Hardback
Economics and Religion
Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
Critical Acclaim
‘Oslington provides an excellent introductory overview of the field that also discusses other relevant but excluded research. . . this is a valuable collection of papers that demonstrates that both studies of religious behaviour and the impact of religion have long preoccupied economists and, since the 1970s, are increasingly entering the mainstream with a fertile research agenda. . . these volumes provide a useful resource and it may not be too long before a third volume is required to keep pace with the explosion of research in the field.’
– Ian Smith, Economic Record
‘Economics and Religion is a pioneering work aimed at collecting important contributions to the analysis of the interaction between religion, Christianity, and economics.’
– Francis Woehrling, Faith & Economics
‘. . . both Paul Oslington and Edward Elgar Publishing are to be congratulated for producing such an excellent contribution to intellectual history, the history of economic thought, theology and religious studies. The relationships between economics and religion are highly relevant to serious students of the history of economic thought.’
– James E. Alvey, History of Economics Review
‘Paul Oslington has made a valuable contribution to both the secular and religious fields. His volumes bring together a range of recent academic thinking about the relations between religion and economics as it has occurred in the past and exists currently. The selection is judicious and timely, encompassing particular viewpoints with pertinent criticisms of them, a hallmark of appropriate academic practice. The two volumes are likely to become a standard reference work for the field.’
– Clive Beed, Economic Record
‘. . . a rich selection of work at the intersection of economics and religion. Paul Oslington, the editor, and Edward Elgar, the publisher, have done a real service in bringing this work together in one place.’
– Andrew M. Yuengert, Journal of Markets and Morality
‘At some time or other, most thoughtful Christians will have wondered about the relationship between economics and theology. . . The collection of readings obtained in Paul Oslington’s Economics and Religion admirably covers many issues at the interface. . . The selection of material, some of which has been difficult to obtain, has drawn deserved praise from eminent scholars in Australia, the UK and the US.’
– Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education
‘Anyone teaching a course on economics and Christian belief or wanting to have something to hand to which to point inquisitive students (and hopefully colleagues) may well want to recommend this collection to their librarian. . . A collection such as this is long overdue. . . Paul Oslington has gone out of his way to pull in some excellent but little read material. These volumes provide an excellent starting point for the academic or student setting out to understand the nature of the discourse between economics and theology. There was much in here with which I was not familiar and so it has been a welcome discovery.’
– Andrew Henley, Association of Christian Economists Journal
‘Ever since Adam Smith, religion and economics have been interwoven. This unique collection takes the reader from Smith right up to the present day and provides a fascinating survey for experts and non-experts alike. Highly recommended.’
– Kim Hawtrey, Macquarie University, Australia
‘Economists and calculators are beginning – just beginning – to acknowledge the transcendent. Economics and Religion is a landmark on a spiritual journey. The long road from St Thomas through the Blessed A. Smith, so long diverted by the anti-Christ Jeremy Bentham, is taken up again in these volumes. They should be owned by every serious library, whether a library of God or of Mammon. It will not perhaps surprise people that economists have something to say about the economics of religion, since economists believe they have something to say about everything; what is surprising is that religion has something to say about economics.’
– Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, US
‘Paul Oslington has done a magnificent job in tracking down the papers and extracts from books reprinted in Economics and Religion. No longer will those who work in the field have to chase difficult-to-locate journals or books that are out of print. More than that, the selection indicates that this is an extremely lively and eclectic area of study, not deserving the benign neglect shown by most mainstream economists. The readings on “Historical Relationships” highlight the divorce between economic analysis and theology that occurred very early in the development of the discipline, and which now seems impossible to bridge. A second selection of readings reflects the critique of economic analysis from a theological perspective that has been developed mainly in the last 25 years. And a third set of readings picks up on the economic analysis of religion that has come mainly from the Chicago School in recent years. The selections indicated Oslington’s mastery of the field: it would not be possible to find a better guide.’
– Donald Hay, Oxford University, UK
‘Paul Oslington has done a simply marvellous job in pulling together the various bits of writing on the relation between economics and religion. The collection might surprise quite a few, who might have expected this area to be a trifle thin. In fact, the range and quality of these pieces should impress and delight everyone – including all such sceptics. Ranging across the history of thought, “economic theology”, ethics, methodology, and the application of economics to the study of religious behaviour, these are indeed rich pickings. It is a fascinating collection, taken from a surprisingly rich vein. Well done, Paul Oslington! And well done, Edward Elgar!’
– Geoffrey Brennan, Australian National University, Australia
‘Paul Oslington has gathered together a wide-ranging selection of important articles on the too often neglected links between economics and religion. This is an important service both to the profession and to all those concerned with the philosophical and moral foundations of economics and the economy. The volumes deserve to be widely read.’
