An Economic Perspective on Religious Education: Complements and Substitutes in a Human Capital Portfolio This paper models the tradeoffs between education in secular subjects, formal and informal, and the formation of religion-specific human capital. It explores some implications of negative externalities between religious and secular education. Applications include the tension between science ...

After long neglect, the subject of religion has received growing attention in the economics profession over the past two decades. One of the reasons is that it has proven diffi cult to explain the levels of economic development of many nations around the world without reference to a national culture, and many of these cultures have been signifi cantly infl uenced by religion. Contrary to a wide...

In ‘secular’ Western societies, religious topics permeate media texts of books, films, series and games and such texts even inform several religious-spiritual movements. Critically expanding on theories about ‘fiction-based religion’, ‘invented religion’ or ‘hyper-real religion’, this article studies if, how and why players of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of...

Although religious concerns are generally not clients' primary presenting problems in secular therapists' practices, religious beliefs and values can have a strong influence on clients' behavior and clinical progress. For this reason, knowledge about religion and its impact can be useful in intervention work. Three case studies illustrate how sociology of religion can be a substantive resource ...

Contemporary philosophy of religion is often focused, at a theoretical level, on the epistemic value of religious doctrines, and at a practical level, on the possible impact of organized religion on secular society and politics. However, the cultic dimension of religion, such as prayer, religious service, ascetic practices, and other rituals, is considered as completely “irrational” and incompr...

A mutation is often thought of in negative terms, that is, as a damaged or altered gene that can no longer fulfil its purpose as intended. However if we reverse our view and consider the whole as the vehicle that is incapable of fulfilling its purpose then the mutation becomes a new possibility. For the purposes of this paper, religion in its traditional sense will be considered as the „faulty ...

The editorial in question repeatedly suggests that morals are derived from religious principles. This is a common misconception. Indeed, amoral and unethical behavior is often supported by religion; historical and contemporary examples are support for slavery and oppression of women and homosexuals. Moreover, numerous secular, nonreligious individuals and organizations (such as Doctors Without ...

Bioethics traffics in matters moral. As such, bioethics frequently bumps up against religion, offering an ideal arena to examine how the sacred and the secular encounter each other in modern medicine. In this essay I consider two places where bioethics and religion intersect: 1) the response of bioethics to the universal problem of suffering, and 2) the professional proselytizing or "missionizi...