DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i02.018

Pages: 407-410

Human capital formation is critical for the economic and the political development of a country. It is primarily concerned with enabling people to actively involve as a creative and productive resource and increasing the number of people with skills, education and experience. Human capital formation therefore, is a people centered strategy that enhances the skills, knowledge, productivity and creativeness of people. This necessitates physical and mental fitness, proper diet and the stamina to work long hours productively. In this regard, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity’s traditional pious practices become a hindrance to human capital formation. The Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity is very traditional and it requires the followers to strictly follow austere practices round the year. These religio-cultural practices, mainly rigorous fasting and penance affect the people physically, psychologically, socially and economically. The religious practices also limit the regular needs of the people which in turn hinder the human capacity to work. This conceptual paper elaborates how the various religious practices of the orthodox Christian community affects the total economy of the country.