– G.C. Harcourt, University of New South Wales, Australia
– Ian Smith, Economic Record
‘Economics and Religion is a pioneering work aimed at collecting important contributions to the analysis of the interaction between religion, Christianity, and economics.’
– Francis Woehrling, Faith & Economics
‘. . . both Paul Oslington and Edward Elgar Publishing are to be congratulated for producing such an excellent contribution to intellectual history, the history of economic thought, theology and religious studies. The relationships between economics and religion are highly relevant to serious students of the history of economic thought.’
– James E. Alvey, History of Economics Review
‘Paul Oslington has made a valuable contribution to both the secular and religious fields. His volumes bring together a range of recent academic thinking about the relations between religion and economics as it has occurred in the past and exists currently. The selection is judicious and timely, encompassing particular viewpoints with pertinent criticisms of them, a hallmark of appropriate academic practice. The two volumes are likely to become a standard reference work for the field.’
– Clive Beed, Economic Record
‘. . . a rich selection of work at the intersection of economics and religion. Paul Oslington, the editor, and Edward Elgar, the publisher, have done a real service in bringing this work together in one place.’
– Andrew M. Yuengert, Journal of Markets and Morality
‘At some time or other, most thoughtful Christians will have wondered about the relationship between economics and theology. . . The collection of readings obtained in Paul Oslington’s Economics and Religion admirably covers many issues at the interface. . . The selection of material, some of which has been difficult to obtain, has drawn deserved praise from eminent scholars in Australia, the UK and the US.’
– Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education
‘Anyone teaching a course on economics and Christian belief or wanting to have something to hand to which to point inquisitive students (and hopefully colleagues) may well want to recommend this collection to their librarian. . . A collection such as this is long overdue. . . Paul Oslington has gone out of his way to pull in some excellent but little read material. These volumes provide an excellent starting point for the academic or student setting out to understand the nature of the discourse between economics and theology. There was much in here with which I was not familiar and so it has been a welcome discovery.’
– Andrew Henley, Association of Christian Economists Journal
‘Ever since Adam Smith, religion and economics have been interwoven. This unique collection takes the reader from Smith right up to the present day and provides a fascinating survey for experts and non-experts alike. Highly recommended.’
– Kim Hawtrey, Macquarie University, Australia
‘Economists and calculators are beginning – just beginning – to acknowledge the transcendent. Economics and Religion is a landmark on a spiritual journey. The long road from St Thomas through the Blessed A. Smith, so long diverted by the anti-Christ Jeremy Bentham, is taken up again in these volumes. They should be owned by every serious library, whether a library of God or of Mammon. It will not perhaps surprise people that economists have something to say about the economics of religion, since economists believe they have something to say about everything; what is surprising is that religion has something to say about economics.’
– Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, US
‘Paul Oslington has done a magnificent job in tracking down the papers and extracts from books reprinted in Economics and Religion. No longer will those who work in the field have to chase difficult-to-locate journals or books that are out of print. More than that, the selection indicates that this is an extremely lively and eclectic area of study, not deserving the benign neglect shown by most mainstream economists. The readings on “Historical Relationships” highlight the divorce between economic analysis and theology that occurred very early in the development of the discipline, and which now seems impossible to bridge. A second selection of readings reflects the critique of economic analysis from a theological perspective that has been developed mainly in the last 25 years. And a third set of readings picks up on the economic analysis of religion that has come mainly from the Chicago School in recent years. The selections indicated Oslington’s mastery of the field: it would not be possible to find a better guide.’
– Donald Hay, Oxford University, UK
‘Paul Oslington has done a simply marvellous job in pulling together the various bits of writing on the relation between economics and religion. The collection might surprise quite a few, who might have expected this area to be a trifle thin. In fact, the range and quality of these pieces should impress and delight everyone – including all such sceptics. Ranging across the history of thought, “economic theology”, ethics, methodology, and the application of economics to the study of religious behaviour, these are indeed rich pickings. It is a fascinating collection, taken from a surprisingly rich vein. Well done, Paul Oslington! And well done, Edward Elgar!’
– Geoffrey Brennan, Australian National University, Australia
‘Paul Oslington has gathered together a wide-ranging selection of important articles on the too often neglected links between economics and religion. This is an important service both to the profession and to all those concerned with the philosophical and moral foundations of economics and the economy. The volumes deserve to be widely read.’
