Theory of religious economy
Encyclopedia
The economics of religion
or, especially in sociology
, religious economy applies socio-economic
theory and methods
to explain the religious behavioral patterns of individuals, groups or cultures
and the social consequences of such behavior. An example of the first is Adam Smith
's analysis of the effect of competition
and government regulation (or support) for religious denominations on the quantity and quality of religious services. An example of the second is Max Weber
's thesis that the Protestant ethic promoted the rise of capitalism
.
The field applies rational choice theory
to the theory of religion such that supply and demand
are used to model the development and success of organized religions. Major proponents of the theory include William Sims Bainbridge
, Roger Finke
, Laurence Iannaccone
, Rodney Stark
and R. Stephen Warner.
Religious economy may also refer to religious persons and organizations interacting within a market framework of competing groups and ideologies. An economy makes it possible for religious suppliers to meet the demands of different religious consumer
s. By offering an array of religions and religious products, a competitive religious economy stimulates such activity in a market
-type setting.
Religious (or theological) economics is a related subject sometimes overlapping or conflated with the economics of religion. It uses religious principles to evaluate economic perspectives or vice versa. Another smaller literature considers such practical economic concerns as church growth and efficient resource use.
Recent research on the subject has expanded on various fronts. These include:
• religious services as consumer goods
• religious organizations as firms
• religious benefits, costs, and markets
• economic analysis of religious doctrines and incentives
• club
models of religion
• religious militancy in various forms
• religion as social capital
and in cultural interactions
• effects of religious capital
• church-and-state relations
• macroeconomic effects
• demographic
relations
• economic development
• historical, national, and cross-national analysis
gives the population a wide variety of choices in religion and leads to a religious economy in which different religious organizations compete for followers, much the way businesses compete for consumers in a commercial economy
. The Theory of Religious Economy takes into account a wide spectrum of issues (e.g., the differences between competitive religious markets and religious monopolies
), making this theory one of the most significant developments in the social scientific study of religion during the past thirty years. The theory focuses attention on religious suppliers and whether religious firms have the ability to increase the demand for religion.
In a free market, or pluralistic
religious market, many religious organizations exist and seek to appeal to certain segments of the market. Organizations in a free market cannot rely on the state for resources so they must compete for participation of the religious consumer. Contest among religious firms results in the specialization of products so that consumers are able to distinguish different organization from others(Chesnut). Pluralistic religions operate on a personal scale, marketing more to individual demands as opposed to public. As the majority of the consumer market, organizations market more to women than men. Pluralism is only possible through lack of favoritism by the state.(Chesnut) A competitive and pluralistic religious economy has a positive effect on levels of participation.
A microeconomic theory of the household production function
and time allocation is associated with the work of Chicago economist Gary Becker
. An influential approach dating from the 1970s adapts that theory to explain religious participation and a resulting formation of norms. It postulates stable preferences and rational choice constrained by limited human
and social capital
to explain behavior.
As in economics, the market situation can be described with concepts about monopoly, prohibition, and pluralism. Monopolies in religion are only made possible through state enforcement and often function on a public scale. When the government establishes a set religion and all other competition is drowned out then "believers are culturally connected but not necessarily spiritually"(Andrew Chesnut) to the religion enforced by the state. Since participation in a religious monopoly is not as important because the church does not have to rely on members for resources they are not forced to provide adequate or marketable "religious products"(Chesnut), due to lack of competition. The ability of a religious organization to monopolize a religious economy is entirely dependent on the extent to which the state governs the religious economy. A monopolized religious economy tends to have lower levels of participation.
Some states may categorically ban religious observances, and attempt to sanction those who persist in displaying religious conviction. Disestablishmentarianism
results from state withdrawal from an organization that was originally established under the state.
Theorists argue that, much as a grocery store sells food, religious groups attempt to "sell" belief
s and idea
s. They attempt to influence the religious 'consumer' to choose their product. Two important ways to influence believers are morals and fear.
Morals are the concepts of right and wrong. Moral communities are groups within the religious communities in which there is a very high agreement on norms
and strong bonds of attachment among members. Moral behaviors of individuals are influenced by their religious commitments only in societies where the dominant organizations give clear and consistent expression to divine moral imperatives.
