As a Christian, you probably think carefully about how you spend your money. You tithe, you budget, you try to be generous. But have you ever looked at what your investments are actually funding?
If you own a broad market index fund — and most investors do — your money is almost certainly invested in companies that profit from pornography, gambling, abortion, and other industries that conflict with biblical values. For many believers, discovering this disconnect between their faith and their portfolio is a wake-up call.
Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) offers an answer. It’s the practice of aligning your investment portfolio with biblical principles — ensuring that the companies you own, and the profits you earn, don’t contradict the values you hold most dear.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about BRI: what it is, why it matters, how it works, and how to get started. Whether you’re managing a modest IRA or overseeing your family’s long-term financial plan, this is your roadmap to investing with conviction.
What Is Biblically Responsible Investing?
Biblically Responsible Investing is an investment approach that applies biblical principles and values as a filter for portfolio decisions. At its simplest, BRI asks two questions about every investment: Does this company’s business honor God? and Am I being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted to me?
In practice, BRI involves screening companies — either including or excluding them from your portfolio based on their alignment with scriptural values. This can mean avoiding companies that derive significant revenue from activities the Bible condemns, actively seeking companies that contribute to human flourishing, or both.
The concept is rooted in the biblical understanding of stewardship. Scripture teaches that everything belongs to God (Psalm 24:1) and that we are managers, not owners, of the resources He provides. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) makes clear that God expects us to manage those resources productively and wisely. BRI extends that stewardship principle to investment decisions — if we believe that how we handle money matters to God, then where we invest that money matters too.
BRI is sometimes confused with other values-based investing approaches, but it has a distinct identity. If you’re unclear on how BRI compares to ESG or SRI investing, our detailed breakdown of BRI vs. SRI vs. ESG will help you understand the key differences. The short version: BRI starts with Scripture, not secular sustainability frameworks, and its screening criteria reflect biblical convictions that may or may not overlap with ESG priorities.
The Biblical Foundation for BRI
BRI isn’t a modern invention grafted onto Scripture — it flows naturally from principles that run throughout the Bible. Understanding this theological foundation is essential, because it’s what separates BRI from a mere preference or financial strategy. It’s a conviction rooted in who God is and what He expects of His people.
Stewardship: Everything Belongs to God
The foundation of BRI is the biblical doctrine of stewardship. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). We are not autonomous owners of our wealth — we are trustees managing God’s resources on His behalf. This has direct implications for investing. A trustee doesn’t just seek the highest return; a trustee manages assets in accordance with the owner’s wishes. For the Christian investor, that means managing your portfolio in a way that honors God.
Jesus reinforced this in the Parable of the Talents, where the master entrusts his servants with resources and expects them to be productive. The servants who invested wisely were commended; the one who buried his talent out of fear was rebuked. The lesson isn’t just about financial return — it’s about faithful, purposeful management of everything God provides. For a deeper exploration of these principles, see our guide on 7 Biblical Principles for Investing Your Money.
Complicity: Profiting from What God Condemns
A second theological pillar of BRI is the principle of non-participation in evil. Paul writes, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). When you own shares in a company, you are a partial owner of that business. You share in its profits. If that company profits from pornography, exploitative gambling, or the destruction of unborn life, your investment is functionally a partnership in those activities.
This doesn’t mean every investor who holds a broad index fund is deliberately sinning — many simply don’t know what their funds contain. But once you become aware of the disconnect, BRI argues that you have a responsibility to act. Ignorance may be an excuse; indifference isn’t.
This is the question at the heart of our article on whether it’s a sin to invest in certain companies — it’s a nuanced topic that deserves careful thought rather than simplistic answers.
Witness: Your Money Tells a Story
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Your financial decisions are a form of testimony. They reveal what you truly value — not just what you say you value on Sunday morning. BRI is an opportunity to make your financial life consistent with your spiritual life, closing the gap between profession and practice.
For Christians who want to explore the full biblical landscape on money and wealth, our collection of Bible verses about investing and managing money provides a comprehensive scriptural foundation organized by theme.
How BRI Screening Works
The practical mechanics of BRI revolve around screening — the process of evaluating companies against a set of biblically-derived criteria. There are two primary types of screening, and most robust BRI strategies use both.
Negative Screening: What to Avoid
Negative screening excludes companies involved in activities that conflict with biblical values. While different BRI providers draw the lines slightly differently, the most common negative screens include:
Abortion and abortifacients. Companies that manufacture abortion drugs, operate abortion facilities, or provide significant funding to abortion providers are typically excluded. This is the highest-priority screen for most BRI frameworks, reflecting the biblical conviction that human life is sacred from conception (Psalm 139:13-16).
