ABSTRACT
Elements of faith would include ideas and values about health and happiness, life goals and aspirations, personal fulfilment, relationships, money and wealth, and personal attitudes to animals and the environment. The way finance is taught today in business schools, there are deep underlying values and beliefs, but these are rarely made explicit in the teaching and research or analysed. Faith is needed in the finance world not just to protect against adverse risks, but also to help make good decisions, to seize opportunities and to personally and emotionally deal with setbacks, failures and challenges. Contemporary finance theory and writing is totally silent about faith, and having been grounded in 'science', is beyond faith. One could argue that it encourages faith in greed, selfishness and materialism, helping people 'measure' their success and happiness. In the case of the Jains, faith and values exercise a restraining influence, creating greater scope for sustainability and sensible, equitable business and finance.
