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Legal centralization and the birth of the secular state

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  • Johnson, Noel D.
  • Koyama, Mark

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the historical process of legal central- ization and increased religious toleration by the state. We develop a model based on the mathematics of mixture distributions which delineates the conditions under which legal centralization raises the costs faced by states of setting a narrow standard of orthodox belief. We compare the results of the model with historical evidence drawn from two important cases in which religious diversity and state centralization collided in France: the Albigensian crusades of the thirteenth century and the rise of Protestant belief in the sixteenth century.

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  • Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2013. "Legal centralization and the birth of the secular state," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 959-978.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:41:y:2013:i:4:p:959-978
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2013.08.001
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Why were the Cathars killed but the Huguenots not?
      by Chris Colvin in NEP-HIS blog on 2012-09-23 20:52:46
    2. Why were the Cathars killed but the Huguenots not?
      by Chris Colvin in NEP-HIS blog on 2012-09-23 20:52:46

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    2. 6, Perri & Heims, Eva, 2024. "The Board of Trade and the regulatory state in the long 19th century, 1815–1914," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122982, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Coşgel, Metin & Histen, Matthew & Miceli, Thomas J. & Yıldırım, Sadullah, 2018. "State and religion over time," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 20-34.
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    5. Masera, Federico, 2021. "State, religiosity and church participation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 269-287.
    6. Naghavi, Alireza & Pignataro, Giuseppe, 2015. "Theocracy and resilience against economic sanctions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1-12.
    7. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2017. "States and economic growth: Capacity and constraints," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-20.
    8. Ko, Chiu Yu & Koyama, Mark & Sng, Tuan-Hwee, 2014. "Unified China; Divided Europe," MPRA Paper 60418, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Nick Cowen, 2018. "Robust Against Whom?," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Austrian Economics: The Next Generation, volume 23, pages 91-111, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Johnson, Noel, 2015. "Taxes, National Identity, and Nation Building: Evidence from France," MPRA Paper 63598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Anderson, R. Warren & Johnson, Noel D & Koyama, Mark, 2013. "From the Persecuting to the Protective State? Jewish Expulsions and Weather Shocks from 1100 to 1800," MPRA Paper 44228, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Coşgel, Metin M. & Langlois, Richard N. & Miceli, Thomas J., 2020. "Identity, religion, and the state: The origin of theocracy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 608-622.
    13. Koyama, Mark & Xue, Melanie Meng, 2015. "The Literary Inquisition: The Persecution of Intellectuals and Human Capital Accumulation in China," MPRA Paper 62103, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Øivind Schøyen, 2021. "What limits the efficacy of coercion?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 15(2), pages 267-318, May.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    State capacity; Religion; Secularization; Heresy; Legal capacity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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