantly impact my
sense of business ethics and personal decision making. In John, 15:12 (ESV) it states that “this
is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” an example of a
responsibility and duty to God’s will towards the treatment of the business’s people and
customers. I have found that my religious beliefs go a long way in doing the right thing. An

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example is applying selfless service to others as God wants, a comparison to customer service.
All this being said, I do not impose my religious beliefs on people to the point that I am
evangelizing, after all there are guidelines that separate church from state.
Does it seem odd to connect every belief we have about life back to what we believe about
God?
As a practicing Catholic I recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday during mass which is our
profession in the faith. The creed states “I believe in one God the father, the almighty, maker of
heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible” which to me affirms that all things come
from God so everything is connected to Him. So for all believing Christians I do not find it odd
that every belief we have about life is connected to what we believe about God, as the creed
explicitly states.