– G.C. Harcourt, University of New South Wales, Australia
Contributors
41 articles, dating from 1939 to 2002
Contributors include: A.B. Cramp, D. Hay, L.R. Iannaccone, R.H. Nelson, M. Novak, J.D. Richardson, J.P. Tiemstra, D. Vickers, J. Viner, A.M.C. Waterman
Contributors include: A.B. Cramp, D. Hay, L.R. Iannaccone, R.H. Nelson, M. Novak, J.D. Richardson, J.P. Tiemstra, D. Vickers, J. Viner, A.M.C. Waterman
Contents
Contents:
Volume I
Acknowledgements
Introduction Paul Oslington
PART I HISTORICAL RELATIONSHIPS
1. Barry Gordon (1994), ‘Theological Positions and Economic Perspectives in Ancient Literature’
2. Bruce J. Malina (1997), ‘Embedded Economics: The Irrelevance of Christian Fictive Domestic Economy’
3. Jacob Viner (1978), ‘Religious Thought and Economic Society: Four Chapters of an Unfinished Work’
4. Jacob Viner (1972), ‘The Invisible Hand and Economic Man’
5. John Milbank (1990), ‘Political Economy as Theodicy and Agnostics’
6. Emma Rothschild (1994), ‘Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand’
7. Lisa Hill (2001), ‘The Hidden Theology of Adam Smith’
8. A.M.C. Waterman (2002), ‘Economics as Theology: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations’
9. Gary M. Anderson (1988), ‘Mr. Smith and the Preachers: The Economics of Religion in the Wealth of Nations’
10. Charles G. Leathers and J. Patrick Raines (1992), ‘Adam Smith on Competitive Religious Markets’
11. J.M. Pullen (1981), ‘Malthus’ Theological Ideas and their Influence on his Principle of Population’
12. Boyd Hilton (1985), ‘Chalmers as Political Economist’
13. A.M.C. Waterman (2001), ‘The Beginning of “Boundaries”: The Sudden Separation of Economics from Christian Theology’
14. Edward Norman (1987), ‘Introduction’ and ‘The Contribution’
15. Rodger Charles S.J. (1998), ‘A Summary of Christian Social Teaching’
16. Bradley W. Bateman and Ethan B. Kapstein (1999), ‘Between God and the Market: The Religious Roots of the American Economic Association’
17. Robert H. Nelson (1993), ‘The Theological Meaning of Economics’
Name Index
Volume II
Acknowledgements
An introduction by the editor to both volumes appears in Volume I
PART I RELIGIOUS ECONOMICS AND ITS CRITICS
A Christianity
1. Kenneth E. Boulding ([1950] 1968), ‘Religious Perspectives in Economics’
2. D.L. Munby (1956), ‘Christians and Economic Problems’
3. Frank H. Knight (1939), ‘Ethics and Economic Reform: III. Christianity’
4. A.B. Cramp (1982), ‘Preface’ and ‘Naturalism: The World-view of Modern Economics’
5. Douglas Vickers (1991), ‘Theology and the Last of the Economists’
6. Donald A. Hay (1989), ‘Christianity and Economics: Biblical Foundations’, ‘Christianity and Economics: Theological Ethics’ and ‘Postscript’
7. Kim Hawtrey (1986), ‘Evangelicals and Economics’
8. Clive Beed and Cara Beed (1996), ‘A Christian Perspective on Economics’
9. Michael Novak (1982), ‘A Theology of Democratic Capitalism’
10. John P. Tiemstra (1994), ‘What Should Christian Economists Do? Doing Economics, But Differently’
11. Paul Heyne (1994), ‘Passing Judgments’
12. J. David Richardson (1994), ‘What Should (Christian) Economists Do?...Economics!’ [Originally published as ‘Frontiers in Economics and Christian Scholarship’]
B Islam
13. Timur Kuran (1995), ‘Islamic Economics and the Islamic Subeconomy’
C Judaism
14. Jacob Neusner (1990), ‘The Economics of Judaism’
PART II ECONOMICS OF RELIGION
15. Corry Azzi and Ronald Ehrenberg (1975), ‘Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance’
16. Ronald G. Ehrenberg (1977), ‘Household Allocation of Time and Religiosity: Replication and Extension’
17. Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., Robert F. Hébert and Robert D. Tollison (1989), ‘An Economic Model of the Medieval Church: Usury as a Form of Rent Seeking’
18. Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., Robert F. Hébert and Robert D. Tollison (1992), ‘The Economics of Sin and Redemption: Purgatory as a Market-Pull Innovation?’