Pornography and sexual exploitation. Companies that produce, distribute, or derive significant revenue from pornographic content. This extends to hotel chains, media companies, and technology platforms that actively facilitate pornographic distribution as a meaningful revenue stream.
Gambling. Casino operators, online gambling platforms, lottery companies, and sports betting firms. The biblical concern here relates to the exploitation of human weakness, the promotion of a get-rich-quick mentality that contradicts the value of honest labor (Proverbs 13:11), and the devastating impact of gambling addiction on families.
Tobacco. Most BRI frameworks screen out major tobacco producers, based on the principle that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and that profiting from products that cause widespread addiction and death conflicts with the command to love our neighbor.
Alcohol. This screen varies more across BRI providers. Some exclude all alcohol companies; others distinguish between companies primarily involved in alcohol production versus diversified companies with incidental alcohol revenue. The Bible doesn’t prohibit alcohol consumption but clearly condemns drunkenness and the exploitation of addiction.
Cannabis. With the rapid expansion of legal marijuana markets, most BRI frameworks now screen for recreational cannabis companies, though some allow exceptions for pharmaceutical applications.
Human rights violations. Companies with documented patterns of forced labor, child labor, human trafficking in their supply chains, or egregious workplace safety violations.
For a detailed look at how these screens are applied in practice, our guide to faith-based investment screening covers the methodology in depth.
Positive Screening: What to Seek
Positive screening — sometimes called “affirmative” screening — goes beyond avoidance to actively seek companies that contribute to human flourishing. This might include companies that demonstrate exceptional integrity and transparency in governance, create products and services that genuinely serve human needs, maintain strong track records on worker welfare and fair labor practices, contribute to community development and charitable causes, or practice environmental stewardship consistent with the biblical mandate to care for creation (Genesis 2:15).
Positive screening reflects the full scope of biblical ethics — not just “do no harm” but “do good” (Galatians 6:10). It transforms investing from a purely defensive exercise into a proactive pursuit of Kingdom impact.
Revenue Thresholds: The Grey Area
One of the most practical questions in BRI screening is: how much involvement is too much? Very few companies are purely good or purely bad. A major technology company might derive 98% of its revenue from legitimate products but host some objectionable content on its platform. A pharmaceutical company might produce life-saving medications and also manufacture abortifacients.
BRI fund providers address this through revenue thresholds — typically, a company is excluded if more than a certain percentage of its revenue (often 5-10%) comes from screened activities. Different providers set different thresholds, and this is one reason why two BRI funds won’t hold identical portfolios. As an investor, you’ll need to decide what threshold aligns with your personal convictions.
BRI vs. SRI vs. ESG: Understanding the Landscape
Biblically Responsible Investing exists alongside several other values-based investment approaches, and the terminology can be confusing. Here’s a clear framework for understanding how they relate.
SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) is the oldest formalized values-based approach. SRI uses both negative screening (avoiding harmful industries) and positive screening (seeking socially beneficial companies). Its criteria are broadly ethical rather than specifically religious — an SRI fund might screen out weapons manufacturers and fossil fuels based on secular humanitarian and environmental principles.
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is the dominant framework in institutional investing today. ESG analyzes companies on environmental metrics (carbon emissions, resource efficiency), social factors (labor practices, diversity, community impact), and governance quality (board independence, executive pay, shareholder rights). ESG is primarily a risk-management and data-analysis framework — it identifies material risks and opportunities related to environmental, social, and governance factors.
BRI starts from a fundamentally different place: Scripture. While there’s meaningful overlap — BRI investors and ESG investors both care about governance integrity and worker welfare — there are significant areas of divergence. Many ESG frameworks are neutral or positive on issues that BRI frameworks screen against (such as abortion access or cannabis legalization). Conversely, BRI may prioritize screens (like pornography involvement) that don’t appear prominently in standard ESG frameworks.
The practical implication: a fund labeled “ESG” or “socially responsible” is not the same as a BRI fund, and Christians shouldn’t assume that any values-labeled fund aligns with biblical values. Always look at the specific screening criteria. Our full comparison of BRI vs. SRI vs. ESG dives deeper into these distinctions.
Top BRI Investment Options in 2026
The BRI market has grown substantially, giving Christian investors more choices than ever. Here’s an overview of the major categories and providers.
BRI Mutual Funds
Mutual funds remain the most established vehicles for BRI investing. Leading fund families include:
GuideStone Funds — Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, GuideStone manages over $20 billion and offers a full suite of BRI-screened funds including equity, fixed income, and target-date retirement options. Their screening process is among the most rigorous in the industry.
