Biblically responsible investing (BRI) is the practice of building your portfolio so that what you own lines up with biblical convictions. In plain terms: you screen out companies whose core business contradicts Scripture — abortion, pornography, predatory lending — and lean toward companies that do honest, life-affirming work. The goal isn’t just returns. It’s owning your wealth without owning a contradiction.
If you’ve ever felt uneasy that your index fund quietly holds a casino operator or an abortifacient manufacturer, BRI is the framework that does something about it. Here’s how it actually works, who runs the funds, and what it costs you in performance — answered honestly.
The Conviction Underneath It: Stewardship
BRI rests on one idea from Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If God owns your capital and you’re managing it for him, then where it goes is his business, not just yours. Owning a share of stock isn’t an abstraction; it’s part ownership of a real company doing real things in the world. 1 Timothy 5:22 warns believers not to “share in the sins of others.” Many Christians conclude that profiting from an industry they’d never work in is exactly that kind of sharing.
This is what separates BRI from a personal boycott. It’s a positive theology of ownership rooted in biblical principles for investing, not just a list of things to avoid. You’re stewarding a trust, and the books should reconcile with your faith.
How BRI Differs From SRI and ESG
People lump BRI in with socially responsible investing (SRI) and ESG, but the dividing line is the authority you screen by. ESG ranks companies on environmental, social, and governance metrics defined by secular ratings firms like MSCI. SRI typically reflects progressive social values. BRI uses Scripture as the standard — which means it often screens out the very things ESG ignores (abortion, for instance) and may keep companies ESG penalizes.
| Approach | Standard of judgment | Typical screens |
|---|---|---|
| BRI | The Bible | Abortion, pornography, addictive products |
| SRI | Social values (often progressive) | Tobacco, weapons, labor practices |
| ESG | Secular E/S/G ratings | Carbon, board diversity, data privacy |
The frameworks overlap — all three dislike tobacco — but they answer to different masters. We unpack the contrasts fully in BRI vs SRI vs ESG and explain the secular side in what ESG actually is.
How Screening Works in Practice
BRI managers run two kinds of screens. Negative screening excludes companies tied to disqualifying activities — typically abortion, abortifacients, pornography, gambling, predatory lending, and sometimes alcohol or tobacco depending on the fund. Positive screening tilts toward companies that treat employees well, deal honestly, and contribute something genuinely useful.
The work is more involved than a keyword filter. A research team digs into revenue sources, subsidiaries, and corporate giving. A pharmaceutical company might pass on its cancer drugs but fail because a division manufactures abortifacients. That’s why most Christians outsource the screening to dedicated funds rather than vetting hundreds of companies themselves. Our guides to negative screening and sin stocks show what gets caught and why.
What BRI Screens Out — and the Verse Behind It
The exact list varies by fund, but the common categories share a clear scriptural logic rather than arbitrary taboo:
- Abortion and abortifacients — Psalm 139:13 says God “knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Funding the destruction of that life is the single most universal BRI exclusion.
- Pornography and sexual exploitation — 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 calls believers to sexual holiness and to avoid those who profit from “passionate lust.”
- Predatory lending — Proverbs 22:7 warns that “the borrower is slave to the lender.” High-interest lenders that trap the poor in debt fail the test.
- Gambling — Proverbs 13:11 says “wealth gained hastily will dwindle.” Casinos monetize that very temptation.
- Addictive products — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 calls the body “a temple of the Holy Spirit,” which steers many funds away from tobacco and, in some cases, recreational cannabis.
Different fund families draw these lines in different places — Catholic-screened Ave Maria, for instance, weights its criteria around the sanctity of life, while a Baptist-rooted manager may add alcohol. Reading a fund’s screening policy tells you whose conscience you’re outsourcing yours to, so it pays to actually read it.
Who Runs the Funds
You don’t have to build this alone — a real industry exists. The major players:
- Timothy Plan — Founded in 1994 by Art Ally, the first pro-life, pro-family fund family. Offers mutual funds and ETFs including the US Large/Mid Cap Core ETF (TPLC) and High Dividend Stock ETF (TPHD). See our Timothy Plan review.
