Christian ETFs: A Practical Guide to Faith-Based, Biblically Responsible Investing

Money is never just math. For Christian investors, the deeper question is often: "What am I actually supporting while I invest?" A Christian ETF is one way to bring that question into public markets without giving up the basic tools of diversified investing.

Below is a practical guide to how these funds work, where they differ from ESG, and what to watch before making investment decisions.

What is a Christian ETF?

A Christian ETF is an exchange-traded fund that filters public companies through moral and religious lenses while traditional ETFs purchase securities based solely on financial metrics like market capitalization, sector, or index membership. In plain English: it is an ETF built to pursue investment return while avoiding companies whose business practices conflict with Christian values.

These funds use Biblically Responsible Investing screens to align investment portfolios with biblical values. Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) involves applying biblical screening criteria to exclude companies engaged in activities that conflict with Christian values, such as abortion, pornography, and alcohol. Many also seek broad equity exposure or fixed income exposure, not just niche "cause" investing.

This is not the same thing as generic ESG. Christian ETFs filter markets through moral and religious lenses, while many traditional ETFs simply follow financial indexes. Christian ETFs focus on investing in companies that positively contribute to human flourishing while seeking capital growth.

The category is growing. According to Inspire Investing's own reporting, assets in faith-based ETFs and mutual funds surpassed $130 billion by mid-2024, marking a 14% increase over the prior 15 months; the firm also reports that usage of screening services for faith-based investments doubled since 2023. These figures have not been independently verified. Religious organizations, endowments, and individuals are increasingly applying ethical frameworks to their investment portfolios, reflecting a shift towards values based investing.

Christian ETFs trade on major exchanges such as NYSE Arca, NYSE, and NASDAQ during the trading day. Like other traded shares, they can be bought and sold through a brokerage account, though brokerage commissions may apply.

How Christian ETFs Work: Structure, Strategy, and Screens

A Christian ETF combines normal ETF mechanics with a faith based investment process. The fund may be an open-end fund with a creation and redemption process, intraday trading, and potential tax efficiency compared with many mutual funds.

There are two broad approaches:

Some funds use a familiar benchmark and remove restricted stocks. Others use a proprietary investment strategy. Inspire Investing, for example, uses its proprietary Inspire Impact Score — a rules-based system that evaluates companies based on their alignment with biblical values using both positive and negative screens.

Exclusionary screens commonly mean excluding companies tied to abortion, pornography, gambling, tobacco, certain healthcare practices, controversial biotech, or other areas. Inclusionary positive screening seeks to reward companies with ethical business practices, prioritizing those that treat workers fairly and practice environmental stewardship.

Providers such as Inspire Investing, Timothy Plan, and Faith Investor Services each operationalize biblical principles differently. That matters. Faith based alignment may exclude otherwise profitable investments, and avoiding some profitable investments can shift sector weights, increase tracking error, and change investment results.

Biblically Responsible Investing vs. Generic ESG

Biblically Responsible Investing is a subset of faith based investing and values based investing. The starting point is Scripture, not a broad secular scoring model. BRI often emphasizes sanctity of life, human dignity, stewardship, family, and the moral quality of a company's products and practices.

ESG funds prioritize climate metrics, board diversity, and progressive social causes whereas Christian funds focus on pro-life criteria and traditional family values. There can be overlap, of course. Both may care about pollution, worker treatment, and corporate governance. But they are not the same sandbox.

• Abortion and abortion-related revenue
• Pornography and adult entertainment
• Gambling
• Recreational drugs
• Controversial biotech, including embryonic stem cell research
• Sometimes alcohol, depending on the manager's framework

Positive BRI themes can include fair employee treatment, product safety, honest governance, community impact, and creation care. Christian ETFs typically favor companies that treat their workers well and operate responsibly within their communities.

Values-based investing allows investors to align their portfolios with their personal values and faith, reflecting priorities, convictions, and long-term purpose in their financial decisions. But BRI is not monolithic. Catholic, evangelical, and broader Protestant traditions may apply screens differently, so personal convictions matter.

Key Types of Christian ETFs Available Today

Christian ETFs now cover more than one corner of the market. Many Christian ETFs are positioned as alternatives to standard index funds, screening out restricted stocks while still seeking broad market exposure. Screening can cause returns to diverge from conventional benchmarks.

For core U.S. equity exposure, the Global X S&P 500 Christian Values ETF (CHRI) uses a screening process to exclude companies that derive material revenue from activities deemed inconsistent with Christian values. These funds are designed to keep the basic shape of a large-cap benchmark while screening for faith based criteria.

