The G20 meeting in London on April 2 will see political leaders addressing major economic issues from financial regulation and trade to fiscal stimulus programmes. While these specific policy challenges must be addressed by politicians, it is clear that faith is more than an interested bystander. Both faith leaders and business leaders with a faith background have strong views on issues facing the G20.

Last month the Church of England Synod in London played host to an unusual guest speaker: Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, vice-chair of Goldman Sachs, addressed the Church of England’s parliament in a specially arranged session on the financial crisis. Some compared it to Daniel entering the lion’s den, and after the Archbishop of York’s description of some financiers as "robber barons and asset strippers", Griffiths could have been forgiven for expecting a rough ride. However, he was listened to with great respect, and even, towards the end, applauded.

So what does faith have to say about the G20’s agenda? Griffiths, a trained economist and a committed Christian, believes that faith can play a constructive role in the debate. So does Dr Peter Selby, the former Bishop of Worcester and the author of Grace and Mortgage. Though Griffiths and Selby take alternate views on the degree of public/private ownership in the economy, there is a remarkable degree of common ground between them on the role religion can play regarding key issues facing the global economy.

Both argue that Christianity and religion generally should be vocal on the subject of economics, the market and regulation. Dr Selby sees a clear link between Christianity and economics: “Both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament have a lot to say about money. Indebtedness is both necessary and dangerous. The Bible is clear that creditors need to be regulated – what you can take as security, how long a loan is for. The helter-skelter rush to get people to buy their own homes, when they can’t afford it, is dangerous.”

Meanwhile Lord Griffiths agrees that the Scriptures can offer wisdom on the market and its limits: “The Christian religion does have something to say about regulation. In the political economy of Jewish Society in the Old Testament there were laws on labour, property and the credit markets. Regulation was central to that system in order to secure justice, freedom and creativity. I believe it's a culture and faith from which we can learn a great deal and which is still relevant.”

Regulation of financial markets and the economy generally, therefore, is a pressing issue on the agenda of the London summit. Since the credit crunch bit, there have been growing calls for tighter regulation. Dr Selby is one of the few faith leaders who has been a long-standing critic of the developments in the economic system: “Just as Desmond Tutu says it is now difficult to find anyone in South Africa who supported apartheid, similarly it is difficult to find people now who supported wholesale financial deregulation. We moved too fast and with too little thought. If you deregulate banking, it is only responsible to shareholders. We don’t allow people to run private armies, we should not allow people to run excess private banks. We failed to keep control of the sovereignty of money.”

Unsurprisingly Lord Griffiths is not so emphatic about pinpointing the blame on a failure in financial regulation. When he addressed Synod in February, he identified bankers and regulators as two of the actors who have fallen short in the crisis. He concedes that the banking system got it wrong in certain areas through incompetence and recklessness, but so did governments and consumers amongst others.

As well as regulation, trade is another theme on the agenda for the G20 summit. Despite much political rhetoric about the dangers of protectionism, many countries have imposed new barriers and global trade expected to decline by as much as 9 per cent in 2009 (according to a forecast by the WTO this week). This is its biggest fall since the Second World War.

The poor and developing countries will be among the biggest losers, a matter of grave concern to the faith communities. In recent times, religious groups have played an important role in highlighting the detrimental impact of the global economic system on developing countries. This culminated in the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005, led by Bob Geldof and heavily supported by Church activists and other faith groups, and was again evident in the multi-faith demonstration at the Lambeth conference last summer.

This concern for the economically disadvantaged has deep roots says Lord Griffiths: “The Church has always been concerned to look after the poor, the widow, the stranger and the orphan. It is what the Catholic Church calls the preferential option for the poor. All people of faith have a responsibility to think about how we alleviate poverty.”

While there have been repeated calls from business and other groups for a completion of the Doha Round of trade, Dr Selby points out that this has its complications: “An increase in trade has energy and carbon implications. On climate change, we can’t have a situation where the rich countries who have already polluted the world tell poor countries what to do.”

Whatever is decided at the G20 London summit, religion should not be afraid to add its voice to this most topical of debates. Politicians have been speaking recently about the link between business and ethics, from Gordon Brown’s mantra that “markets need morals”, to David Cameron’s theme of “capitalism with a conscience.”

Lord Griffiths is not surprised: “Some economic commentators think we can analyse the crisis in purely economic terms. I disagree. I think the crisis is as much a morality play as a set of economic problems. Politicians are beginning to recognise that the crisis has a moral dimension.” Dr Selby would like to see faith communities play an even stronger role in the debate: “The Church and other faith communities must rediscover their own wisdom. The control of credit internationally is the key. We need to re-establish the international sovereignty of money.”

Perhaps the political leaders coming to London for this week’s summit should heed the advice offered by faith, as well as the economists?

Zaki Cooper is the Director of Business for New Europe and a Trustee of the Council of Christians and Jews.