My first gut reaction is, "Heck, yeah!" But then I got to thinking about it and I changed that to a, "Heck, maybe!" It comes down to assumed definitions.
I assume that when you say religion you are referring to the Judeo-Christian protestant system of belief that I associate with in community with likeminded people. I take for granted the fact that one's religion is nothing more than a charitable club if it is not backed by true faith. So when I speak of my religion, I am thinking of something much deeper than the Sunday ritual of attending church and being nice to people. I am referring to the faith I have in my God who is everything to me. He is core to who I am and the two cannot be torn apart.
On the other hand, there is religion defined as a group of people that you hang with and rituals that you do. Occasionally this religion will appear on your calendar and maybe even be seen as a ledger line in your financial software marked as tithe. However, other than people noting that you are a nice person who only cusses when really mad, you have no deeper relationship with God than you do with your child's teacher. Sure there is a relationship with the teacher (God), but seldom does it leave the confines of the school (church) property.
So back to the original question. Should you mix religion and business? Using the first definition of religion my answer is still "Heck, yeah!" How could it not? Your relationship with Christ would be core to who you are so it could not help but be obvious in all that makes your business what it is. If, we are using the latter definition, I am sorry to say I have changed my answer to an emphatic, "Heck, no!" Don't use religion as your gimmick to help your business or because you think Christians make a nice niche market. If you are going to be a business that is worth anything, at least have the guts to live what you believe in every arena of your life. Your true success will not be measured by how well you were able to walk the tightrope between religion and business. It will be known by whether you can go to bed at the end of the day confident that you put your very heart and soul into your business. For me, I pray that not only do my religious practices and my business mix, I pray that the two will be inseparable. Then I will be successful.
