Kennedy, E. J. and L. Lawton. 1998. “Religiousness and Business Ethics.” Journal of Business Ethics 17: 163-175.
Kennedy and Lawton seek to establish a relationship between “unethical” behavior and religion, major, and/or type of college attended (secular, Catholic, or Baptist) among college students. Students from four different universities are surveyed about their religious orientation and attitudes, then asked to rate their likelihood of behaving unethically in several different hypothetical business situations. The researchers found that less willingness by evangelical Christian students to participate in unethical behaviors. They also found that certain religious orientations affected students’ indications of behavior. College major and type of college, however, were not found to be relevant to ethical behavior.
