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The Political Economy of Religious Revival

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2015

Karrie J. Koesel
Karrie J. Koesel*
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Karrie J. Koesel, University of Oregon, Department of Political Science, 1284 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 974103-1284. E-mail: koesel@uoregon.edu.
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Abstract

This article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the religious economy approach by applying it to the religious revival across contemporary Russia and China. This comparison shows that the religious economy framework is beneficial in explaining some aspects of the communist and post-communist religious change, including macroeconomic market trends and why some faiths thrive while others fail. However, it has less explanatory power in explaining religious-state relations under market constraints — that is, how religious groups interact with state regulators to survive and grow; the range of options available to religious actors and their payoffs; and the political consequence of this interaction. This article draws on fieldwork in both countries to illustrate the benefits of grounding the religious economy approach more deeply in politics. The political economy of the marketplace reveals how and why religious groups engage the state to survive, and that they are becoming influential political and economic actors.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 211 - 235
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2015 

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