Religious markets are similar to other markets in that they are social creations. The exchanges that take place in a religious market are regulated by social factors. Elements of social interactions such as norms and morals influence the individual choices and preferences of the religious consumer. Therefore, elements of social interactions influence the types of religious goods offered to consumers in the marketplace and the changes in consumer demands over a span of time.
According to W. Robertson Smith, "The fear of the gods was a motive to enforce the laws of society which were also the laws of morality". People are taught that those who believe will gain rewards or avoid punishment in the afterlife, and non-believers will miss out on the rewards or receive punishment.
affects the "product" and who "consumes" it. When examining depictions of religious identity in a global world, it is easy to see how ideology affects religious economy.
Carl L. Bankston
III refers to religions and religious groups as "…competing firms [that vie for] customers who make rational choices among available products…" (311). Using a liberal economic (see Economic liberalism
) framework for analysis, Bankston is claiming that religions and religious groups’ popularity is dependent on the laws of supply and demand. As a marketplace, religious consumers are subject to things such as marketing, availability of product, resources, brand recognition, etc. But unlike some actual commodity such as a computer, these commodities speak to an individual’s beliefs. Bankston poses the idea that belief deals with ideology and extends beyond what one would typically define as a market good by stating "…belief is produced and resides in communicated thoughts, (and) the consumers of goods of faith can only become consumers by becoming producers, by participating in interactions of belief…" (322).
would lead inevitably to the erosion of religiosity. These sociologists have predicted the disappearance of religion from Earth
, based on the decline in religious belief and observance in Western Europe
. According to the theory of religious economy, societies that restrict supply of religion, either through an imposed state religious monopoly or through state sponsored secularization, are the main causes of drops in religiosity. Correspondingly, the more religion
s a society has, the more likely the population is to be religious. This is refuted in the orthodox view by stating that if a liberal religious community is tolerant of a wide array of belief, then they are less likely to hold certain beliefs in common, so nothing can be shared and reified in a community context. If nothing is shared, then nothing is shunned, and there is thus a loss in observance of modern liberal traditions.
, revival is another aspect of religious change which coincides with secularization
. Over time established religious groups will spawn smaller and less worldly sub groups of the faith. This trend of revival provides a plausible explanation why religion never seems to fade away and to why previously prominent religious organizations have dissipated. Revival produces a shift in which religious groups a population will follow and proves effective against the demise of religion.
defines the two reactions from secularization
being revival and cult formation. As old faiths eventually weaken the rise of different religious sects and cults will prevail.
to which adherents are obligated. Why are strict groups growing in popularity in US and around the world? Are less strict groups in decline, or are they simply later in their organizational and demographic life cycles?
, Islam
, certain denominations of Christianity
, or can include rather smaller cults or small sects. What all strong doctrines employ though, are formal controls to discourage free riding
within the group and to keep the church strong and together. These controls can vary from church to church but all serve the same purpose of keeping group solidarity.
As commonly seen strict churches employ various means of keeping their ties in their church strong while limiting excessive access to other groups such as dress code, eating habits, and rituals that prevent mixing with other groups. The implication of these, “strict demands ‘strengthen’ a church in three ways; they raise overall levels of commitment, they increase average rates of participation, and they enhance the net benefits of membership.” Complying with these demands prevent the members of a church from free loading within the group and promote group solidarity. The strict rules that govern and regulate a church actually help and promote the strength of the ties within the group. Those who don’t comply with these strictures are screened out leaving only those who do comply and comply earnestly.” These strict doctrines and regulations serve to keep the church strong and together while screening out members that may actually harm the church unintentionally by be free loaders within the group.
in his book The Social Sources of Denominationalism, the theory discusses the difference between churches and sects. Niebuhr proposed that there is a cycle which sects and churches follow. Religions originate as sects designed to serve the needs of the deprived. If they flourish, they increasingly serve the interests of the middle and upper classes and are transformed into churches. Once the sects have become churches they become less effective in satisfying the needs of the lower class and the formation of a sect is re-created.
