The Economics of Religion

Adam Smith, one of the founding fathers of contemporary economics, observed that religiosity is influenced by the extent of regulation in the ‘market’ for religion. In countries where there is a state-sponsored religion, one can expect less overall religiosity than if the market were competitive and religions had to compete to increase their membership. Religion, he claims, is like other goods and services supplied in a market economy. Max Weber, one of the founding fathers of contemporary sociology, similarly proposed that religiosity and economic principles are strongly interconnected phenomena. Weber famously thought that Protestant religious beliefs about the importance of work, savings and trustworthiness played an important role in sparking the Industrial Revolution and accelerating economic growth in the Western World. This edited volume contains original contributions by eminent scholars in the new and emerging field of the economics of religion. The contributions expand upon the ground-breaking ideas of Adam Smith and Max Weber. The chapters also illuminate new directions for research in this relatively young, intellectually exciting, and rapidly growing multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry. **Contents:** * Preface * About the Editor * Cultural Transmission and Religion *(Alberto Bisin, Jean-Paul Carvalho, and Thierry Verdier)* * Did Seismic Activity Lead to the Rise of Religions? *(Jeanet Sinding Bentzen and Eric R Force)* * Evaluating the Long-Term Development Impact of Christian Missions *(Valeria Rueda)* * Politics, Religion and the Evolution of the Welfare State *(Maleke Fourati, Gabriele Gratton, and Federico Masera)* * Ordinary People, Extraordinary Outcomes: The Occupational Status of American Jews Over the Twentieth Century *(Barry R Chiswick)* * Competition versus Monopoly in the Religious Marketplace: Judaism in the United States and Israel *(Carmel U Chiswick)* * Ultra-Religious Women in the Labor Market: Integration and Empowerment by Responding to Work Motives *(Yael Goldfarb and Shoshana Neuman)* * Religion and Volunteering *(John Wilson)* * Judaism, Liberalism and the Market *(Jonathan Jacobs)* * ‘Economic Doctrine’ in the Church of England since the Reformation *(A M C Waterman)* * Economic Liberty and Zionism *(Zev Golan)* * Jewish Economic Theory and Reflections on Practice *(Robert M Sauer)* * Index **Readership:** Students and academics specializing in the area of the economics of religion.