Religion Economy And Cooperation

This volume addresses the issue of religion and economy in the evolution of human cooperation. Both religious practices and economic behaviour create and sustain intra-group cooperation by providing people with common goals and values. Even if individuals are selfish maximizers of utility, in the end everybody benefits from being part of a cooperative community, the market.

The rules of the market are the invisible hand which turns selfishness into cooperation. In the same way, God beliefs constrain individual selfishness and ensure cooperation within the group. Review: The volume...offers a good balance among the ingredients of theory, research, and history, which is very important when the subject is as broad as religion and economy.

Its applicability spans various fields, so there are chapters of interest to anyone from cognitive psychologists to philosophers and from sociologists to scholars of religion. In total, the volume encourages a more integrated and interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion. The overall impression of the volume is one of all-embracing creative scholarship.

Panagiotis Mitkidis, Numen 59, pgs. 413-415