The success of any organization rests heavily upon not only the vision and mission articulated by its leader, but also upon the skills and knowledge possessed and utilized by the leader to achieve the mission and vision. The business acumen of leaders of religious organization is ripe for examination in light of the closings of religious organizations in the thousands. The problem is that there is a lack of insight and understanding into what business acumen religious leaders currently have and what business skills and knowledge are needed to effectively and efficiently manage religious organizations over time. This research study included both quantitative and qualitative data collection to compare the perceived business skill and knowledge needed to sustain a religious organization with educational opportunities available to secure such skills and knowledge. Participants in this research effort included members of religious associations and religious institutions in Chicago, Illinois region. Results of the study included, (a) business acumen perceptions of religious leaders were predominately related to transferrable skills, (b) religious leaders were deficient in business-specific skills, and (c) religious-education institutions did not offer core curriculum to provide religious leaders with skills identified as "important, but not possessed" skills needed to operate and sustain religious organizations. Future research recommendations include conducting a case study of the organizational structure and organizational culture of successful religious organization, an experimental study using business-skills training as a treatment, and an exploratory study into the impact that leaders who are deficient in business skills have on the religious organizations.
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