The comparative endurance and efficiency of religion: a public choice perspective
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The comparative endurance and efficiency of religion: a public choice perspective Anthony Gill1 Received: 17 May 2020 / Accepted: 8 August 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract All of the major religious confessions existing today have outlasted every single secular ruling regime known in human history. That observation poses an interesting puzzle for social scientists interested in institutional durability. If religions can be seen as governance institutions that organize and coordinate people’s lives, why have they outlasted secular states? Despite claims regarding the inevitability of secularization, religious institutions refuse to fade from the social landscape and in many places are thriving and expanding. I argue that the durability of religious institutions relative to secular governing regimes is related to the unique ability of religions to avoid the public choice “paradox of government” as laid out by James Buchanan. More precisely, religious institutions are more resilient because they effectively provide vital public goods, involve “citizens” in the process of governance at the local level, and provide a credible neutral arbitrator for violations of the governing covenant. A further argument is made for the efficiency of religious institutions relative to states based on the smaller deadweight losses associated with participatory governance. Finally, state-sponsored confessions expose themselves to the paradox of government and become less effective in pursuing their missions. Keywords Religion · Paradox of government · Governance · Buchanan JEL Classification Z10 · Z12 · P16 · D71
1 Introduction Religion often has been the neglected bastard child of the social sciences. Secularization theory’s intellectual stranglehold over the scholarly community has downplayed serious consideration of religious communities and organizations as examples of institutional designs that create order within society. Yet, any honest assessment of the history of the world should lead scholars to an intriguing observation regarding religion: Despite frequently lacking physical coercive power, and often relying on voluntary contributions for their survival, numerous faith traditions have outlasted every single secular governing * Anthony Gill [email protected] 1
Political Science, University of Washington, Box 353530, Seattle, WA 98195‑3530, USA
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regime known to humankind. Consider that the Roman Catholic Church holds the world record for the most enduring formal hierarchy, dating back at least 1700 years,1 significantly longer than the most enduring Chinese or Egyptian dynasties. Orthodox Christianity can claim a similar heritage.2 If we relax the requirement of possessing a formally specified and hierarchical system of ruling authority, religions have existed as social movements for even longer, including Hinduism (c. 4000 years), Judaism (c. 3700 years), and Buddhism (c. 2500 years). Islam, a relative newcomer, clocks in at nearly 14
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