Engaging Faith Traditions Against Corruption: Some Opportunities

By: Séamus Finn

June 20, 2013

New Roles for Religious Leaders: Moving on Governance and Corrupt Practices

The recruitment and engagement of the faith traditions in the effort to drastically reduce corruption across broad swatches of society and societies should take a multilateral, multi-portal, and multi-layered approach. In that way I think the effort will bear fruit because it takes account of the complexity of our religious traditions and the complex contexts in which they operate. This approach should also include an examination of the philosophical foundations that legal, ethical, and moral reasoning and religious teachings draw upon.

A good starting point is the recognition that honesty, integrity, transparency, and accountability are four priorities that can be found in the teaching corpus of most faith traditions. The individual or person is generally exhorted to embrace these virtues/values and the upright person is often declared to be already enjoying the benefits of life within the divine household. Numerous stories, parables, images, and hymns have been recorded and recounted in an attempt to both elaborate the importance of these priorities and deepen their meaning across different context, cultures, and circumstances.

On the other hand it is more difficult to enunciate a similar set of teachings, priorities, and parables emerging from the faith traditions that can be applied to governments, bureaucracies, institutions, and corporations. It can of course be asserted that the set of teachings that are applicable to individuals and persons apply broadly to the persons who operate in any of these institutions and organizations. But it must also be asked whether the accumulation or aggregation of the truthfulness and honesty of the vast majority of employees or members can be immediately be taken as an indicator of an honest, transparent, integral, and accountable institution or organization?

Another aspect for consideration in this discussion must be the character and reputation of the leader of the organization. Can we assume that honesty and integrity of the leader or chief executive of an institution is immediately reflected in the culture of the institution or positively impacts the actions, behaviors, and choices of employees or members?

Another opportunity may be found in the traditions that already have well-articulated teachings in their traditions about the roles and responsibilities of governments, corporations, or other institutions and organizations in society. These foundations will resonate well with any projects or programs that seek to address corruption in public or private institutions, governments, or corporations. The teachings that are especially rooted in a reasoned philosophical tradition could immediately offer a platform for engagement. This approach would of course also need to recognize the diverse and complex contexts in which these teachings might be applied.

Yet a further opportunity that deserves to be explored is one that may be less data- or principle-driven but one that seeks to identify the places and spaces of intersection where the faith traditions engage the culture and cultures within societies that provide a foundation for honesty and integrity. Some of these will of course be immediately obvious, but others I would suggest only become available after some of the layers of complexity and tradition have been discussed and researched.

Finally, the lived reality for most faith traditions and for their members and believers is the local community, congregation, synagogue, or mosque. It may be necessary to translate categories like transparency and accountability into a more detailed and practical set of definitions and processes that will take account of the varied cultural contexts and circumstances where the faiths have both access and exposure.

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