Theory of religious economy

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Religious economy refers to religious persons and organizations interacting within a market framework of competing groups and ideologies. [1] An economy makes it possible for religious suppliers to meet the demands of different religious consumers. [2] By offering an array of religions and religious products, a competitive religious economy stimulates such activity in a market-type setting. [2]

Contents

The field applies rational choice theory to the theory of religion such that supply and demand are used to model the development and success of organized religions. [1] Major proponents of the theory include William Sims Bainbridge, Roger Finke, Laurence Iannaccone, and Rodney Stark.

Major debates

The idea of religious economy frames religion as a product and as those who practice or identify with any particular religion as a consumer. But when the idea of belief is brought into the equation, this definition expands, and ideology affects the "product" and who "consumes" it. When examining depictions of religious identity in a global world, it is easy to see how ideology affects religious economy.

Carl L. Bankston III refers to religions and religious groups as "…competing firms [that vie for] customers who make rational choices among available products…" (311). Using a liberal economic (see Economic liberalism) framework for analysis, Bankston is claiming that religions and religious groups’ popularity is dependent on the laws of supply and demand. As a marketplace, religious consumers are subject to things such as marketing, availability of product, resources, brand recognition, etc. But unlike some actual commodity such as a computer, these commodities speak to an individual's beliefs. Bankston poses the idea that belief deals with ideology and extends beyond what one would typically define as a market good by stating "…belief is produced and resides in communicated thoughts, (and) the consumers of goods of faith can only become consumers by becoming producers, by participating in interactions of belief…" (322).

Secularization and religious economy

Prior to the emergence of the theory of religious economy some scholars of religion, such as Steve Bruce, [3] believed that modernization would lead inevitably to the erosion of religiosity. These sociologists have predicted the disappearance of religion from Earth, based on the decline in religious belief and observance in Western Europe. [4] According to the theory of religious economy, societies that restrict supply of religion, either through an imposed state religious monopoly or through state-sponsored secularization, are the main causes of drops in religiosity. Correspondingly, the more religions a society has, the more likely the population is to be religious. [1] This is refuted in the orthodox view by stating that if a liberal religious community is tolerant of a wide array of belief, then they are less likely to hold certain beliefs in common, so nothing can be shared and reified in a community context. If nothing is shared, then nothing is shunned, and there is thus a loss in observance of modern liberal traditions. [3]

Revival

According to Rodney Stark, revival is another aspect of religious change which coincides with secularization. Over time established religious groups will spawn smaller and less worldly subgroups of the faith. This trend of revival provides a plausible explanation why religion never seems to fade away and to why previously prominent religious organizations have dissipated. Revival produces a shift in which religious groups a population will follow and proves effective against the demise of religion. [1]

Cults

Unlike a sect which follows traditions from its parent religion, a cult presents completely new religious traditions. Cult is simply another word for a new religion and all current religions at one point could have been considered cult movements. The negative connotations on the word cult have led to hostility between these movements and their social environments. Rodney Stark defines the two reactions from secularization being revival and cult formation. As old faiths eventually weaken the rise of different religious sects and cults will prevail. [1]

Strict regulations to enforce strong ties

Strict churches are prevalent in the US and around the world and they are characterized by strong ties within the group with few weak ties branching outside to other groups. Strict churches arise from strict doctrines and can be in many forms such as large churches, sects, or cults but are not limited to these. Churches are most often known for their “cosmopolitan networks, while sects tend to consist of intense local networks,” [5] while this may be true for “unstrict” doctrines this is not always the case for strict doctrines. Strong doctrines can arise from certain sects as various religions have done such as Orthodox Judaism, Islam, certain denominations of Christianity, or can include rather smaller cults or small sects. What all strong doctrines employ though, are formal controls to discourage free riding within the group and to keep the church strong and together. [6] These controls can vary from church to church but all serve the same purpose of keeping group solidarity.

As commonly seen strict churches employ various means of keeping their ties in their church strong while limiting excessive access to other groups such as dress code, eating habits, and rituals that prevent mixing with other groups. The implication of these, “strict demands ‘strengthen’ a church in three ways; they raise overall levels of commitment, they increase average rates of participation, and they enhance the net benefits of membership.” [7] Complying with these demands prevent the members of a church from free loading within the group and promote group solidarity. The strict rules that govern and regulate a church actually help and promote the strength of the ties within the group. Those who don't comply with these strictures are screened out leaving only those who do comply and comply earnestly.” [7] These strict doctrines and regulations serve to keep the church strong and together while screening out members that may actually harm the church unintentionally by being free loaders within the group.

