The Wealth of Religions: The Political Economy of Believing and Belonging
(eBook)

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    [year] => 2019
    [artist] => Robert J. Barro
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    [titleId] => 14632931
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    [language] => ENGLISH
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    [title] => The Wealth of Religions
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    [pages] => 216
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                    [name] => Robert J. Barro
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                    [name] => Rachel M. McCleary
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            [0] => Business & Economics
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            [2] => Political Economy
            [3] => Political Science
            [4] => Religion
            [5] => Religion, Politics & State
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    [synopsis] => "Co-Winner of the Gold Medal in Economics, Axiom Business Book Awards" Rachel M. McCleary is lecturer in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Her books include The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion. Robert J. Barro is the Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics at Harvard. His books include Education Matters: Global Schooling Gains from the 19th to the 21st Century and Economic Growth. They both live in Massachusetts. 
	How religious beliefs and practices can influence the wealth of nations

Which countries grow faster economically-those with strong beliefs in heaven and hell or those with weak beliefs in them? Does religious participation matter? Why do some countries experience secularization while others are religiously vibrant? In The Wealth of Religions, Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro draw on their long record of pioneering research to examine these and many other aspects of the economics of religion. Places with firm beliefs in heaven and hell measured relative to the time spent in religious activities tend to be more productive and experience faster growth. Going further, there are two directions of causation: religiosity influences economic performance and economic development affects religiosity. Dimensions of economic development-such as urbanization, education, health, and fertility-matter too, interacting differently with religiosity. State regulation and subsidization of religion also play a role.

The Wealth of Religions addresses the effects of religious beliefs on character traits such as work ethic, thrift, and honesty; the Protestant Reformation and its long-term effects on education and religious competition; Communism's suppression of and competition with religion; the effects of Islamic laws and regulations on the functioning of markets and, hence, on the long-term development of Muslim countries; why some countries have state religions; analogies between religious groups and terrorist organizations; the violent origins of the Dalai Lama's brand of Tibetan Buddhism; and the use by the Catholic Church of saint-making as a way to compete against the rise of Protestant Evangelicals.

Timely and incisive, The Wealth of Religions provides fresh insights into the vital interplay between religion, markets, and economic development. "The Wealth of Religions glitters with empirical findings . . . . a product of meticulous research."---Jonathan Benthall, Times Literary Supplement "McCleary and Barro take an interdisciplinary approach, combining economics, sociology, anthropology, history, geography, theology, and philosophy; their observations are backed by large inputs of data . . . . The Wealth of Religions suggests that there are many more insights to be gained by incorporating religion into the forces of economics."---Peter Day, Church Times "A very stimulating book."---Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper "It might seem incongruous, but applying the principles of economics to the realm of religious faith and observance leads to some fascinating insights. Reviving questions first raised by Max Weber and others over a century ago, Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro ask if there is, after all, a Protestant ethic related to the spirit of capitalism. What have been the economic consequences of the spread of Islam? Is secularization an irresistible consequence of rising incomes? The answers presented here to these and other questions would have delighted the late David Landes, whose Wealth and Poverty of Nations did so much to revive scholarly interest in the economic history of religion."-Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford, and author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower "The interplay between religion and economics involves various mechanisms, some of which operate at cross-purposes. In this enlightening and entertaining book, Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro provide a sweeping survey of the most penetrating s
    [url] => https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/14632931
    [pa] => 
    [subtitle] => The Political Economy of Believing and Belonging
    [publisher] => Princeton University Press
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