In 1963 Benton Johnson revised the church-sect theory into its current state. Church and sect form opposite poles on an axis representing the amount of "tension" between religious organizations and their social environments. Tension, as defined by Benton Johnson, is "a manifestation of deviance." The tension is described to be between the groups members and the outside world. Churches are described as religious bodies having low tension, whereas, sects have high tension.
Moral behaviors of individuals are suggested by religious loyalties only in societies where the dominant religious congregations give clear rules to follow moral actions. In US and Europe, the gods are conceived as powerful and judgmental whereas in Japan and China, they are conceived as many, small, and not particularly interested in moral behavior. Therefore, in Japan and China, religion is unrelated to moral actions.
The United States is extremely diverse with high levels of religious participation. The United States maintains a high degree of religious pluralism. Americans tend to contribute more money to their churches compared to other countries. There are an estimated 15,000 denominations in the United States—an extremely free religious economy. Church membership and attendance in the Western United States is lower than the other states.
The United States is much more religiously diverse than other countries, though comparable to Canada. Church membership is relatively high in both countries. Canada is estimated about 61 percent and the United States reported 63 percent. Canada does not have as much religious pluralism as the United States with only a little over 200 denominations existing compared to the 15,000 in the United States. The United States continues to grow at a faster rate than Canada. Compared to the U.S., church attendance in Europe is far lower. For example, in Iceland and Denmark weekly church turnout is less than 4 percent of the population and only 6 percent in Sweden. Europe also has about twice as many cult movements as United States.
Latin America is becoming increasingly more Protestant. 22 percent of the population belongs to Protestant congregations in Chile, 20 percent in Guatemala, and 16 percent in Brazil. With this rapid growth, it is estimated that Protestantism will be the majority in Latin America within the next twenty years. Governments has not been moving against non-Catholics anymore which leaves an open door for religious pluralism to build in Latin America.
Research conducted by Paul Froese at Baylor University
, examines the prevalence and dynamics of religious beliefs and monopolies post-communism
in the former Soviet Union
. This study is one area of research of interest to sociologists researching religious economic theory because it observes governmental influence on religious beliefs and affiliations. Prior to the 1980s, the Soviet government imposed religious restrictions on its citizens in hopes that they would come to hold the beliefs of Atheism
. The government's intentions were to free its people from the psychological bondage of religion, encouraging the formation of a fully industrialized society.
The Soviet Union
remained fairly intact until the 1990s, however, religious restrictions gradually loosened and the people of the Soviet Union began to abandon Atheism
in large numbers. According to this study, since the 1970s, 100 million people living in the former Soviet Union have come to affiliate themselves with some religious group for the first time in their lives.
Ex Soviet states have widely divergent levels of religious affiliation. For example, irreligion
in Lithuania
is 19.4% , while for Estonia
this is 75.7%.
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
or, especially in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, religious economy applies socio-economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
theory and methods
Economic methodology
Economic methodology is the study of methods, especially the scientific method, in relation to economics, including principles underlying economic reasoning...
to explain the religious behavioral patterns of individuals, groups or cultures
Cultural economics
Cultural economics is the branch of economics that studies the relation of culture to economic outcomes. Here, 'culture' is defined by shared beliefs and preferences of respective groups. Programmatic issues include whether and how much culture matters as to economic outcomes and what its relation...
and the social consequences of such behavior. An example of the first is Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
's analysis of the effect of competition
Competition (economics)
Competition in economics is a term that encompasses the notion of individuals and firms striving for a greater share of a market to sell or buy goods and services...
and government regulation (or support) for religious denominations on the quantity and quality of religious services. An example of the second is Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
's thesis that the Protestant ethic promoted the rise of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
.
The field applies rational choice theory
Rational choice theory
Rational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics...
to the theory of religion such that supply and demand
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
are used to model the development and success of organized religions. Major proponents of the theory include William Sims Bainbridge
William Sims Bainbridge
William Sims Bainbridge is an American sociologist who currently resides in Virginia. He is co-director of Human-Centered Computing at the National Science Foundation and also teaches sociology as a part-time professor at George Mason University. He is the first Senior Fellow to be appointed by...
