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Religious Freedom and the Unintended Consequences of State Religion

Author

Listed:
  • Charles M. North

    () (Department of Economics, Baylor University, P.O. Box 98003, Waco, TX 76798-8003, USA)

  • Carl R. Gwin

    () (Department of Economics, Baylor University, P.O. Box 98003, Waco, TX 76798-8003, USA)

Abstract

We use a cross-section of 59 countries to examine the impact of state religion and of constitutional protection of religion on the degree of religiosity within a country. Our measure of religiosity is the percentage of the population who attend religious services at least once a week. We find that both establishment of a state religion and constitutional protection of religion have significant (and opposing) effects. The existence of a state religion reduces attendance by 14.6–16.7% of the total population, whereas each decade of constitutional protection increases attendance by approximately 1.2% of the population. We also find that other measures of religious regulation have significant negative effects on attendance. Ironically, the motive behind establishment of a particular state religion usually is to strengthen that religion, but the effects are ultimately to undermine the vitality of the established religion.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles M. North & Carl R. Gwin, 2004. "Religious Freedom and the Unintended Consequences of State Religion," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 71(1), pages 103-117, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sej:ancoec:v:71:1:y:2004:p:103-117
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sriya Iyer, 2016. "The New Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(2), pages 395-441, June.
    2. Berggren, Niclas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2011. "Is the importance of religion in daily life related to social trust? Cross-country and cross-state comparisons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 459-480.
    3. Pena López, J.A. & Sanchez Santos, J.M., 2005. "Mercados de creencias versus hipótesis de la secularización: aspectos positivos y normativos/Markets of beliefs vs. scularization hupothecis: positive and normative aspects," Estudios de Economía Aplicada, Estudios de Economía Aplicada, vol. 23, pages 837-861, Diciembre.
    4. Oliveira, Livio Luiz Soares de & Neto, Giácomo Balbinotto, 2013. "A teoria do mercado religioso : evidências empíricas da literatura
      [The theory of religious market : empirical evidence from the literature]      ," MPRA Paper 51716, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • K10 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - General (Constitutional Law)

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