Several years ago I read a scholarly article that introduced the concept of “moral credits,” and I’ve often thought about it in terms of how it applies in my life, as well as the work I do around strengthening the impact of girls, women and families in Utah.
The moral credits model argues that morally positive behavior provides credits, while morally negative behaviors are debits. The metaphorical moral bank account tracks building up credits by doing good (deposits) and making withdrawals when we engage in bad or immoral behaviors — a karmic balance sheet in which good acts offset negative ones. According to research, such systems can be used by individuals and organizations to justify bad or immoral behavior.
The article I initially read focused on why more religious cultures — U.S. states and countries — have larger gender pay gaps. Surprisingly, they found that “the effect of religious culture on the gender wage gap was explained by sexually objectifying women and minimizing women’s power in the public domain.” I wondered, then, whether moral credits could be a factor.
More generally, one of the arguments in the literature is that religious cultures may sometimes give the impression that when you do enough “good” things and not as many “bad” things — that you are a “good enough” person on earth and may make it to heaven. For example, building up moral credits within a faith-based context (e.g., praying, reading scriptures, going to church, serving your neighbor and donating to those less fortunate) could balance out or be exchanged for unethical, problematic or even immoral behaviors (e.g., treating people poorly, lying and cheating, and viewing pornography).
Let me provide some examples: When I was young, I remember hearing that angels in heaven were keeping track of the good and bad we do, and it seems like Santa’s naughty and nice list secularizes the same concept. A college student once told me that he was comfortable watching R-rated movies because he read his scriptures every day. “It all evens out,” he said. And, years ago, I met with a student who had clearly plagiarized a big chunk of his term paper. As a response to my accusation, he pulled out his Latter-day Saint temple recommend and said, “I have this, so I’m a good person.”
I also wondered if “indulgence” in the Catholic Church was an example of a moral credit and, according to researchers, people in the 11th and 12th centuries did pay for a reduction in punishment in the afterlife.
At an institutional level, one set of researchers found that companies that engaged in more socially responsible behaviors toward their stakeholders were also more likely to engage in socially irresponsible behaviors towards the same stakeholders later on. An example is the infamous Enron case study, which was a staple in my business ethics courses. Enron was well known for providing ethics training for their employees while simultaneously committing substantial unethical actions and doing significant harm to many people.
Now let’s return to the study on religion and the gender pay gap. How might this moral credits conversation apply in managerial experiences? A Utah manager might pay an employee who is a father a higher wage because he is supporting a family (being kind and thoughtful — that’s a credit), while paying a mother who has the same education and experience less because her husband works, and the manager assumes the family does not need the extra funds (being sexist — that’s a withdrawal).
How does sexual objectification fold into this conversation? When we prioritize women’s physical appearance over their intellectual abilities, it undermines the recognition they deserve for their workplace contributions, often leading to unjustified wage disparities compared to their male colleagues. Moral credits can lead to moral hypocrisy.
The bottom line is this: Doing good should not justify bad behavior. Our research continues to show that Utah falls short in most areas linked to thriving for girls and women. Maybe some of the conditions that create women’s conditions are unconscious, as individuals, groups and organizations may give into the moral credit justifications that are probably found in each of us but could be heightened in religious cultures.
The moral credits model provides a good reminder for me, too. I need to examine my thought processes to see if I’m using my good deeds to excuse any bad behavior. I offer a similar moral accounting system as a suggestion to all: Let’s keep making deposits so that all Utahns are lifted.
Susan R. Madsen, Ed.D., is a professor of organizational leadership & Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University.