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Religion, Culture, and Politics

Author

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  • Jared Rubin

    (Chapman University)

Abstract

This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding the interaction of religion, ideology, and politics. The framework’s key insights are: i) culture and ideology provide a shared mental framework for interpreting the world; ii) ideology is malleable, and it can be used to justify a wide set of empirical realities in a manner that is consistent with the prevailing mental framework; iii) religion is particularly adept at shaping this mental framework because it attempts to explain the unknown; iv) because co-religionists share a mental framework that depends on a (religious) interpretation of events, religions are particularly likely to be co-opted by individuals who gain a comparative advantage in religious interpretation; v) religious authorities are useful for legitimating political rule because of their comparative advantage in interpreting events as well as their platforms for creating common knowledge. The chapter concludes with several historical examples from various religions of the political and economic consequences of religious legitimation of political rule.

Suggested Citation

  • Jared Rubin, 2025. "Religion, Culture, and Politics," Working Papers 25-02, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:chu:wpaper:25-02
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    File URL: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/esi_working_papers/416/
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    religion; culture; ideology; politics; political legitimacy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • P50 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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