Email RIS file
Bookmark
Report an Issue

The divine economy : how religions compete for wealth, power, and people / Paul Seabright

Author
Seabright, Paul
Published
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2024]
Physical Description
1 online resource (xi, 485 pages) : illustrations
Access Online

Availability

I Want It
I Want It

Finding items...

Series
Contents
Part I. What does religion look like in the world today? -- Part II. How do religions gain their power? -- Part III. Religion and the uses of power -- Part IV. Conclusion.
Summary
Religion in the twenty-first century is alive and well across the world, despite its apparent decline in North America and parts of Europe. Vigorous competition between and within religious movements has led to their accumulating great power and wealth. Religions in many traditions have honed their competitive strategies over thousands of years. Today, they are big business; like businesses, they must recruit, raise funds, disburse budgets, manage facilities, organize transportation, motivate employees, and get their message out. In The Divine Economy, economist Paul Seabright argues that religious movements are a special kind of they are platforms, bringing together communities of members who seek many different things from one other spiritual fulfilment, friendship and marriage networks, even business opportunities. Their function as platforms, he contends, is what has allowed religions to consolidate and wield power. --
Subject(s)
Genre(s)
ISBN
9780691258782 (electronic book)
0691258783 (electronic book)
9780691133003 (hardcover)
069113300X (hardcover)
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Endowment Note
Paterno Libraries Endowment
View MARC record | catkey: 47068376