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Cited by 416Religion and Society InteractionsCulture, Economy, and Development StudiesReligious Freedom and Discrimination

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 61 of the 62 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Religion and Political Economy in an International Panel

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McCLEARY, RACHEL M., BARRO, ROBERT J.·2006·Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2006.00299.x
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Abstract

Two important theories of religiosity are the secularization hypothesis and the religion‐market model. According to the former, sometimes called a demand‐side theory, economic development reduces religious participation and beliefs. According to the latter, described as a supply‐side theory, religiosity depends on the presence of a state religion, regulation of the religion market, suppression of organized religion under Communism, and the degree of religious pluralism. We assess the theories by using survey information for 68 countries over the last 20 years, measuring attendance at formal religious services, religious beliefs, and self‐identification as religious. In accordance with the secularization view, overall economic development—represented by per capita GDP—tends to reduce religiosity. Moreover, instrumental estimates suggest that this link reflects causation from economic development to religiosity, rather than the reverse. The presence of an official state religion tends to increase religiosity, probably because of the subsidies that flow to organized religion. However, in accordance with the religion‐market model, religiosity falls with government regulation of the religion market and Communist suppression. Greater religious pluralism raises attendance at formal services but has no significant effects on religious beliefs or self‐identification as religious. Although religiosity declines overall with economic development, the nature of the interaction varies with the dimension of development. For example, religiosity is positively related to education and the presence of children and negatively related to urbanization.

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  1. Barrett D. B., 2001, World Christian encyclopedia
  2. Finke R., 1992, The churching of America 1776–1990
  3. Fox J.andS.Sandler.2003.Separation of religion and state in the 21st century: Comparing the Middle East and western democracies. Presented at the International Studies Association Conference Portland OR February.
  4. Hagen E. E., 1962, On the theory of social changes: How economic growth begins
  5. Heston A., 2002, Penn world tables version 6.1
  6. 10.1177/000312240006500103 · DOI · Paper page
  7. Pantham T., 1997, Review of Politics, 528

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Metadata

Authors
McCLEARY, R. M., & BARRO, R. J.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
  • McCLEARY, RACHEL M.
  • BARRO, ROBERT J.
ORCID
Venue
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2006-05-18
Volume
45
Issue
2
Pages
149-175
ISSN
  • 0021-8294 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-5906
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-5906.2006.00299.x
OpenAlex
W2022571798
Cited by
416
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 10
FWCI
74.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • John Templeton Foundation
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
  • Social Sciences › Development › Culture, Economy, and Development Studies
  • Social Sciences › Law › Religious Freedom and Discrimination
Keywords
religiosity, economic development, state religion, religious pluralism, religious service attendance, religious beliefs, religious identification, GDP per capita, urbanization

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