The power of religion

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Standard

The power of religion. / Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding; Gokmen, Gunes .

I: Journal of Economic Growth, Bind 28, 2023, s. 45-78.

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

Harvard

Bentzen, JS & Gokmen, G 2023, 'The power of religion', Journal of Economic Growth, bind 28, s. 45-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-022-09214-4

APA

Bentzen, J. S., & Gokmen, G. (2023). The power of religion. Journal of Economic Growth, 28, 45-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-022-09214-4

Vancouver

Bentzen JS, Gokmen G. The power of religion. Journal of Economic Growth. 2023;28:45-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-022-09214-4

Author

Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding ; Gokmen, Gunes . / The power of religion. I: Journal of Economic Growth. 2023 ; Bind 28. s. 45-78.

Bibtex

@article{b2a57beaa258451c8c3c0b066f0cf454,
title = "The power of religion",
abstract = "This paper studies to what extent religion has been used to legitimize political powerthroughout the world and how this matters for current institutions. Historically, some rulers have used religion to legitimize their power, while others relied on more democratic means. This tendency, termed divine legitimization, incentivized rulers to embed religion into institutions. We illustrate within a simple framework that the use of religion to legitimize power and the consequent institutionalization of religion may help explain why religion and religious institutions have persisted despite modernization. To test empirically, we combine data on pre-modern religious beliefs across 1265 ethnographic societies, various geographic data, and current data on the prevalence of religious laws in 176 countries. We provide evidence in support of divine legitimization and the resulting institutionalization of religion. For identification, we exploit exogenous variation in the incentives to employreligion for power purposes. We further document that countries that relied on divine legitimization are more autocratic today and their populace more religious. These results contribute to our understanding of the persistence of religious as well as autocratic institutions.",
keywords = "Faculty of Social Sciences, Religion, Institutionalization of religion, Autocracy, Religious laws, Religious legitimization, Stratification, High Gods, Religiosity",
author = "Bentzen, {Jeanet Sinding} and Gunes Gokmen",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1007/s10887-022-09214-4",
language = "English",
volume = "28",
pages = "45--78",
journal = "Journal of Economic Growth",
issn = "1381-4338",
publisher = "Springer",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The power of religion

AU - Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding

AU - Gokmen, Gunes

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - This paper studies to what extent religion has been used to legitimize political powerthroughout the world and how this matters for current institutions. Historically, some rulers have used religion to legitimize their power, while others relied on more democratic means. This tendency, termed divine legitimization, incentivized rulers to embed religion into institutions. We illustrate within a simple framework that the use of religion to legitimize power and the consequent institutionalization of religion may help explain why religion and religious institutions have persisted despite modernization. To test empirically, we combine data on pre-modern religious beliefs across 1265 ethnographic societies, various geographic data, and current data on the prevalence of religious laws in 176 countries. We provide evidence in support of divine legitimization and the resulting institutionalization of religion. For identification, we exploit exogenous variation in the incentives to employreligion for power purposes. We further document that countries that relied on divine legitimization are more autocratic today and their populace more religious. These results contribute to our understanding of the persistence of religious as well as autocratic institutions.

AB - This paper studies to what extent religion has been used to legitimize political powerthroughout the world and how this matters for current institutions. Historically, some rulers have used religion to legitimize their power, while others relied on more democratic means. This tendency, termed divine legitimization, incentivized rulers to embed religion into institutions. We illustrate within a simple framework that the use of religion to legitimize power and the consequent institutionalization of religion may help explain why religion and religious institutions have persisted despite modernization. To test empirically, we combine data on pre-modern religious beliefs across 1265 ethnographic societies, various geographic data, and current data on the prevalence of religious laws in 176 countries. We provide evidence in support of divine legitimization and the resulting institutionalization of religion. For identification, we exploit exogenous variation in the incentives to employreligion for power purposes. We further document that countries that relied on divine legitimization are more autocratic today and their populace more religious. These results contribute to our understanding of the persistence of religious as well as autocratic institutions.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Religion

KW - Institutionalization of religion

KW - Autocracy

KW - Religious laws

KW - Religious legitimization

KW - Stratification

KW - High Gods

KW - Religiosity

U2 - 10.1007/s10887-022-09214-4

DO - 10.1007/s10887-022-09214-4

M3 - Journal article

VL - 28

SP - 45

EP - 78

JO - Journal of Economic Growth

JF - Journal of Economic Growth

SN - 1381-4338

ER -

ID: 317959000