, Roger Finke
Roger Finke
Roger Finke is a Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State University who is noteworthy not only for playing a major role in recent transformations of both theory and research methods in his field, but also for leading a large number of other scholars to create the...
, Laurence Iannaccone
Laurence Iannaccone
Laurence R. Iannaccone is a Professor of Economics at Chapman University, Orange County, California. Before moving to Chapman in 2009 he was a Koch Professor of Economics at George Mason University...
, Rodney Stark
Rodney Stark
Rodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota in a Lutheran family. He spent time in the U.S. Army and worked as a journalist before pursuing graduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley...
and R. Stephen Warner.
Religious economy may also refer to religious persons and organizations interacting within a market framework of competing groups and ideologies. An economy makes it possible for religious suppliers to meet the demands of different religious consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
s. By offering an array of religions and religious products, a competitive religious economy stimulates such activity in a market
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
-type setting.
Religious (or theological) economics is a related subject sometimes overlapping or conflated with the economics of religion. It uses religious principles to evaluate economic perspectives or vice versa. Another smaller literature considers such practical economic concerns as church growth and efficient resource use.
Recent research on the subject has expanded on various fronts. These include:
• religious services as consumer goods
• religious organizations as firms
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
• religious benefits, costs, and markets
• economic analysis of religious doctrines and incentives
• club
Club good
Club goods are a type of good in economics, sometimes classified as a subtype of public goods that are excludable but non-rivalrous, at least until reaching a point where congestion occurs...
models of religion
• religious militancy in various forms
• religion as social capital
Social capital
Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...
and in cultural interactions
Cultural economics
Cultural economics is the branch of economics that studies the relation of culture to economic outcomes. Here, 'culture' is defined by shared beliefs and preferences of respective groups. Programmatic issues include whether and how much culture matters as to economic outcomes and what its relation...
• effects of religious capital
• church-and-state relations
• macroeconomic effects
• demographic
Demographic economics
Demographic economics or population economics is the application of economics to demography, the study of human populations, including size, growth, density, distribution, and vital statistics.Analysis includes economic determinants and consequences of:...
relations
• economic development
Development economics
Development Economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic growth and structural change but also on improving the potential for the mass of the population, for example,...
• historical, national, and cross-national analysis
Development
The theory of religious economy arises from the application of fundamental principles of economics to the analysis of religious organizations. Just as commercial economies consist of a market in which different firms compete, religious economies consist of a market (the aggregate demand for religion) and firms (different religious organizations) seeking to attract and hold clients. The theory of religious economy was developed to explain why and how religions change.Market situation
According to the theory, religious pluralismReligious pluralism
Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
gives the population a wide variety of choices in religion and leads to a religious economy in which different religious organizations compete for followers, much the way businesses compete for consumers in a commercial economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
. The Theory of Religious Economy takes into account a wide spectrum of issues (e.g., the differences between competitive religious markets and religious monopolies
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
), making this theory one of the most significant developments in the social scientific study of religion during the past thirty years. The theory focuses attention on religious suppliers and whether religious firms have the ability to increase the demand for religion.
In a free market, or pluralistic
Religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
religious market, many religious organizations exist and seek to appeal to certain segments of the market. Organizations in a free market cannot rely on the state for resources so they must compete for participation of the religious consumer. Contest among religious firms results in the specialization of products so that consumers are able to distinguish different organization from others(Chesnut). Pluralistic religions operate on a personal scale, marketing more to individual demands as opposed to public. As the majority of the consumer market, organizations market more to women than men. Pluralism is only possible through lack of favoritism by the state.(Chesnut) A competitive and pluralistic religious economy has a positive effect on levels of participation.
A microeconomic theory of the household production function
Household production function
Consumers often choose not directly from the commodities that they purchase but from commodities they transform into goods through a household production function. It is these goods that they value. The idea was originally proposed by Gary Becker, Kelvin Lancaster and Richard Muth in the mid...
and time allocation is associated with the work of Chicago economist Gary Becker
Gary Becker
Gary Stanley Becker is an American economist. He is a professor of economics, sociology at the University of Chicago and a professor at the Booth School of Business. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1992, and received the United States' Presidential Medal of Freedom...
