Religion, Economics, & Culture

The Mercatus Center and the Center for the Economic Study of Religion, CESR, sponsored the second annual conference on Religion Economics and Culture to establish economic methodology as a recognized and respected approach to the study of religion and spirituality. Ten multi-paper sessions presented research on topics such as the rise of Pentecostalism in the former Soviet Union and Latin America; the origins of religious liberty in Britain and the U.S; the impact of religion on education in rural India; and a study of factors that make religious kibbutzim more stable than secular ones. Noted economist Deirdre McCloskey gave a keynote address on "The Bourgeois Virtues." In her talk, Professor McCloskey equated the virtue of "prudence" with the economic notion of utility maximization.