I was pointed to an interesting podcast about religion and business and my name came up. Surprise. All of the participants I have deep respect for- Wade Tonkin, Shawn Collins, and Shmuly Tennenhaus.

In particular Shmuly Tennenhaus says “I yelled at him”. Some took that as a “diss” on me as an individual. Knowing him, and his perpetual sense of humor, I don’t feel that it was. I think he knows I was and I continue to be an ardent supporter of his work- although the community at the time was not ready to accept the winds of change he carried in with him. However, that community is NOT about me and recently some changes- Code Named Tabula Rasa - are underway. Change Agents.

First, I make it a personal point to try not to mix religion and politics into business. That is my own personal philosophy. It can alienate, polarize, or cause heated debate that I don’t want to umpire. Again- my own philosophy and one I will adhere too. However, perhaps it is not the best for a “whole community”.

I usually don’t even talk about faith, but since this is a personal blog- I have that latitude. I am pluralistic in my approach. Meaning while I am an agnostic, some might say atheist- it depends, I really have no idea what happens to us in the afterlife, but I respect others beliefs and their right to hold them. I feel religious freedom is very important- as important as freedom of speech. I also have my own value based system that is very stringent in many ways although I fail at sometimes. That will happen simply because I am a human being.

My agnostiscm is kind of strange considering my near death, if not completely dead, experiences that include drowning and a car accident. For those wondering where the nice scar on right cheek comes from- now you know.

Perhaps it is stranger still since I was raised a staunch Southern Methodist and my great-uncle-in-law founded one of the world’s largest world ministries to this day. A ministry that even as a youth I was preparing to enter. My grandfather runs a food kitchen for the poor and my family as a whole is Christian faith-oriented.

I was active in church, active in a number of Christian community activities, for a good part of my life. I grew up in an Appalachian community that was religiously homogenous. I truly had no concept of what being Jewish, or Catholic, or anything outside of Methodist or Baptist meant. Imagine that?

The Internet is changing that now, as it seeps into the cracks of rural communities via satellite, The Net, and cable TV. I still remember good old copper “party” lines- I think the party was usually the fun one’s neighbors had listening in on each other.

Back to religion- then, after deep introspection, thought and synthesizing a range of personal experiences that I really don’t care to share on a blog- they are painful and deeply personal, it all changed for me. Organized religion was no longer right for “me”. It works for my wife, who is religious, and my children who are active in a Catholic school and go to a Methodist church and I am fine with that. I think people should embrace what works or feels right for them.

In short- religion and politics DO have a place in business- one cannot deny it. However, it can tend to polarize or alienate those who do not share a certain faith. For example, if you are running a community do you let in people who are satan worshippers because one is pluralistic? Depends on how pluralistic you are and what one’s definition of satan worship is. I probably would not, thus I prefer there be none, but why should I decide? I should let those who make it up decide.

But what if that could all change? I think it can and I think it will, and that is part of operation tabula rasa and one part of web 2.0 and how we put out and receive information. Inclusion…in a manner that I think might work and make many people happy. I don’t want to be the blockade to business, or anyone’s faith or happiness. I would prefer to enable it.

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