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From the Death of God to the Rise of Hitler

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  • Sascha O. Becker, Sascha O

    (Department of Economics, Monash University and University of Warwick, CAGE, CESifo, CEH@ANU, CReAM, CEPR, Ifo, IZA, ROA, RF Berlin, and SoDa Labs.)

  • Voth, Hans-Joachim

    (Department of Economics, University of Zurich, UBS Center for Economics in Society, CAGE and CEPR.)

Abstract

Can weakened religiosity lead to the rise of totalitarianism? The Nazi Party set itself up as a political religion, emphasizing redemption, sacrifice, rituals, and communal spirit. This had a major impact on its success: Where the Christian Church only had shallow roots, the Nazis received higher electoral support and saw more party entry. shallow Christianity reflects the geography of medieval Christianization and the strength of pagan practices, which we use as sources of exogenous variation. We also find predictive power at the individual level : Within each municipality, the likelihood of joining the Nazi Party was higher for those with less Christian first names.

Suggested Citation

  • Sascha O. Becker, Sascha O & Voth, Hans-Joachim, 2023. "From the Death of God to the Rise of Hitler," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1478, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:1478
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    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/workingpapers/2023/twerp_1478_-becker.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sascha O. Becker & Ludger Woessmann, 2009. "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 531-596.
    2. Davide Cantoni & Jeremiah Dittmar & Noam Yuchtman, 2018. "Religious Competition and Reallocation: the Political Economy of Secularization in the Protestant Reformation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(4), pages 2037-2096.
    3. David Clingingsmith & Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Michael Kremer, 2009. "Estimating the Impact of The Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam's Global Gathering," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(3), pages 1133-1170.
    4. Matthias Schonlau & Rosie Yuyan Zou, 2020. "The random forest algorithm for statistical learning," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 20(1), pages 3-29, March.
    5. Simon Heß, 2017. "Randomization inference with Stata: A guide and software," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 17(3), pages 630-651, September.
    6. Alessandro Lizzeri & Nicola Persico, 2004. "Why did the Elites Extend the Suffrage? Democracy and the Scope of Government, with an Application to Britain's "Age of Reform"," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(2), pages 707-765.
    7. Brighita Bercea & Robert B. Ekelund & Robert D. Tollison, 2005. "Cathedral Building as an Entry‐Deterring Device," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 453-465, November.
    8. Sebastian Doerr & Stefan Gissler & José‐Luis Peydró & Hans‐Joachim Voth, 2022. "Financial Crises and Political Radicalization: How Failing Banks Paved Hitler's Path to Power," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(6), pages 3339-3372, December.
    9. Jörg L. Spenkuch & Philipp Tillmann, 2018. "Elite Influence? Religion and the Electoral Success of the Nazis," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(1), pages 19-36, January.
    10. Shanker Satyanath & Nico Voigtländer & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2017. "Bowling for Fascism: Social Capital and the Rise of the Nazi Party," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(2), pages 478-526.
    11. Keisuke Kondo, 2016. "Hot and cold spot analysis using Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 16(3), pages 613-631, September.
    12. Nico Voigtländer & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2012. "Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1339-1392.
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    1. Lanzara, Gianandrea & Lazzaroni, Sara & Masella, Paolo & Squicciarini, Mara P., 2024. "Do bishops matter for politics? Evidence From Italy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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