The Marketplace of Christianity

摘要

If a sign that a subfield in economics has come of age is having its own JEL code, then the Economics of Religion has arrived (JEL code Z12). It even has its own professional organization-the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture (ASREC). The economics of religion is concerned with two fundamental issues: How do economic and demographic variables influence religious dogma, practice, and behaviors? How do religious variables influence economic and demographic behavior? A wide range of topics have been, and are being, addressed in the literature motivated by these two questions. In The Marketplace of Christianity, Robert Ekelund Jr., Robert Hebert, and Robert Tollison (hereafter EHT) make an important contribution to this new, and rapidly growing field.