Can a person be religious or spiritual and have great wealth?

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InterfaithForums.com-Where your ideas and beliefs count.

Depends really of the definition of wealth, it's a subjective thing whether the emphasis is placed on material wealth or that it could be something more like a sense of well being. In terms of material wealth, the saying goes absolute wealth corrupts absolutely, like all things it depends on how it is used by the person holding the wealth, some wealthy people may do an enormous amount of good but others misuse the wealth and power that comes attached with it. It may well make it a lot harder, but there aren't many absolutes in this world.

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Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. Marie Curie

As far as a religious person is concerned, i don't know, but i wouldn't think so.
Most religions preach against amassing wealth.

Wealth is an immaterial concept to a truly Spiritual person, so the answer in this case would definitely be no.
Any accumulated and unnecessary wealth ought to be re-distributed to the needy.

Edited to add:

Thinking about it, a person could claim to be religious and amass enormous wealth, so they could be 'religious' in claim only.

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The Peaceful Place: http://www.agedhippy.plus.com/

"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

I do tend to think so as long as the person doesn't end up "deifying" their possessions and economic power and that they are very generous in sharing with those less fortunate.

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"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."-- Einstein

Yes they can...

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

By all means. We are'nt to be denied. God's love is unconditional. What ever our need is available but for the asking AND accepting with the same love in which it was given. Thank you God. What ever we aquire is ours only in the sense that we share it unconditionally! We are but stewards of the gifts recieved through divine intervention and need only to allow ourselves to do God's Will for the betterment of all. We are conduits of His/Her unconditional love and share freely all we have recieved. "The more we give, the more we recieve".

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Only Love Prevails,
Don

There is nothing wrong with wealth. The real consideration is if we own it or it owns us.

I think it's possible, although wealth tends to make it frightfully easy to acquire Stuff. And Stuff, once acquired, tends to usurp and scatter one's attention... This lack of focus, not the material prosperity itself, is the obstacle.

I think the problem is that great wealth is, pretty much, synonymous with power. People who grow accustomed to power, tend to covet more power, and make the acquisition of power their path. (And, as we all know, power corrupts.)

One cannot walk two paths at once.

As someone else said, the question of wealth really comes down to whether one owns or is owned by the wealth one accumulates. I have never come across someone with great wealth who was indifferent to it, or indifferent to the power and privilege it gave them. I have, however come across lots of people of wealth who were oblivious to the fact that their lives and choices were very different than those of people without wealth and privilege.

All in all, then, I think wealth is at least a stumbling block...and one that I do not expect many wealthy people to avoid.

(BTW, I would say that grinding poverty is ALSO a stumbling block, at least the equal of great wealth.)

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Grassaf, Eolas

How long do they have to hold on to this great wealth to qualify for the question?