Timothy Plan — One of the original BRI fund families, founded in 1994. Timothy Plan offers growth, value, international, and fixed income funds, all screened through a comprehensive biblical values filter. They were pioneers in defining the BRI screening categories that most providers now use.
Eventide Asset Management — Eventide takes a distinctive “investing that makes the world rejoice” approach, emphasizing positive screening and impact alongside traditional negative screens. Their Gilead Fund has earned strong long-term performance ratings.
Ave Maria Mutual Funds — Catholic-focused BRI funds guided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops investment guidelines. Their screening reflects Catholic social teaching, including strong pro-life and pro-family criteria.
Praxis Mutual Funds — Affiliated with the Mennonite community, Praxis emphasizes stewardship, community development, and peacemaking alongside traditional BRI screens. Their approach includes active shareholder engagement.
For detailed reviews of specific funds including performance comparisons, expense ratios, and screening methodologies, see our guide to the best Biblically Responsible Investing funds in 2026.
BRI ETFs
Exchange-traded funds have brought lower costs and greater accessibility to BRI investing. The most prominent BRI ETF provider is Inspire Investing, which offers a full lineup including large-cap (BIBL), small/mid-cap (ISMD), international (WWJD), corporate bond (IBD), and other specialty ETFs. Inspire’s expense ratios are significantly lower than most BRI mutual funds, making them attractive for cost-conscious investors.
Other BRI ETF options are emerging as the market grows. For a comprehensive comparison, visit our guide to the best BRI ETFs.
BRI Robo-Advisors and Managed Accounts
For investors who want a fully managed BRI portfolio without selecting individual funds, several platforms now offer BRI-focused advisory services. Inspire Advisors provides automated portfolio management using Inspire’s ETF lineup. OneAscent offers personalized BRI portfolios through financial advisors. Several firms in the Kingdom Advisors network offer BRI separately managed accounts for higher-net-worth clients.
Building Your BRI Portfolio
Knowing about BRI funds is one thing; constructing a well-balanced portfolio is another. The same principles of sound portfolio management apply to BRI investing — you still need diversification, appropriate asset allocation, and regular rebalancing. The BRI lens adds a values filter on top of these financial fundamentals.
Asset Allocation Within BRI Constraints
A well-constructed BRI portfolio should include exposure to U.S. large-cap stocks (the core of most portfolios), U.S. small and mid-cap stocks (for growth potential and diversification), international developed market stocks (geographic diversification), emerging market stocks (higher growth potential with higher risk), investment-grade bonds (stability and income), and potentially real estate, commodities, or other alternatives.
The good news is that BRI options now exist across all of these categories. You can build a fully diversified portfolio without leaving the BRI universe. The specific allocation should reflect your age, risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial goals — the same factors that drive any sound investment plan.
Our step-by-step guide to building a Biblically Responsible Investment portfolio walks you through the specific allocation decisions with model portfolios for different life stages.
Handling Retirement Accounts
Retirement accounts present both opportunities and challenges for BRI investors. IRAs give you full freedom to select any BRI fund or ETF. But employer-sponsored 401(k) plans typically offer a limited menu of funds that may not include BRI options.
Strategies for retirement accounts include: maximizing contributions to IRAs where you have full control over BRI fund selection, using a self-directed brokerage option within your 401(k) if available, requesting that your employer add BRI fund options to the plan, and considering rolling over old 401(k)s from previous employers into an IRA where you can implement a full BRI strategy. For more detail, see our guide to faith-based retirement planning.
Getting Into the Market
For Christians new to the stock market, the world of investing can feel intimidating — even before adding the BRI dimension. If you’re just getting started, our article on Christian investing and the stock market covers the fundamentals through a faith lens, helping you understand the basics without the anxiety.
Does BRI Cost You Returns?
This is the question every BRI investor faces, and it deserves a data-driven answer rather than a faith-based platitude.
The historical evidence is encouraging. Multiple academic studies examining values-screened portfolios over periods of 10-20+ years have found no systematic return penalty for screening. Some studies have found that screened portfolios actually outperform, potentially because companies with strong ethical practices tend to exhibit better risk management, lower regulatory risk, and stronger long-term governance.
Real-world BRI fund performance supports this conclusion. Several BRI funds have matched or exceeded their benchmarks over meaningful time periods. Inspire’s Large Cap ETF (BIBL) has tracked its benchmark closely since inception. GuideStone’s equity funds have delivered competitive risk-adjusted returns. Eventide’s Gilead Fund has earned Morningstar ratings that place it among top performers in its category.
That said, there are honest caveats to acknowledge. BRI portfolios will diverge from broad market benchmarks, which means there will be periods of underperformance. In years when screened-out sectors lead the market, BRI portfolios may lag. Smaller fund sizes can mean slightly higher expense ratios. And past performance never guarantees future results.
