Abstract
Why are historical Catholic countries and regions generally more corrupt and less competitive than historical Protestant territories? How has the institutionalisation of religion influenced the prosperity of countries in Europe and the Americas? This research addresses these critical questions by elucidating the hegemonic and emancipatory religious factors leading to the prosperity differences between countries in Europe and the Americas. This research studied the differences in the institutionalisation of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism by applying quantitative and qualitative methods and conducting a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in 65 countries. In contrast to common views in economics and sociology on how religion impacts prosperity via its cultural influence, my research demonstrates that, instead, the core variable to prosperity influence is the institutional influence of religion. This finding shifts how the relationship between religion and development should be viewed. My study clearly demonstrated that combining three longue durée factors (religion–politics–environment) could account for most imbalanced institutional and socio-economic performance in Europe and the Americas. My mixed-methods interdisciplinary study demonstrates — for the first time —the effect of the mutually reinforcing configuration of multiple prosperity triggers. For example, historical Protestantism largely influenced prosperity by influencing education, secularising institutions, and stabilising democracy. Protestantism has also proven highly influential in the successive historical law revolutions that gradually mitigated the power of pervasive feudal institutions and papalist medieval canon law. In contrast, traditionally Roman Catholic countries have generally upheld a medieval model of extractivist institutions until anti-clerical movements were able to weaken this influence in some countries.
Presenters
Jason Garcia PortillaLecturer, Department of Responsible Management and Leadership, Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies, University of Winchester, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
RELIGION, CORRUPTION, PROSPERITY, ROMAN CATHOLICISM, PROTESTANT REFORMATION, CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS, COMPETITIVENESS
