Two centuries after Adam Smith began modern economics, the “economics of religion” is applying his insights to religion. This book is an overview of this approach to social science and religious history. By using economics models, a wide variety of puzzles in religion are being solved in new ways. This is also a story of the thinkers and events that gave rise to the economic approach to religion in recent decades. Based on a few simple economic principles, this approach uses sociology, psychology, history, and theology to present a picture of human beings as “rational” actors who are judging c ... More

Two centuries after Adam Smith began modern economics, the “economics of religion” is applying his insights to religion. This book is an overview of this approach to social science and religious history. By using economics models, a wide variety of puzzles in religion are being solved in new ways. This is also a story of the thinkers and events that gave rise to the economic approach to religion in recent decades. Based on a few simple economic principles, this approach uses sociology, psychology, history, and theology to present a picture of human beings as “rational” actors who are judging costs and benefits in life. Every life faces limits, so human experience is a series of trade-offs, balancing resources to make choices for the best possible outcomes. This model for human behavior begins with individuals and then builds to groups and the larger marketplace, which can be described as a “religious economy” with the features of supply and demand, variety, competition, and innovation. To explain these principles, the book chapters unfold according to these levels: individuals, households, groups, movements, and finally the religious economies of nations and history. In the process, the book is both a primer on economic theory and a general introduction to religion. Other topics include religion and risk, the causes of secularization, and religion’s role in economic development. Throughout, the book uses colorful and interesting case studies and puts the development of ideas in the settings of the individuals who use them.