19. Laurence R. Iannaccone (1992), ‘Sacrifice and Stigma: Reducing Free-riding in Cults, Communes, and Other Collectives’
20. James D. Montgomery (1996), ‘Contemplations on the Economic Approach to Religious Behavior’
21. Steve Bruce (1993), ‘Religion and Rational Choice: A Critique of Economic Explanations of Religious Behavior’
22. Steven J. Brams (1980), ‘Introduction’
23. Avinash Dixit and Gene Grossman (1984), ‘Directly Unproductive Prophet-Seeking Activities’
24. Jagdish Bhagwati and T.N. Srinivasan (1991), ‘Religion as DUP Activity’
Name Index
Volume I
Acknowledgements
Introduction Paul Oslington
PART I HISTORICAL RELATIONSHIPS
1. Barry Gordon (1994), ‘Theological Positions and Economic Perspectives in Ancient Literature’
2. Bruce J. Malina (1997), ‘Embedded Economics: The Irrelevance of Christian Fictive Domestic Economy’
3. Jacob Viner (1978), ‘Religious Thought and Economic Society: Four Chapters of an Unfinished Work’
4. Jacob Viner (1972), ‘The Invisible Hand and Economic Man’
5. John Milbank (1990), ‘Political Economy as Theodicy and Agnostics’
6. Emma Rothschild (1994), ‘Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand’
7. Lisa Hill (2001), ‘The Hidden Theology of Adam Smith’
8. A.M.C. Waterman (2002), ‘Economics as Theology: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations’
9. Gary M. Anderson (1988), ‘Mr. Smith and the Preachers: The Economics of Religion in the Wealth of Nations’
10. Charles G. Leathers and J. Patrick Raines (1992), ‘Adam Smith on Competitive Religious Markets’
11. J.M. Pullen (1981), ‘Malthus’ Theological Ideas and their Influence on his Principle of Population’
12. Boyd Hilton (1985), ‘Chalmers as Political Economist’
13. A.M.C. Waterman (2001), ‘The Beginning of “Boundaries”: The Sudden Separation of Economics from Christian Theology’
14. Edward Norman (1987), ‘Introduction’ and ‘The Contribution’
15. Rodger Charles S.J. (1998), ‘A Summary of Christian Social Teaching’
16. Bradley W. Bateman and Ethan B. Kapstein (1999), ‘Between God and the Market: The Religious Roots of the American Economic Association’
17. Robert H. Nelson (1993), ‘The Theological Meaning of Economics’
Name Index
Volume II
Acknowledgements
An introduction by the editor to both volumes appears in Volume I
PART I RELIGIOUS ECONOMICS AND ITS CRITICS
A Christianity
1. Kenneth E. Boulding ([1950] 1968), ‘Religious Perspectives in Economics’
2. D.L. Munby (1956), ‘Christians and Economic Problems’
3. Frank H. Knight (1939), ‘Ethics and Economic Reform: III. Christianity’
4. A.B. Cramp (1982), ‘Preface’ and ‘Naturalism: The World-view of Modern Economics’
5. Douglas Vickers (1991), ‘Theology and the Last of the Economists’
6. Donald A. Hay (1989), ‘Christianity and Economics: Biblical Foundations’, ‘Christianity and Economics: Theological Ethics’ and ‘Postscript’
7. Kim Hawtrey (1986), ‘Evangelicals and Economics’
8. Clive Beed and Cara Beed (1996), ‘A Christian Perspective on Economics’
9. Michael Novak (1982), ‘A Theology of Democratic Capitalism’
10. John P. Tiemstra (1994), ‘What Should Christian Economists Do? Doing Economics, But Differently’
11. Paul Heyne (1994), ‘Passing Judgments’
12. J. David Richardson (1994), ‘What Should (Christian) Economists Do?...Economics!’ [Originally published as ‘Frontiers in Economics and Christian Scholarship’]
B Islam
13. Timur Kuran (1995), ‘Islamic Economics and the Islamic Subeconomy’
C Judaism
14. Jacob Neusner (1990), ‘The Economics of Judaism’
PART II ECONOMICS OF RELIGION
15. Corry Azzi and Ronald Ehrenberg (1975), ‘Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance’
16. Ronald G. Ehrenberg (1977), ‘Household Allocation of Time and Religiosity: Replication and Extension’
17. Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., Robert F. Hébert and Robert D. Tollison (1989), ‘An Economic Model of the Medieval Church: Usury as a Form of Rent Seeking’
18. Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., Robert F. Hébert and Robert D. Tollison (1992), ‘The Economics of Sin and Redemption: Purgatory as a Market-Pull Innovation?’
19. Laurence R. Iannaccone (1992), ‘Sacrifice and Stigma: Reducing Free-riding in Cults, Communes, and Other Collectives’
20. James D. Montgomery (1996), ‘Contemplations on the Economic Approach to Religious Behavior’
21. Steve Bruce (1993), ‘Religion and Rational Choice: A Critique of Economic Explanations of Religious Behavior’
22. Steven J. Brams (1980), ‘Introduction’
23. Avinash Dixit and Gene Grossman (1984), ‘Directly Unproductive Prophet-Seeking Activities’
24. Jagdish Bhagwati and T.N. Srinivasan (1991), ‘Religion as DUP Activity’
Name Index
