Religious Freedom and Economic Prosperity

The basic notion that an individual’s freedom to choose will advance society at large is a cornerstone of political philosophy and of the economic theory of the Western world. Early political philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and legendary economists such as Adam Smith have advocated a utilitarian approach to political and economic life, in which the advancement of one’s own interests also helps others. Freedom is multidimensional: economic, political, and social aspects are related to one another, but do not exhibit perfect correspondence. For example, there are countries—such as China and Singapore—in which economic freedom has been advanced ahead of political freedom. This article contributes to the literature by measuring and discussing the impact of religious freedom—a basic civil right that includes freedom to worship, freedom from religious persecution, freedom of religious press, freedom of religious expression, and freedom of religious organization and affiliation. International businesses should be concerned about religious freedom because it affects the general business environment, political relationships among countries, and consumer sentiment of companies doing business in countries that supress religious freedom. Recently, the Chinese National Petroleum company, working with Goldman Sachs, had to downsize its plan to raise money with American investors by about $7 billion because of