Have you ever seen local businesses with Christian symbols or other markers on display? Maybe it’s a fish sticker on the front door, or a stack of gospel tracts near the counter. Growing up in southern California, I always had fun looking for Bible verses hidden on the bottom of In-N-Out Burger soda cups.

I like seeing these little signs and symbols around town and knowing that I’m (probably) doing business with a fellow believer—even though there’s no guarantee that a self-identified Christian company is actually doing business in accordance with Christian values, I at least like to imagine that the person I’m doing business with is motivated by Christian values, not just the pursuit of profit.

Do you care whether whether a business identifies itself as Christian? Does it make a difference to you if a company runs itself in accordance with Christian principles? A recent Barna poll asked that question; while the full report is worth reading, this chart sums it up nicely:

The trends are pretty clear. The older you are, the more likely you are to go out of your way to support Christian businesses and brands. Southerners and Midwesterners are more likely to do so than their east- and west-coast counterparts. But ultimately, most Americans say that it doesn’t make a difference to them whether a business looks or acts Christian.

Where do you fit? All other things being equal, when it’s time for an oil change, do you bring your car to the business with a Christian fish on the window? Or does it really not matter to you?

By: Andy. This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Finances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.