Church-sect theory

Originally proposed by H. Richard Niebuhr in his book The Social Sources of Denominationalism, the theory discusses the difference between churches and sects. Niebuhr proposed that there is a cycle which sects and churches follow. Religions originate as sects designed to serve the needs of the deprived. If they flourish, they increasingly serve the interests of the middle and upper classes and are transformed into churches. Once the sects have become churches they become less effective in satisfying the needs of the lower class and the formation of a sect is re-created. [1]

In 1963 Benton Johnson revised the church-sect theory into its current state. [1] Church and sect form opposite poles on an axis representing the amount of "tension" between religious organizations and their social environments. Tension, as defined by Benton Johnson, is "a manifestation of deviance." [1] The tension is described to be between the group's members and the outside world. Churches are described as religious bodies having low tension, whereas, sects have high tension. [1]

Ideology

Some social scientists have become increasingly uncomfortable with what they see as the intermingling of social scientific analysis and free-market ideology in rational choice theory. [8] Some have likewise raised critical questions about the ideological use of neo-classical economic metaphors in rational choice theorizing about religion [9]

Development

The theory of religious economy arises from the application of fundamental principles of economics to the analysis of religious organizations. Just as commercial economies consist of a market in which different firms compete, religious economies consist of a market (the aggregate demand for religion) and firms (different religious organizations) seeking to attract and hold clients. [1] The theory of religious economy was developed to explain why and how religions change. [1]

Market situation

According to the theory, religious pluralism gives the population a wide variety of choices in religion and leads to a religious economy in which different religious organizations compete for followers, much the way businesses compete for consumers in a commercial economy. The Theory of Religious Economy takes into account a wide spectrum of issues (e.g., the differences between competitive religious markets and religious monopolies), making this theory one of the most significant developments in the social scientific study of religion during the past thirty years. [4] The theory focuses attention on religious suppliers and whether religious firms have the ability to increase the demand for religion. [4]

In a free market, or pluralistic religious market, many religious organizations exist and seek to appeal to certain segments of the market. Organizations in a free market cannot rely on the state for resources so they must compete for participation of the religious consumer. Contest among religious firms results in the specialization of products so that consumers are able to distinguish different organization from others(Chesnut). Pluralistic religions operate on a personal scale, marketing more to individual demands as opposed to public. As the majority of the consumer market, organizations market more to women than men. Pluralism is only possible through lack of favoritism by the state.(Chesnut) A competitive and pluralistic religious economy has a positive effect on levels of participation. [10]

A microeconomic theory of the household production function and time allocation is associated with the work of Chicago economist Gary Becker. [11] An influential approach dating from the 1970s adapts that theory to explain religious participation and a resulting formation of norms. It postulates stable preferences and rational choice constrained by limited human and social capital to explain behavior. [12]

As in economics, the market situation can be described with concepts about monopoly, prohibition, and pluralism. Monopolies in religion are only made possible through state enforcement and often function on a public scale. When the government establishes a set religion and all other competition is drowned out then "believers are culturally connected but not necessarily spiritually" (Andrew Chesnut) to the religion enforced by the state. Since participation in a religious monopoly is not as important because the church does not have to rely on members for resources they are not forced to provide adequate or marketable "religious products" (Chesnut), due to lack of competition. The ability of a religious organization to monopolize a religious economy is entirely dependent on the extent to which the state governs the religious economy. A monopolized religious economy tends to have lower levels of participation. [10]

Some states may categorically ban religious observances, and attempt to sanction those who persist in displaying religious conviction. Disestablishmentarianism results from state withdrawal from an organization that was originally established under the state.

Religious markets are similar to other markets in that they are social creations. The exchanges that take place in a religious market are regulated by social factors. Elements of social interactions such as norms and morals influence the individual choices and preferences of the religious consumer. Therefore, elements of social interactions influence the types of religious goods offered to consumers in the marketplace and the changes in consumer demands over a span of time. [10]

According to W. Robertson Smith, "The fear of the gods was a motive to enforce the laws of society which were also the laws of morality". [13] People are taught that those who believe will gain rewards or avoid punishment in the afterlife, and non-believers will miss out on the rewards or receive punishment.

