Idealogian

Hellfire and Capitalism

Fear of Hell Might Fire Up the Economy

In a paper last year, economists Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary provided evidence that church attendance and economic growth are negatively related, but a belief in hell - their measure of religious beliefs - was positively related to increased economic growth. According to Barro and McCleary, increased church attendance could lower growth because of more resources flowing to the religious sector. However, the net effect would be uncertain because increased church attendance may also increase religious beliefs, which, as Weber believed, raises economic growth by spurring individual behavior and actions that are thought to encourage productivity. Interestingly, Barro and McCleary also found that economic performance was largely unrelated to the dominant religious theology of the nation.

As the editor's note above the piece explains, this article has been twice emended. However, the previous version (and even now the title and the cute little graphic of the devil spewing fire at the feet of workers) implied a somewhat direct cause-and-effect relationship between belief in hell and economic growth, with corruption as the "middle man" - belief in hell means lower corruption which means greater economic growth. There are actually a number of ways to interpret the correlation:

• Most directly - a fear of hell, and a desire to avoid it, moves people to be more honest; if hell is anything like this, that seems like a wise choice
• A fear of hell is likely accompanied by a general belief in divine reward and punishment, and a desire to avoid the latter moves people to be more honest
• A fear of hell is most likely accompanied by a belief in God, and the presumably associated belief that God wants one to be honest moves people to do so
• A fear of hell is indicative of a more religious personality, and that is usually (hopefully) accompanied by a stronger moral compass; the belief that morality dictates that one be honest moves people to do so

Should we choose to be not just economists and sociologists but theologians as well, we may propose an alternative connection between belief in hell and economic growth, cutting out the "middle man" of corruption. Those who believe in hell and are thus more honest and generally pious are rewarded by God for their piety with increased prosperity.

And of course it could all go the other way. Perhaps in countries where there is greater economic growth, individuals feel less of a personal need to resort to corruption, and their contentment with their lot in life fosters a strengthened belief in religion (and, by association, hell). The first half is actually an interesting question: are countries poor because they're corrupt or are they corrupt because they're poor (or both , creating a vicious cycle )? The second half, I think, is less likely. If anything, contentment probably leads to a weakening of religious intensity, as we are warned in this week's parshah:

Beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command thee this day; lest when thou hast eaten and art satisfied, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage ... and thou say in thy heart: "My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth."

- Deuteronomy 8:11-14,17

Thanks for the link, Ted!