. An influential approach dating from the 1970s adapts that theory to explain religious participation and a resulting formation of norms. It postulates stable preferences and rational choice constrained by limited human
Human capital
Human capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
and social capital
Social capital
Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...
to explain behavior.
As in economics, the market situation can be described with concepts about monopoly, prohibition, and pluralism. Monopolies in religion are only made possible through state enforcement and often function on a public scale. When the government establishes a set religion and all other competition is drowned out then "believers are culturally connected but not necessarily spiritually"(Andrew Chesnut) to the religion enforced by the state. Since participation in a religious monopoly is not as important because the church does not have to rely on members for resources they are not forced to provide adequate or marketable "religious products"(Chesnut), due to lack of competition. The ability of a religious organization to monopolize a religious economy is entirely dependent on the extent to which the state governs the religious economy. A monopolized religious economy tends to have lower levels of participation.
Some states may categorically ban religious observances, and attempt to sanction those who persist in displaying religious conviction. Disestablishmentarianism
Disestablishmentarianism
Disestablishmentarianism today relates to the Church of England in the United Kingdom and related views on its establishment as an established church....
results from state withdrawal from an organization that was originally established under the state.
Theorists argue that, much as a grocery store sells food, religious groups attempt to "sell" belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
s and idea
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
s. They attempt to influence the religious 'consumer' to choose their product. Two important ways to influence believers are morals and fear.
Morals are the concepts of right and wrong. Moral communities are groups within the religious communities in which there is a very high agreement on norms
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
and strong bonds of attachment among members. Moral behaviors of individuals are influenced by their religious commitments only in societies where the dominant organizations give clear and consistent expression to divine moral imperatives.
Religious markets are similar to other markets in that they are social creations. The exchanges that take place in a religious market are regulated by social factors. Elements of social interactions such as norms and morals influence the individual choices and preferences of the religious consumer. Therefore, elements of social interactions influence the types of religious goods offered to consumers in the marketplace and the changes in consumer demands over a span of time.
According to W. Robertson Smith, "The fear of the gods was a motive to enforce the laws of society which were also the laws of morality". People are taught that those who believe will gain rewards or avoid punishment in the afterlife, and non-believers will miss out on the rewards or receive punishment.
Major debates
The idea of religious economy frames religion as a product and as those who practice or identify with any particular religion as a consumer. But when the idea of belief is brought in to the equation, this definition expands, and ideologyIdeology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
affects the "product" and who "consumes" it. When examining depictions of religious identity in a global world, it is easy to see how ideology affects religious economy.
Carl L. Bankston
Carl L. Bankston
Carl L. Bankston III is an American sociologist and author. He is best known for his work on immigration to the United States, particularly on the adaptation of Vietnamese American immigrants, and for his work on ethnicity, social capital, sociology of religion and the sociology of...
III refers to religions and religious groups as "…competing firms [that vie for] customers who make rational choices among available products…" (311). Using a liberal economic (see Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
) framework for analysis, Bankston is claiming that religions and religious groups’ popularity is dependent on the laws of supply and demand. As a marketplace, religious consumers are subject to things such as marketing, availability of product, resources, brand recognition, etc. But unlike some actual commodity such as a computer, these commodities speak to an individual’s beliefs. Bankston poses the idea that belief deals with ideology and extends beyond what one would typically define as a market good by stating "…belief is produced and resides in communicated thoughts, (and) the consumers of goods of faith can only become consumers by becoming producers, by participating in interactions of belief…" (322).
Secularization and religious economy
Prior to the emergence of the theory of religious economy some scholars of religion, such as Steve Bruce, believed that modernizationModernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
would lead inevitably to the erosion of religiosity. These sociologists have predicted the disappearance of religion from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, based on the decline in religious belief and observance in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. According to the theory of religious economy, societies that restrict supply of religion, either through an imposed state religious monopoly or through state sponsored secularization, are the main causes of drops in religiosity. Correspondingly, the more religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s a society has, the more likely the population is to be religious. This is refuted in the orthodox view by stating that if a liberal religious community is tolerant of a wide array of belief, then they are less likely to hold certain beliefs in common, so nothing can be shared and reified in a community context. If nothing is shared, then nothing is shunned, and there is thus a loss in observance of modern liberal traditions.