The religious economy model sparked a lively debate among sociologists of religion on whether market models fit religious practices and on the extents to which this model of religious behavior is specific to the United States. [14]

Related Research Articles

Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Protestant Christianity to Roman Catholicism or from Sunnī Islam to Shīʿa Islam. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sect</span> Subgroup of a particular religious or ideological doctrine

A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles. Sects are usually created due to perception of heresy by the subgroup and/or the larger group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of religion</span> Branch of sociology

Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods and of qualitative approaches.

This aims to be a complete article list of economics topics:

In sociology, secularization is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." Most versions of secularization do not lead to atheism, irreligion, nor are they automatically anti-thetical to religion. Secularization has different connotations such as implying differentiation of secular from religious domains, the marginalization of religion in those domains, or it may also entail the transformation of religion as a result of its recharacterization.

Cult is a term, considered pejorative by some, for a relatively small group which is typically led by a charismatic and self-appointed leader, who excessively controls its members, requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices which are considered deviant. This term is also used for a new religious movement or other social group which is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This sense of the term is weakly defined – having divergent definitions both in popular culture and academia – and has also been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massimo Introvigne</span> Italian sociologist of religion

Massimo Introvigne is an Italian Roman Catholic sociologist of religion and intellectual property attorney. He is a founder and the managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), a Turin-based organization which has been described as "the highest profile lobbying and information group for controversial religions".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of sociology articles</span>

This is an index of sociology articles. For a shorter list, see List of basic sociology topics.

Bryan Ronald Wilson, was Reader Emeritus in Sociology at the University of Oxford and President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (1971–75). He became a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1963.

The anti-cult movement consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of cults, uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices.

In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals. According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes account of the behavior of others and is thereby oriented in its course."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sims Bainbridge</span> American sociologist (born 1940)

William Sims Bainbridge is an American sociologist who currently resides in Virginia. He is co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the National Science Foundation (NSF). He is the first Senior Fellow to be appointed by the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Bainbridge is most well known for his work on the sociology of religion. Recently he has published work studying the sociology of video gaming.

In sociology of religion, religious capital is the investment an individual makes into their religious faith. The investment is the time and physical work involved with the religious faith, as well as the personal investment in ideology, doctrine, and practice. Rodney Stark has defined it as "(the) degree of mastery of and attachment to a particular religious culture", and has used this theory to explain conversion experiences in a number of his books, notably The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success and The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force. Within the realm of conversion, religious capital theory predicts that individuals will attempt to conserve their religious capital. Large doctrinal or behavioral changes lose more religious capital than small ones, thus an Episcopalian is more likely to become Catholic than Seventh-day Adventist or Lutheran. More recent work is inclined to define the concept in terms of Bourdieu's conception of 'capital' in relation to a particular (religious) field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociological classifications of religious movements</span> Classifications of religious movements

Various sociological classifications of religious movements have been proposed by scholars. In the sociology of religion, the most widely used classification is the church-sect typology. The typology is differently construed by different sociologists, and various distinctive features have been proposed to characterise churches and sects. On most accounts, the following features are deemed relevant:

Rodney William Stark was an American sociologist of religion who was a longtime professor of sociology and of comparative religion at the University of Washington. At the time of his death he was the Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, co-director of the university's Institute for Studies of Religion, and founding editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theories about religion</span> Theories of religion in the social sciences

Sociological and anthropological theories about religion generally attempt to explain the origin and function of religion. These theories define what they present as universal characteristics of religious belief and practice.

A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly entities. Among systems that have been characterized as secular religions are Liberalism, Libertarianism, Anarchism, Communism, Juche, Nazism, Fascism, Jacobinism, Nationalism, Civil Religion, Religion of Humanity, the Cult of Reason and Cult of the Supreme Being that developed after the French Revolution. Generally, these are all movements or political parties whose ideologies and political views achieve a para-religious cult. Israeli hisotrian Jacob Leib Talmon defined this phenomenon as "political messianism".

<i>The Road to Total Freedom</i> Book by Roy Wallis

The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology is a non-fiction book about Scientology by sociologist Roy Wallis. Originally published in 1976 by Heinemann, it was republished in 1977 by Columbia University Press. The original manuscript was the product of Wallis's doctoral research at Oxford under the tutelage of Bryan Wilson. Wallis, after a review of the original manuscript by Scientology leaders, made edits to about 100 passages before publication.

