Answers to Questions
about the Economics of Religion
This page contains answers to frequently asked questions about the economics of religion. It will grow over time in response to public discussion and private feedback.
-
So just what
is the economics of religion?
- How does it differ from the sociology (or psychology, etc.) of religion?
- How does it differ from Christian economics, Islamic economics, etc.?
- How long has the field existed and what has it accomplished?
- What are the major questions/issues currently under investigation?
- How does one meet and/or communicate with other scholars interested in the field?
- What conferences and journals accept work in the economics of religion?
- Can one obtain funding for research in the economics of religion?
- ... more to come
1. What is the economics of religion?
Economics of religion is a line of scholarship that seeks to explain religious behavior from an economic (or "rational choice") perspective. In contrast to other social-scientific approaches to the study of religion, the economic approach rests upon the fundamental assumptions of economic analysis: maximizing behavior, stable preferences, and market equilibrium.
Economic theories of religious behavior assume that people approach religion in the same way that they approach other objects of choice. They evaluate its costs and benefits and act so as to maximize their utility. Hence they choose what religion (if any) they will accept and how extensively they will participate in it. These choices need not be permanent -- people can and do change their religious identities or levels of religious participation over time. As in any other market, the consumers' freedom to choose constrains the producers of religion. Ultimately, it determines the content of religious commodities and the structure of the institutions that provide them. These effects are felt most strongly where religion is relatively unregulated and, as a consequence, competition among religious firms is pronounced. (For details, see Iannaccone 1997:26-27.)
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2. How does it differ from the sociology of religion?
All social-scientific approaches to religion seek to explain religious belief, behavior, and institutions in human terms. They tend, however, to employ different assumptions and emphasize different questions.
Sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists have tended to view religion as non-rational behavior. (Indeed, for many 19th century scholars -- including Marx, Freud, and Comte -- intense religious commitment sprang from nothing less than outright irrationality.) This perspective focused attention on the "secularization," the supposedly inevitable decline of religion in the face of scientific advancement.
Although the economic approach does not reject the possibility of secularization, it does direct scholarly attention away from this issue and toward an alternative set of questions. For example: How do people produce religious "commodities" and how do these commodities differ from standard, secular commodities? Why are religious commodities usually produced and consumed collectively; why are they not more often packaged and sold for money? What are the costs, both direct and indirect, of different religions and different religious practices? How do personal attributes, social settings, and technology affect these costs? Do "cheap" religions, which promise much and demand little, enjoy more success than costly religions? What are the consequences of religious market structure; does it matter if a given market is monopolistic or competitive, regulated or free?
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3. How does it differ from Christian economics, Islamic economics, etc?
"Religious economics" is quite different from the economics of religion in that the former invokes theological principles and sacred writings to promote or criticize economic behavior whereas the latter invokes economic principles to explain religious behavior. (One might view religious economics as a normative enterprise running from religion to economics and the economics of religion as a positive enterprise running from economics to religion.) Religious economics is of primary interest to philosophers, theologians, and economists seeking to evaluate economic policies from specific religious perspectives; it is, for the most part, far removed from the research and professional interests of most economists (as well as sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists of religion).
Religious economics includes a large body of writings by self-described "Islamic economists" who seek to analyze, justify, and implement systems of banking, taxation, income redistribution, and finance consistent with economic principles derived from the Qur'an and the Sunna. It also includes the writings of Christian theologians, clerics, and economists spanning centuries -- from medieval Catholic bans on usury, to contemporary Catholic pastorals on the economy; from official pronouncements of mainline Protestant denominations and the National Council of Churches, to the diverse writings of evangelical Protestants and self-styled "Christian Economists."
(For reviews of different religious economic literatures, see Craig Gay [1991], Timur Kuran [1993], Fred Pryor [1990], Muhammad Siddiqi [1981], and A. M. C. Waterman [1987].)
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4. How long has the field existed and what has it accomplished?
With two centuries separating its first and second publications, there is no denying that the economics of religion got off to a slow start.
