I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world.
....Albert Einstein
Americans claim to
be a religious lot. Collectively, we plunk down billions of dollars and
over a billion hours -- all voluntarily -- in support of worship and
faith-related activities every year. That's major stuff.
Religion is not bought and sold like potato chips, but there are
parallels. Religion is marketed in firms called churches, or maybe synagogues
or mosques. Some prosper; others die. Why? Consumers make choices about which
brands of religion to consume and how much religion to consume. Some of us
choose to "believe," and others not. Why? Some of us choose to be Catholic,
others Baptist, other Muslim. Why?
Is it the hand of God? Is it economics?
II-E. Religion
1. That Old-Time Religion
2. Risk and Religion
3. Sacrifice and Stigma
Material from these readings have been published in part in "Economics of Religion,"
by Robert J. Stonebraker in Economics Uncut: A Complete Guide to Life,
Death, and Misadventure, edited by Simon Bowmaker, Edward Elgar Publishing,
2005.
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