Factor-based ETFs add another layer. A fund might emphasize lower volatility, free cash flow, dividends, quality, or value after applying biblical screens. Timothy Plan ETFs include strategies such as TPLC, and newer approaches like TPFC, while fixed income options such as TPFI seek income within a biblically responsible framework.

The FIS Christian Stock Fund (NYSE Arca: PRAY) aims to invest in companies whose business practices align with Christian values and seeks long-term capital appreciation with a measure of downside protection.

Some families also offer other funds, mutual funds, separately managed accounts, and model portfolios, alongside broader faith-based financial services. That can be useful when investors want one consistent framework across taxable accounts, retirement accounts, and charitable capital.

Major Players in Faith-Based and Christian ETF Space

This is a concise survey, not a ranking. The right fit depends on theology, fees, holdings, and the fund's investment objectives.

Inspire Investing is one of the more visible providers of faith based ETFs. Earlier 2023–2024 media coverage cited over $1.4 billion in faith based ETF assets, and the firm is known for the Inspire Impact Score. Inspire also promotes its Give50 initiative, through which it has pledged to donate at least 50% of its lifetime net profits to Christian ministries and charities (amounts are not guaranteed and are paid at Inspire’s discretion). Rapid growth in this space is real, but it doesn't substitute for diligence on any individual fund.

Timothy Plan ETFs grew out of a long BRI history and includes volatility-weighted, free-cash-flow, and fixed income strategies. Some funds use an outside sub-adviser or institutional partners, so read who is actually managing the portfolio.

Faith Investor Services serves as sponsor or investment adviser behind strategies such as PRAY, with an emphasis on active management and Christian alignment.

Other values-driven families include Eventide, Praxis Mutual Funds, Guidestone, Crossmark, Ave Maria, Knights of Columbus, and similar funds. Some primarily offer mutual funds rather than ETFs. Compare other similar funds by theology, holdings, costs, and disclosure quality.

Integrating Christian ETFs into a Portfolio

Christian ETFs can be core holdings, satellite positions, or complements to existing mutual funds and SMAs. A Christian S&P 500-style ETF might replace a plain-vanilla large-cap index fund. A factor ETF might add a quality or volatility tilt. A Christian bond ETF may help balance equity risk.

A simple framework:

1. Core: broad U.S. or global equity exposure.
2. Tilt: factor-based exposure such as quality, dividends, or free cash flow.
3. Defense: fixed income for income and stability.
4. Review: ongoing faith based alignment, fees, and risk.

Tax efficiency can be one reason investors use ETFs in taxable accounts, though outcomes vary by jurisdiction and by the fund's turnover. Also remember that investors cannot invest directly in an index; they invest in funds that track or approximate one.

This is where a Christian financial planner or financial professional familiar with BRI can help. Not because they can remove uncertainty. They can't. But they can help connect your financial decisions, time horizon, risk tolerance, giving goals, and theology before making investment decisions. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

Considerations, Risks, and Stewardship Perspective

Christian stewardship sees investing as discipleship, not just a search for returns. The question is not only "Can this grow?" but "What kind of growth am I participating in?" That is a better question, and often a harder one.

Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal value. Equity funds can fall. Bond funds face interest-rate risk. International funds may face currency risk and political instability. Christian ETFs may experience tracking errors as they eliminate entire sectors from their portfolios, leading to noticeable performance deviations from traditional benchmarks.

Faith-specific trade-offs are real. Some companies are removed because of biblical principles. That may affect diversification, yield, and long term growth in certain financial times. Christian ETFs typically carry slightly higher administrative fees than generic index funds due to the extensive research required for corporate value screening. Management fees and other factors can reduce investment return.

Read each prospectus carefully, including the fund's investment objectives, investment strategy, holdings, fees, and screening policy. ETF shares are generally sold at market price not NAV, and market price may differ from net asset value. Shares may trade above or below net asset value, and ETF shares are not individually redeemed by ordinary investors.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than quoted performance. No fund can guarantee future results, future performance, or specific investment results, and your original cost can be lost.

So should you use a Christian ETF? Maybe. If your goal is faith based alignment, biblical accountability, and participation in public markets, these tools can be helpful. Just don't outsource conviction to a ticker symbol. Review the screens, ask better questions, and seek wise counsel.

Your next investment decision can be a little more aligned, a little more thoughtful, and a little more faithful before God.

Written by Nick Garofalo of Openhanded Wealth LLC, a registered investment adviser (CRD 330399). The illustrative examples in this article are hypothetical scenarios designed for educational purposes and do not represent any specific individual’s situation.