Adam Smith ([1776] 1965: 740-766) laid the foundation for the economic analysis of religion in a largely ignored chapter of The Wealth of Nations. Smith argued that self-interest motivates clergy just as it does secular producers; that market forces constrain churches just as they do secular firms; and that the benefits of competition, the burdens of monopoly, and the hazards of government regulation are as real for religion as for any other sector of the economy. (For an attempt to test these assertions, see Iannaccone 1991)
Smith's insights languished for 200 years, but since the 1970's, and especially in the past few years, economists and sociologists have returned to Smith's insights. (Contemporary research on the economics of religion began with Azzi and Ehrenberg [1975].) Viewing religious behavior as an instance of rational choice, rather than an exception to it, researchers have analyzed religious behavior at the individual, group, and market level.
Individual-level research has focused on the determinants of religious participation (church attendance and giving) and religious mobility (denominational switching and religious intermarriage). Group-level research has sought to explain why different types of people are drawn to different types of groups and, in particular, why many high-cost, "sectarian" groups enjoy substantial success, both high levels of commitment and continued growth, in the religious marketplace. Market-level research has sought to determine whether monopoly, regulation, and competition affect religious institutions and religious outcomes in the same ways that they affect standard, markets. (For an overview of this work, see "An Introduction to the Economics of Religion".)
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5. What are the major questions/issues currently under investigation?
For a fairly complete overview, see "An Introduction to the Economics of Religion". For examples of recent work, see the programs and publications section of this website and the papers given at recent ASREC conferences, as well as the papers listed on the websites of the Center for the Economic Study of Religion and the project on Religion, Political Economy, and Society.
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6. How does one meet and/or communicate with other scholars interested in the field?
Economists interested in the economics of religion should join ASREC, the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture, and attend the annual REC conference, which meets jointly with the SSSR and RRA. European economists should also join ENER, the new European Network for the Economics of Religion. This website (EconomicsofReligion.com) aims to be the most comprehensive source of information about the field, but your should also consult the websites associated with the Center for the Economic Study of Religion (www.theCESR.org) at George Mason University, and the website associated with project on Religion, Political Economy, and Society (PRPES) at Harvard.
Sociologists interested in the rational choice approach to religion should definitely attend the annual (late-October / early-November) joint meetings of ASREC, SSSR, and RRA. They should also join the American Sociological Association, become members of its religion section and consider attending the annual conference of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, which meets together with ASA.
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7. What conferences and journals accept work in the economics of religion?
The new Interdisciplinary Journal of Religious Research, is your best bet for non-technical papers with an economic/rational-choice orientation. The editor, Rodney Stark, has been a principal contributor to the economic study of religion for more than two decades, and the editorial board includes sociologists, economists, political scientists, and historians who have likewise made major contributions to the field. IJRR is a free internet-based journal with a rapidly growing subscriber list, and a strong collection of initial articles. Anyone interested in the economics of religion should certainly subscribe and keep an eye on its growing collection of work.
Three American journals specialize in the social-scientific (mostly sociological) study of religion: the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, the Review of Religious Research, and Sociology of Religion. Each of these has published several articles that fall into the category of economic/rational choice approaches to the study of religion. Articles from JSSR are available via JStor.
Several mainstream economics journals have published work on religion: American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), Economic Inquiry, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, and Public Choice.
The three top-tier, sociology journals routinely publish articles on religion, several of which have in recent years employed a rational choice/economic perspective: American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, and Social Forces.
Other, more interdisciplinary journals, publishing work in the economics of religion include: Rationality and Society, Demography, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, and Economic Development and Cultural Change.
For a more complete list of journals that have published at least one paper related to the economics of religion, consult this web sites references page.
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8. Can one obtain funding for research in the economics of religion?
It remains difficult to find government support for projects that focus entirely on religion, but it certainly has become easier to obtain funding for research on the impact of religion. NSF, NIMH, and NIH, and other government institutes now routinely support research that seeks to understand how religion affects crime, substance abuse, the family, health, happiness, and so forth.
The Templeton Foundation and the Lilly Endowment are very large private institutions that routinely support religious research. In recent years, these foundations have become more supportive of work that employs an economic perspective. In particular, the Templeton Foundation and Metanexus Institute have devoted millions of dollars to their "Spiritual Capital Research Initiative".
Most research funded by denominations and other religious institutions is small-scale, very applied, and in-house.
Each year, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Association for the Sociology of Religion, and Religious Research Association offer a variety of modest ($500-$2,000) for research projects.
Finally, no academic interested in the economics of religion should ignore the opportunities for modest internal grants at his or her own institution.