Revival
According to Rodney StarkRodney Stark
Rodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota in a Lutheran family. He spent time in the U.S. Army and worked as a journalist before pursuing graduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley...
, revival is another aspect of religious change which coincides with secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
. Over time established religious groups will spawn smaller and less worldly sub groups of the faith. This trend of revival provides a plausible explanation why religion never seems to fade away and to why previously prominent religious organizations have dissipated. Revival produces a shift in which religious groups a population will follow and proves effective against the demise of religion.
Cults
Unlike a sect which follows traditions from its parent religion a cult presents completely new religious traditions. Cult is simply another word for a new religion and all current religions at one point could have been considered cult movements. The negative connotations on the word cult have led to hostility between these movements and their social environments. Rodney StarkRodney Stark
Rodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota in a Lutheran family. He spent time in the U.S. Army and worked as a journalist before pursuing graduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley...
defines the two reactions from secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
being revival and cult formation. As old faiths eventually weaken the rise of different religious sects and cults will prevail.
Growth of strict religions
A set of famous papers in religious economy have spurred debate on how and why new religious groups might be differentially growing depending on the strictness of the doctrineDoctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
to which adherents are obligated. Why are strict groups growing in popularity in US and around the world? Are less strict groups in decline, or are they simply later in their organizational and demographic life cycles?
Strict regulations to enforce strong ties
Strict Churches are prevalent in the US and around the world and while people still question and debate their ascent, their ties are characteristically defined as being strong within the group with few weak ties branching outside to other groups. Strict churches arise from strict doctrines and can be in many forms such as large churches, sects, or cults but are not limited to these. Churches are most often known for their “cosmopolitan networks, while sects tend to consist of intense local networks,” while this may be true for “unstrict” doctrines this is not always the case for strict doctrines. Strong doctrines can arise from certain sects as various religions have done such as Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, certain denominations of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, or can include rather smaller cults or small sects. What all strong doctrines employ though, are formal controls to discourage free riding
Free rider problem
In economics, collective bargaining, psychology, and political science, a free rider is someone who consumes a resource without paying for it, or pays less than the full cost. The free rider problem is the question of how to limit free riding...
within the group and to keep the church strong and together. These controls can vary from church to church but all serve the same purpose of keeping group solidarity.
As commonly seen strict churches employ various means of keeping their ties in their church strong while limiting excessive access to other groups such as dress code, eating habits, and rituals that prevent mixing with other groups. The implication of these, “strict demands ‘strengthen’ a church in three ways; they raise overall levels of commitment, they increase average rates of participation, and they enhance the net benefits of membership.” Complying with these demands prevent the members of a church from free loading within the group and promote group solidarity. The strict rules that govern and regulate a church actually help and promote the strength of the ties within the group. Those who don’t comply with these strictures are screened out leaving only those who do comply and comply earnestly.” These strict doctrines and regulations serve to keep the church strong and together while screening out members that may actually harm the church unintentionally by be free loaders within the group.
Church-sect theory
Originally proposed by H. Richard NiebuhrH. Richard Niebuhr
Helmut Richard Niebuhr was one of the most important Christian theological-ethicists in 20th century America, most known for his 1951 book Christ and Culture and his posthumously published book The Responsible Self. The younger brother of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Niebuhr taught for...
in his book The Social Sources of Denominationalism, the theory discusses the difference between churches and sects. Niebuhr proposed that there is a cycle which sects and churches follow. Religions originate as sects designed to serve the needs of the deprived. If they flourish, they increasingly serve the interests of the middle and upper classes and are transformed into churches. Once the sects have become churches they become less effective in satisfying the needs of the lower class and the formation of a sect is re-created.
