Explores the fresh paradigms of 'religious economics' and 'economies of religion' under the scope of transdisciplinary and international perspectives. This title examines and appraises some of the theoretical developments and methodological innovations in religious and social sciences.

This edited collection brings together expertise from around the globe to overview and debate key concepts and concerns in the economics of religion. While the economics of religion is a relatively new field of research in economics, economists have made and continue to make important contributions to the understanding of religion. There is much scope for economists to continue to make a significant contribution to debates about religion, including its implications for conflict, political economy, public goods, demography, education, finance, trade and economic growth.

This is a one-of-kind volume bringing together leading scholars in the economics of religion for the first time. The treatment of topics is interdisciplinary, comparative, as well as global in nature. Scholars apply the economics of religion approach to contemporary issues such as immigrants in the United States and ask historical questions such as why did Judaism as a religion promote investment in education? The economics of religion applies economic concepts (for example, supply and demand) and models of the market to the study of religion. Advocates of the economics of religion approach look at ways in which the religion market influences individual choices as well as institutional development. For example, economists would argue that when a large denomination declines, the religion is not supplying the right kind of religious good that appeals to the faithful. Like firms, religions compete and supply goods. The economics of religion approach using rational choice theory, assumes that all human beings, regardless of their cultural context, their socio-economic situation, act rationally to further his/her ends. The wide-ranging topics show the depth and breadth of the approach to the study of religion.

This book allows the reader to have an overview of the relations between religion and economics throughout history. It starts with the beginnings of early modern humans, when dreams (of dead ancestors), animism, synchronous movements and a propensity to exchange, led to the emergence of religion, which then contributed to the coordination and pooling of labor and to the definition of groups. This book surveys the various roles played by religion in economic life through the ages, which include the justification of the exploitation of nature, the expansion of trade, the emergence of inequality and of charity, the definition, enhancement and attenuation of hierarchies of dominance, the provision of various services and of the impact religion has had on economic performance at the micro and macro levels.

Using the tools of economics, this book analyses how religion affects decisions and outcomes in a wide range of areas, including education, employment, family size, entry into cohabitation and formal marriage, the choice of spouse and divorce. In each case, the relationships are rigorously quantified based on multivariate statistical analyses of large scale US data. The results show, for example, that when people marry outside their faith, there is an increase in the probability of divorce, the magnitude of the adverse effect depending in part on the ecumenical/exclusivist nature of the two religions. Other analyses show that youth who grow up with some religion in their lives are less likely than their counterparts with little or no religious involvement to drop out of high school or enter cohabiting arrangements at a young age. Overall, both religious affiliation and the extent of participation in religious activities are found to have far-reaching implications for economic and demographic behaviour. The book contains a wealth of data illustrating how the religious and secular realms of people’s lives are intimately intertwined. With its economic perspective, it offers new ways of thinking about these relationships and is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in the role of religion in education, work and the family.

There is a revival of interest by economists in ethical issues and beliefs, and by moral philosophers and theologians in economics. This book is intended to make a contribution to this cross-fertilisation of ideas. Rodney Wilson has undertaken an extensive survey of Jewish, Christian and Muslim views on economics, and reviewed the rapidly expanding business ethics literature from a religious perspective. The juxtaposition of the work of theologians and moral philosophers with that of economists results in some interesting comparisons.

The new interdisciplinary field of Christianity and economics deals with the important and difficult questions that cluster at the boundary of these disciplines, drawing on contemporary theory and empirical findings in both fields, with roots in older discourses. This landmark volume surveys the field and advances the discussion. It deploys historical, economic, and theological analysis to search for answers.

Robert Nelson’s Reaching for Heaven on Earth, Economics as Religion, and The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion Versus Environmental Religion in Contemporary America read almost like a trilogy, exploring and charting the boundaries of theology and economics from the Western foundations of ancient Greece through the traditions that Nelson identifies as “Protestant” and “Roman,” and on into modern economic forms such as Marxism and capitalism, as well as environmentalism. Nelson argues that economics can be a genuine form of religion and that it should inform our understanding of the religious developments of our times. This edition of Economics as Religion situates the influence of his work in the scholarly economic and theological conversations of today and reflects on the state of the economics profession and the potential implications for theology, economics, and other social sciences.

This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.

Explore a rigorous but accessible guide to contemporary approaches to the study of religion from leading voices in the field The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion delivers an expert and insightful analysis of modern perspectives on the study of religion across the humanities and the social sciences. Presupposing no knowledge of the approaches examined in the collection, the book is ideal for undergraduate students who have yet to undertake extensive study in the humanities or social sciences. The book includes perspectives from those in fields as diverse as globalization, cognitive science, the study of emotion, law, esotericism, sex and gender, functionalism, terror, the comparative method, modernism, and postmodernism. Many of the topics covered in the book clearly hail from religious studies, while others are grounded in other areas of academia. All of the chapters contained within are written by recognized authors who show how their chosen discipline contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon of religion. This book also includes topics like: A comprehensive exploration of multiple approaches to religious study, including anthropology, economics, literature, phenomenology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology A review of various topics germane to the study of religion, including the study of the body, cognitive science, the comparative method, death and the afterlife, law, magic, music, and myth A selection of subjects touching on modern trends in extremism and violence, including chapters on terror and violence, fundamentalism, and nationalism A discussion of the influence of modernism and postmodernism in religion Ideal for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students in humanities and social science programs taking courses on religion and myth, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion will also earn a place in the libraries of specialists working in the fields of Religious Studies, Theology, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Political Science, History, and Philosophy.