Fenggang Yang is professor of sociology and founding director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University. He was elected and served as the president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in 2014–15, the first Chinese American, nonwhite president since the founding of the association in 1949. He is also the founding president of the East Asian Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in 2018–2020. He has been listed in the Marquis' Who's Who in America since 2002. Fenggang Yang is openly Christian and has spoken critically and frequently in international media about China's lack of religious freedom. His theories based on the social scientific methods have been criticized as biased in favor of Christianity by many other scholars of Chinese religion who are in religious studies, anthropology or sinology. He is known for his theory of a triple "religious market" in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desecularization</span> Proliferation or growth of religion

In sociology, desecularization is the proliferation or growth of religion, usually after a period of prior secularization. The theory of desecularization is reactionary to the older theory known as the Secularization Thesis, which posited a gradual decline of religion to a point of extinction. In the last few decades, scholars have pointed to continued church attendance in Western countries, the rise in religious fundamentalism, and the prevalence of religious conflict as evidence of the continued relevance of religion in the modern world. A former proponent of the earlier secularization thesis, Peter L. Berger, has now expressed his support for the newer theory, stating that the world today "is as furiously religious as it ever was". The skeptic Michael Shermer wrote: "At the beginning of the twentieth century social scientists predicted that belief in God would decrease by the end of the century because of the secularization of society. In fact… the opposite has occurred… Never in history have so many, and such a high percentage of the population believed in God. Not only is God not dead, as Nietzsche proclaimed, but he has never been more alive."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Stark, Rodney (2007). Sociology (10th ed.). Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN   978-0-495-09344-2.
  2. 1 2 Wortham, Robert A. Religious Choices and Preferences: North Carolina's Baskin Robbins Effect? 2004. 27 Sep. 2007.
  3. 1 2 Bruce, Steve (1999). Choice and Religion: A Critique of Rational Choice. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-829584-6.
  4. 1 2 3 Young, Lawrence A. (1997). Rational Choice Theory and Religion. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-91192-4.
  5. ↑ Rodney Stark, 2007. Sociology. Tenth Edition. Thomas Wadsworth. ISBN   0-495-09344-0./
  6. ↑ Hechter, Michael. Principles of Group Solidarity. University of California Press. ISBN   0-520-06462-3
  7. 1 2 Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1994. "Why Strict Churches Are Strong," American Journal of Sociology, 99(5), pp. 1180-1211.
  8. ↑ Taylor, Michael. Rationality and the Ideology of Disconnection. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  9. ↑ McKinnon, AM. (2013). 'Ideology and the Market Metaphor in Rational Choice Theory of Religion: A Rhetorical Critique of “Religious Economies”'. Critical Sociology, vol 39, no. 4
  10. 1 2 3 Young, Lawrence A. (1997). Rational Choice Theory and Religion. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-91192-4.
  11. ↑ • Gary S. Becker, 1965. “A Theory of the Allocation of Time,” Economic Journal 75 (299), p. 493-517.
       • _____, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I." Journal of Political Economy, 81(4), pp. 813-846.
  12. ↑ • Corry Azzi and Ronald Ehrenberg, 1975. "Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance," Journal of Political Economy, 83(1), pp. 27-56.
       • Ronald G. Ehrenberg, 1977. "Household Allocation of Time and Religiosity: Replication and Extension," Journal of Political Economy, 85(2), pp. 415-423.
       • Gary S. Becker, 1996. Accounting for Tastes, Harvard. ch. 11. sect. 3, "'Churches' and the Formation of Norms," pp. 227-30.
       • Lawrence A. Young, ed., 1997. Rational Choice Theory and Religion: Summary and Assessment, Routledge. Description and chapter-preview links.
       • Rodney Stark, 2006. "Economics of Religion," in The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, Ch. 3, pp. 47-67.
  13. ↑ Robertson Smith, W.: Religion of the Semites; with a new introduction by Robert A. Segal., New Brunswick, N.J. : Transaction Publishers, c2002.
  14. ↑ Dromi, Shai M.; Stabler, Samuel D. (18 February 2019). "Good on paper: sociological critique, pragmatism, and secularization theory". Theory and Society. 48 (2): 325–350. doi:10.1007/s11186-019-09341-9. S2CID   255014542.
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