Given the historical and ongoing influence of religion, religious faith traditions might provide a compelling and coherent normative core for stakeholder theory. This paper explores the three Abrahamic faith traditions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – and applies principles derived from these traditions to stakeholder theory. Our analysis of these faith traditions yields four elements of a common normative core that is germane to stakeholder theory: (1) the need to place community at the center of human activity, including business activity; (2) skepticism about economic power and its misapplication; (3) a tempering of our commitment to individual liberty as the highest normative good to be achieved by society; and (4) the dignity of the individual person and, with that, an obligation of reciprocity between the individual and society (including businesses). We then identify two current issues in stakeholder research, considering ways that the three faith traditions would advance discussion about them. We conclude by offering implications for future research.

Aimee Semple McPherson (1890McPherson ( -1944-charismatic revivalist and founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel-was better known for her spell-binding performances and personal escapades than for her ideas. But, in fact, she was as serious about theology as she was about putting on a good show. McPherson's 'deeper teachings', as she called them, didn't reach the masses because they could not be easily packaged for the tabloid newspapers, radio, or stage. Had McPherson's many detractors read her written works, which are examined in this paper, they would have found a theology that was serious yet lively, complex, comprehensive, and morally demanding. Weaving together elements of nineteenth-century American revivalism, a mix of Arminian and Calvinist doctrine, and her own mystical interpretations of scripture, Aimee Semple McPherson created a distinctive theology for the new Pentecostal movement.

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