In 1963 Benton Johnson revised the church-sect theory into its current state. Church and sect form opposite poles on an axis representing the amount of "tension" between religious organizations and their social environments. Tension, as defined by Benton Johnson, is "a manifestation of deviance." The tension is described to be between the groups members and the outside world. Churches are described as religious bodies having low tension, whereas, sects have high tension.
Religion in the U.S. compared to other nations
Different nations vary in religious makeup and fervency. Most people in the world are religious. People don't consider themselves as religious if they are not fully involved in the church by contributing money or attending service every Sunday. On the other hand, it is more rare to claim to be an atheist. A country in which atheism is common is China. About 24 percent of the Chinese population claim to be “convinced atheists.” Atheism in China is researched to be a result from Communism which stresses atheism. But, one can not put a title on China as the “atheist country.”Moral behaviors of individuals are suggested by religious loyalties only in societies where the dominant religious congregations give clear rules to follow moral actions. In US and Europe, the gods are conceived as powerful and judgmental whereas in Japan and China, they are conceived as many, small, and not particularly interested in moral behavior. Therefore, in Japan and China, religion is unrelated to moral actions.
The United States is extremely diverse with high levels of religious participation. The United States maintains a high degree of religious pluralism. Americans tend to contribute more money to their churches compared to other countries. There are an estimated 15,000 denominations in the United States—an extremely free religious economy. Church membership and attendance in the Western United States is lower than the other states.
The United States is much more religiously diverse than other countries, though comparable to Canada. Church membership is relatively high in both countries. Canada is estimated about 61 percent and the United States reported 63 percent. Canada does not have as much religious pluralism as the United States with only a little over 200 denominations existing compared to the 15,000 in the United States. The United States continues to grow at a faster rate than Canada. Compared to the U.S., church attendance in Europe is far lower. For example, in Iceland and Denmark weekly church turnout is less than 4 percent of the population and only 6 percent in Sweden. Europe also has about twice as many cult movements as United States.
Latin America is becoming increasingly more Protestant. 22 percent of the population belongs to Protestant congregations in Chile, 20 percent in Guatemala, and 16 percent in Brazil. With this rapid growth, it is estimated that Protestantism will be the majority in Latin America within the next twenty years. Governments has not been moving against non-Catholics anymore which leaves an open door for religious pluralism to build in Latin America.
Ex-Communist countries
Russia and Eastern European countries have collectively been moving towards atheism. The cause of this may be the collapse of the Soviet Union as well as the communist government imposed by the Russian army at the end of WWII. The communists tried to wipe out all traces of religions in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. As a result of this effort, there are only about 5,000 religious congregations of all faiths still in the Soviet Union. This is roughly the same number as currently exist in the state of Kentucky. Even though the communist government thought they had succeeded in destroying religion in their nation, research and data have concluded that atheists are few and far in between in Russia and Eastern Europe.Research conducted by Paul Froese at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
, examines the prevalence and dynamics of religious beliefs and monopolies post-communism
Post-Communism
Post-communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic transformation or "transition" in former Communist states located in parts of Europe and Asia, in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economies with some form of parliamentary...
in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. This study is one area of research of interest to sociologists researching religious economic theory because it observes governmental influence on religious beliefs and affiliations. Prior to the 1980s, the Soviet government imposed religious restrictions on its citizens in hopes that they would come to hold the beliefs of Atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. The government's intentions were to free its people from the psychological bondage of religion, encouraging the formation of a fully industrialized society.
The Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
remained fairly intact until the 1990s, however, religious restrictions gradually loosened and the people of the Soviet Union began to abandon Atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
in large numbers. According to this study, since the 1970s, 100 million people living in the former Soviet Union have come to affiliate themselves with some religious group for the first time in their lives.
Ex Soviet states have widely divergent levels of religious affiliation. For example, irreligion
Irreligion
Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
is 19.4% , while for Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
this is 75.7%.
See also
- Buddhist economicsBuddhist economicsBuddhist Economics is a spiritual approach to Economics. It examines the psychology of the human mind and the anxiety,aspirations and emotions that direct economic activity. Its understanding aims to clear the confusion between what is truly harmful and beneficial in Economics and ultimately tries...