The most balanced perspective is this: the data suggests that BRI does not impose a meaningful long-term performance penalty, and may offer risk-management benefits. But the primary motivation for BRI should be conviction, not outperformance. You align your portfolio with Scripture because it’s the right thing to do — competitive returns are a welcome bonus, not the point.
Beyond Screening: Shareholder Advocacy
BRI isn’t limited to deciding which stocks to buy and which to avoid. A growing number of Christian investors are using their ownership stake to actively influence corporate behavior through shareholder advocacy.
When you own shares in a company — even through a mutual fund — you have rights as an owner. These include voting on proxy proposals, filing shareholder resolutions, and engaging in direct dialogue with corporate management. Faith-based shareholder advocacy has a long and surprisingly impactful history.
Several BRI fund families actively engage in shareholder advocacy on behalf of their investors. They vote proxies according to biblical principles, file resolutions urging companies to adopt more ethical practices, and engage in direct conversations with corporate leadership. For individual investors who want to go deeper, our article on Christian shareholder advocacy explains how to use your investments for Kingdom impact beyond simple screening.
Common Objections to BRI
“I should just maximize returns and give more to charity.” This is the most sophisticated objection to BRI, and it deserves a thoughtful response. The argument goes: if you can earn higher returns with an unscreened portfolio, you’ll have more money to give to God’s work. But this reasoning has a flaw — it separates means from ends. Scripture doesn’t teach that righteous ends justify unrighteous means. The biblical vision of stewardship encompasses both the process and the outcome. You can be a generous giver and a faithful investor. These aren’t competing goals.
“No company is perfect, so screening is pointless.” It’s true that no company is sinless — just as no person is. But BRI doesn’t demand perfection; it applies reasonable thresholds to avoid material complicity in clearly condemned activities. The fact that you can’t achieve moral purity in every investment doesn’t release you from the responsibility to act on what you know.
“My small investment doesn’t matter.” This understates the power of collective action. The faith-based investing market now manages hundreds of billions of dollars. That capital movement affects cost of capital, corporate behavior, and market norms. Beyond the economic impact, your investment decisions are an act of personal integrity — they matter because they reflect your heart, regardless of their market impact.
“The Bible doesn’t say anything about investing.” While the Bible doesn’t mention mutual funds or ETFs, it has a great deal to say about money, stewardship, justice, and complicity. The principles that inform BRI are thoroughly biblical even if the specific application is modern. Christians have always been called to apply timeless scriptural principles to the circumstances of their era.
Getting Started with BRI: Your Next Steps
If you’re convinced that BRI is the right approach for your portfolio, here’s how to move forward practically.
Audit your current holdings. Look at every fund in your portfolio — retirement accounts, taxable accounts, education savings. Use tools like Inspire Insight to evaluate the biblical alignment of your current investments. You may be surprised at what you find.
Set your personal convictions. Decide which screens matter most to you and what revenue thresholds you’re comfortable with. This is a personal decision informed by Scripture, prayer, and community counsel. The 7 biblical principles for investing can help you build your framework.
Select your BRI investments. Based on your asset allocation needs, choose from the BRI mutual funds, ETFs, and advisory platforms we’ve discussed. Start with the accounts where you have the most control (IRAs, taxable brokerage) and work toward aligning your employer-sponsored accounts over time.
Engage your community. Talk to your spouse, your financial advisor, your pastor, and fellow believers about your decision. BRI is enriched by community conversation. If you’re looking for a Christian financial advisor who understands BRI, the Kingdom Advisors network is a strong starting point — our guide to finding a Christian financial advisor walks you through the process.
Think long-term. BRI is not a short-term tactical decision — it’s a lifetime commitment to managing God’s resources faithfully. Set your portfolio on a sound BRI foundation, contribute consistently, rebalance periodically, and trust that faithful stewardship, like the rest of the Christian life, bears fruit over time.
The Bigger Picture
Biblically Responsible Investing is ultimately about integrity — bringing your financial life into alignment with your spiritual life. It’s about recognizing that the same God who calls you to worship on Sunday is watching how you steward your resources on Monday. It’s about closing the gap between what you profess and what your portfolio profits from.
The BRI movement is growing because more Christians are waking up to a simple truth: you can’t separate your faith from your finances. Every dollar you invest is a vote for the kind of world you want to build. BRI gives you the tools to make that vote count.
This is just the beginning. Explore our in-depth guides on every aspect of BRI — from the basics of what BRI is to specific fund reviews to the thorny theological questions — and take the next step toward investing with both wisdom and conviction.