Course Catalog

The purpose of this course is to apply principles of economics involving, for example, resource allocation and competition in an effort to increase our understanding of religious behavior. The content is driven by economic theory, but we will see it informed by the important contributions of sociology, psychology, and political science (among other disciplines). The majority of the course employs standard rational economic theory that has been prominent in the modern study of economic behavior. Some of our work will relax this assumption to reflect the contribution of behavioral economics which has recently gathered attention within the discipline. The course will employ both theoretical and empirical analyses. Consequently, the class will develop or extend economic concepts in a step-by-step fashion in order to lead students to predictions of various aspects of religious behavior enabling them to test these predictions with data. Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102.