- Cultural economicsCultural economicsCultural economics is the branch of economics that studies the relation of culture to economic outcomes. Here, 'culture' is defined by shared beliefs and preferences of respective groups. Programmatic issues include whether and how much culture matters as to economic outcomes and what its relation...
- Economic imperialism (economics)
- Institutional economicsInstitutional economicsInstitutional economics focuses on understanding the role of the evolutionary process and the role of institutions in shaping economic behaviour. Its original focus lay in Thorstein Veblen's instinct-oriented dichotomy between technology on the one side and the "ceremonial" sphere of society on the...
- New institutional economicsNew institutional economicsNew institutional economics is an economic perspective that attempts to extend economics by focusing on the social and legal norms and rules that underlie economic activity.-Overview:...
- Religion and businessReligion and businessReligion and business have throughout history interacted in ways that relate to and affected one another, as well as influenced sociocultural evolution, political geographies, and labour laws.-Religious tourism:...
- Sociology of religionSociology of religionThe sociology of religion concerns the role of religion in society: practices, historical backgrounds, developments and universal themes. There is particular emphasis on the recurring role of religion in all societies and throughout recorded history...
- Wealth and religionWealth and religionThere has been some research on the correlation of wealth and religion. Wealth is the status of being the beneficiary or proprietor of a large accumulation of capital and economic power...
Further reading
- Bankston, 2002. "Rationality, Choice and the Religious Economy: The Problem of Belief," Review of Religious Research, 43(4), pp. 311–325.
- Bankston, Carl L., 2003. Rationality, Choice and the Religious Economy: Individual and Collective Rationality in Supply and Demand, Review of Religious Research, 45(2), pp. 155–171.
- Bartholomew, Richard, 2006. "Publishing, Celebrity and the Globalization of Conservative Protestantism," Journal of Contemporary Religion, 21(1), pp. 1–12.
- Chestnut, Andrew, 2007. Competitive Spirits: Latin America's New Religious Economy. Oxford University Press.
- Finke, Roger and Rodney Stark, 2005. The Churching of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy, Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-813-53553-0
- Froese, Paul, , 2004. "Atheism: An Analysis of Religious Monopolies in the Post-Communist World," Sociology of Religion, 65(1), , pp. 57–75.
- Gill, Anthony, 2007. Religion and Comparative Politics. June. 27 Sep.
- Huntington, Samuel P.,Summer 1993, The Clash of Civilizations?, in "Foreign Affairs", vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 22–49
- Finke, R., 2008. Is the 'Clash of Civilizations' Really True? The 'Religious Economy' Is a Better Explanation. Science & Spirit, 19(1), p. 45. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
- Ruf, Henry, L., 2007. World Religions in a Postmodern Age, Paragon House. ISBN 978-1-55778-866-5
- Said, Edward W., 1978, Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books
- Smart, Ninian, The World’s Religions. Cambridge University Press . ISBN 0-521-63139-4
- Wortham, Robert A., 2004. Religious Choices and Preferences: North Carolina's Baskin Robbins Effect? . 27 Sep. 2007. Sociation Today, Volume 2 Number 1, Spring 2004
- David Lehman, Rational Choice and the Sociology of Religion, chapter 8 in Bryan S. TurnerBryan S. Turner (sociologist)Bryan S. Turner is a British and Australian sociologist . He was born in January 1945 to working class parents in Birmingham, England. Turner has led a remarkably nomadic life having held university appointments in England, Scotland, Australia, Germany, Holland, Singapore and the United States...
(ed.) The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion, John Wiley and Sons, 2010, ISBN 1405188529 - Daromir Rudnyckyj, Spiritual Economies: Islam, Globalization, and the Afterlife of Development (Cornell University Press, 2010)
- Nile Green, Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, 1840-1915 (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
External links
- Economics of Religion Gateway: "What is the economic study of religion?" from the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture.
- European Network on the Economics of Religion
- "Economists Are Getting Religion," Business Week
- "The economics of religion" from http://www.religionlink.org/ for and by journalists
- Shopping for Faith or Dropping Your Faith? The Rational Choice Theory of why religious vitality varies between societies, and its relationship to the Secularization Thesis