- Inspire Investing — A newer, ETF-focused firm using its “Inspire Impact Score.” The Inspire 100 ETF (BIBL) holds about 100 large U.S. companies at a roughly 0.35% expense ratio. Our Inspire review covers the lineup.
- Eventide — Boston-based, known for the Eventide Gilead Fund (ETGLX) and a “business as a blessing” philosophy. Actively managed, with expense ratios near 1%. See the Eventide review.
- Ave Maria — The largest Catholic-screened family, run by Schwartz Investment Counsel, with funds like Ave Maria Growth (AVEGX) and Rising Dividend (AVEDX), guided by a Catholic advisory board.
- GuideStone Funds — Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest faith-based managers in the country.
Expense ratios and tickers drift, so confirm the current prospectus before you buy. When you’re ready to compare them head to head, our roundups of the best BRI funds and best BRI ETFs do the legwork.
Beyond Screening: Shareholder Advocacy
Screening is only half the story. As a shareholder, you also have a voice. BRI firms file resolutions, vote proxies, and meet with management to push companies toward better behavior — the engagement side of stewardship. Owning a share gives you standing to speak, and several Christian managers use it aggressively. Our piece on shareholder advocacy explains how a small position can still move a boardroom.
What Does It Cost You in Returns?
Here’s the honest answer most marketing skips: screening narrows your universe, and a narrower universe can lag or lead the broad market in any given year. Excluding, say, tobacco and gambling means you miss those rallies — and dodge those collapses. Over long periods, faith-screened large-cap funds have tended to track the broad market reasonably closely, but with tracking error and, in the active funds, higher fees that eat into returns.
Don’t expect a free lunch or a guaranteed penalty. Expect a portfolio that may diverge from the S&P 500 by a few points in either direction, with the trade-off being a clear conscience. For most BRI investors, that’s the point: they’d rather sleep well than squeeze out the last basis point. Build it deliberately using our walkthrough on how to build a BRI portfolio.
One caution worth naming: the active BRI funds carry higher expense ratios than a plain index fund. A fund charging 1% per year versus an index fund at 0.05% gives up nearly a full percentage point of return annually, which compounds into real money over decades. The lower-cost screened ETFs — BIBL among them — narrow that gap considerably. If cost is your worry, lean toward the index-style screened ETFs and keep the active funds for areas where their stock-picking actually earns the fee.
Getting Started: A Simple Four-Step Path
You don’t need a financial advisor to begin, though one helps. The practical sequence looks like this:
- Name your non-negotiables. Every Christian draws the line somewhere. Decide which screens you care about most — abortion is nearly universal; alcohol and defense are where consciences differ — so you can match a fund’s policy to your own.
- Use the right account. A Roth or traditional IRA gives you a clean slate to buy any BRI fund. If your 401(k) lacks options, capture your faith-screened holdings in the IRA and keep contributing to the 401(k) for the match.
- Cover the bases with two to four funds. A screened U.S. stock fund, an international fund, and a bond fund will give you a diversified, fully screened portfolio. You don’t need a dozen.
- Automate and rebalance. Set monthly contributions and check your allocation once a year. The diligence of Proverbs 21:5 beats the cleverness of constant tinkering.
Start with one fund if that’s all you’re sure of. Conviction can grow alongside the balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is biblically responsible investing only for very religious people?
No. BRI suits anyone who doesn’t want their money funding industries they object to. The screens center on Scripture, but the underlying instinct — that ownership carries moral weight — is common ground for many investors. You can hold one BRI fund alongside conventional ones, or go all in. It scales to your conviction.
Can I do BRI in my 401(k) or IRA?
In an IRA, easily — you can buy BRI ETFs and mutual funds directly. In an employer 401(k), it depends on the menu; many plans don’t offer faith-screened options yet. You can ask your plan administrator to add one, or capture the bulk of your BRI exposure in a self-directed IRA. The account type doesn’t change the screening, only the access.
Will I sacrifice diversification?
Less than you’d think. Faith-screened funds still hold hundreds of companies across sectors; the excluded slice is small. You can build a fully diversified portfolio — U.S. stocks, international, bonds — entirely from screened funds. The main gap historically has been in certain sectors, which a few extra fund choices can fill.