Research On Religion | 2014

Archive for April, 2014

Matt Boswell on What Pastors Don’t Want to Reveal

Tags: blogging, church attendance, clergy, congregants, discouragement, Eeyore, family, frogurt, insurance salesmen, jealousy, Lee Stoebel, ministry, personnel, pitty party, quitting, religious competition, transparency

Your pastor seems like an upbeat, fun-loving fellow who gets to celebrate the Word of God every week. Sounds like a great job. But are there issues that clergy struggle with on a regular basis that they might not want you to know about? Pastor Matt Boswell of Redemption Church in Duvall, WA opens up and talks about his viral blog post “Ten Things Pastors Don’t Want to Reveal.” We go down the list of ten and talk about how he manages these job-related challenges in this interesting discussion on how clergy might view the world.

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Charles North on Religion, Economic Development, and Rule of Law

Tags: canon law, Carl Gwin, corruption, Eastern Orthodox Church, economic development, economics, GDP, human capital, informal economy, Justinian codes. Gregory VII, literacy, Max Weber, monastaries, property rights, Protestant ethic, rule of law

Prof. Charles North discusses his research linking religion to the rule of law and economic development. We survey the literature on religion and economic growth, and then chat about North’s findings wherein Protestantism, Catholicism, and Hinduism were statistically linked to higher support for “rule of law” and lower levels of corruption. We discuss some of the potential causal reasons for this connection, which takes us back to medieval Europe and the rise of canon law.

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Samuel Wilson & Tony Gill on Religion and Euvoluntary Exchange

In a “simul-podcast” with the Euvoluntary Exchange blog, Samuel Wilson interviews Tony about whether, and to what extent, religion connects with the new economic concept of “euvoluntary exchange” (EE). Samuel describes what EE is and then our conversation ranges over a wide array of topics including whether children have a real choice in choosing their faith and

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Richard Hammar on Churches, Taxes, Donations, and Liability

Tags: church administration, clergy, estate planning, hayrides, legal issues, liability, molestation, parsonage, tax code, tax scams, taxation, trampolines, transference, undue influence

Just in time for the April 15th holiday, we take up the topic of administrative pitfalls for churches and clergy, including the complexity of taxation, charitable giving, and a variety of liability issues. Richard Hammar, a lawyer and accountant who specializes in church law and taxation, helps explain a number of these complex issues. A great podcast for clergy and members of congregations who might not know all the legal complexities facing religious organizations.

Please forgive the slight audio distortion occurring mostly when the guest begins a segment.

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