Earlier this month, S&P Dow Jones Indices introduced an S&P 500 Christian Values Screened Index. This new index “strives to adhere to expressions of Christian values while maintaining institutional rigor.”
More specifically, the index seeks to screen companies from the S&P 500 based on whether their business activities align with an “Evangelical Christian Framework”.
Who expected to see that investing headline?
In her interview with the index creators, Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo pointed out, “obviously there is a marketplace for faith-based investing.” And she’s right. With an estimated over $22.4 Trillion public market investments owned by Christian church members, there is a massive potential marketplace for this type of index.
And for those working in faith-based investing, this is no small development. As an executive at the nation’s largest association of Christian financial professionals, I’ve watched industry leaders respond to this headline in strikingly different ways.
For many, the good news is obvious.
One of the world’s most recognizable index providers has taken a swing at creating a benchmark to reflect evangelical Christian convictions. New ETFs and funds will follow at some of the nation’s largest firms based on this index. And, by its very existence, the index brings a higher level of credibility to an investing strategy that sometimes operates on the edges of mainstream finance.
Yet, others wonder if the devil is somehow hiding in the details. What will investors and advisors find if they look under the hood?
Like many faith-based investing instruments, this index uses exclusionary screening to help avoid areas seen as problematic by evangelicals such as gambling, tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and abortion. While faith-based investing funds might offer additional features (like values-aligned proxy voting or elements of impact investing), an index is limited to just one decision. Is a particular public company “on” or “off” the list?
While this new index has over a dozen screens to avoid problematic areas, the threshold for exclusion is surprisingly relaxed. At its launch date on September 2, 2025, only 37 out of 500 companies were excluded (or about 7% of all companies on the S&P 500). By contrast, many existing approaches to Christian values screening remove 10-20%, if not more, of companies listed on the S&P 500.
Others have raised the question, whose values does the index represent? Answers seem a bit muddled here. For example, the naming strategy is not abundantly clear. Is this a merely “Christian” index, or a specifically an “evangelical Christian” index?
Many S&P indices use third parties to define their criteria. In this case, Bountiful Financial developed a faith-based framework and robust governance structure to define, quantify and maintain their evangelical Christian values list.
But as churchgoers know, Christianity is not monolithic. One can hope an investment product labeled “evangelical Christian values” would seek to build on a broad consensus within that community. Yet the process for getting this index to market seems to have been rather light on consensus building.
Some may dismiss the index altogether, but my organization sees value in it.
It underscores a growing awareness that investors care about their values. The S&P’s new index launch was a savvy business decision, as it acknowledges many Christian investors want portfolios to reflect their values and beliefs.
The index also represents mission advance for certain investors. S&P has created a benchmark that not only offers large cap performance tracking but will be a template for new, institutional-grade, passive investing funds. These funds will be used at large firms, enabling broader adoption by institutional and retail clients.
Yet we must not conflate visibility with faithfulness.
A lightly screened index may attract attention, but until its screening “loopholes” are more fully addressed, investments based on the index may find lagging reception among their evangelical target market.
Yet this index offers a significant data point on market interest. It speaks to a widely felt need for better investing and healthier business practices.
While it cannot resolve many debates about faithful investing, it is an important step for a movement of people committed to honoring their faith and values in how they steward financial resources.
