Research On Religion » China

Kenneth Vaughan on Consociationalism, Religion, and Lebanon (and more)

tonygill — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 09:00:40 +0000

Can a country comprised of Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Druze, and Maronite Christians hold itself together politically and avoid conflict? Lebanon, a country with this confessional mixture, has had its problems with religious conflict in the past but has seemed to maintain a reasonably stable polity (relative to other countries in the region) via the institutional design of political consociationalism. Kenneth Vaughan, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Baylor University, explains how this balanced political arrangement is viewed by the different groups in society and what potential stresses it may be facing given important demographic shifts in the population. We begin with an overview of the religious landscape of Lebanon, with Mr. Vaughan noting that it is roughly a three-way split between Sunni, Shia, and Maronites, with Druze making up about 10% of the remainder. The exact breakdown is difficult to know as the Lebanese census prohibits questions on religious affiliation, which not surprisingly would be a highly contentious bit of data given that government offices are divided according to this breakdown.

The division of political positions across demographic (and in this case, religious) groups is known to political sociologists as “consociationalism,” a term coined by political scientist Arend Lijphart. Ken reviews some of the basic research conducted on consociationalism, including work demonstrating that it seems to be an effective form of governance in divided societies such as the Netherlands (namely in the work of Lijphart), but that it hasn’t worked as well in other societies, particularly in places such as India (as noted in the writings of Steven Wilkinson). Ken notes that consociationalism has the potential to create “essentializing identity groups” that become locked-in to the reward structure of the government. Given that Lebanon has been crafted as a consociational system since the National Pact of 1943 and reinforced in the Taif Agreement following a civil war in the mid-1970s, Mr. Vaughan set out to test how different groups view this institutional arrangement, particularly under the realization that demographic trends have been shifting over the past several decades with more Maronites leaving the country and Shiites tending to gain in relative proportion (based upon other research conducted). He finds that Shia Muslims tend to be more trusting of governmental institutions and believe Lebanon to be relatively democratic. Maronites, on the other hand, view Lebanese governing institutions as less trustworthy, democratic, and free. Sunni Muslims were located somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. Ken covers his research design using the Arab Barometer survey and the various factors that he controlled for as well, such as age, education, and income.

Following our discussion of Lebanon, we talk about Ken’s current research on religious tolerance and persecution in post-Soviet republics, a study that is in its initial stages. He notes that Muslim republics have tended to have lower levels of religious regulation than nations that are predominately Orthodox Christian, and also sees elements of nationalism being intertwined with religious politics. We close out with some of Ken’s other experiences with religion in other non-Western societies, most notably his time teaching English in China. He tells us about the struggles of various Christian worshipers and house churches, including a variety of illustrative stories about individuals such as the (recently deceased) Samuel Lamb. Ken ends our interview with some interesting reflections on how unique the religious landscape is in the United States relative to the rest of the world and why understanding religion in an international and comparative perspective is important. Recorded: February 19, 2018.

Acts of Faith, by Rodney Stark and Roger Finke (mentioned in podcast).

The Plot to Kill God, by Paul Froese (mentioned in podcast).

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Jason Klocek on Religious Conflict and Repression

tonygill — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 08:00:35 +0000

Why do political leaders repress religious groups and how might their actions be related to instances of religious conflict within society? Jason Klocek, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California – Berkeley, examines this relationship and reports on findings that he and his co-author, Peter Henne (University of Vermont), discovered in a forthcoming article in the Journal of Conflict Resolution. After talking about his wild experiences in Turkmenistan, Jason details the state of the scholarly literature when it comes to understanding the repression of religious organizations. He notes that much of the previous scholarship has argued that religious repression prompts religiously-motivated violence, but that a new set of scholars are also observing a reverse causality wherein religious unrest in a society motivates state leaders to crack down on religious groups, including ones not directly involved in any conflict. While acknowledging the endogeneity of such a relationship — wherein conflict motivates repression and vice versa — he and Prof. Henne find statistical evidence that the appearance of religious unrest in a society is often what provokes a variety of tighter restrictions on religious groups and activity. Using data from Jonathan Fox’s Religion & State Dataset, they test their hypotheses that pick up on some of the research done by William Cavanaugh. That latter scholarship emphasizes that state rulers often rely upon a “myth of religious violence” often dating back deep in history to justify crackdown on groups they see challenging their authority or ruling position. Jason provides a couple illustrative examples of where this has happened recently, including in Russia (with respect to unrest in Chechnya) and China (referencing the uprising of Uighurs in the western portion of the country). Tony notes a few other cases such as how Padre Hidalgo in Mexico and the Taiping Rebellion in China are often viewed as instances of religious mobilization that could cause worry to incumbent leaders. Jason then provides us a summary of his dissertation research wherein he attempts to understand why religious conflicts are so much more difficult to resolve than non-religious ones. Whereas past scholars (including Jason’s mentor and frequent RoR guest Prof. Ron Hassner) have emphasized the religious side of the conflict coin, Jason notes that secular rulers also form intransigent images of religious groups and leaders that cause problems when it comes to negotiating settlements. He illustrates this with the case of British counterinsurgency in Cyprus during the 1940s and ’50s and reveals some interesting empirical findings he discovered in dusty archives. We finish with Jason’s reflections on what he has learned over the course of his studies. Recorded: March 24, 2017.

Peter Henne’s bio at the University of Vermont, Department of Political Science (Prof. Henne is Jason’s co-author on the article discussed here).

The Myth of Religious Violence, by William Cavanaugh (mentioned in podcast).

Journal of Conflict Resolution (institutional access required).

Jonathan Fox’s Religion & State Dataset at The ARDA.

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Matthew Isaacs on Religion and Ethnic Rebellion.

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Is Religious Freedom Good for Growth? A Panel Discussion

tonygill — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 09:00:40 +0000

Can religious freedom promote economic growth in the long- and/or short-term? This was the general question posed to a number of scholars on November 15, 2016 at a symposium entitled “Religious Freedom and the Common Good” hosted by the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs (Georgetown University). Wow! That’s a mouthful! Brian Grim (Religious Freedom & Business Foundation) moderates a conversation with Ilan Alon (University of Agder), Timur Kuran (Duke University), Rachel McCleary (Harvard University and Hoover Institution), and your own lovable host Anthony Gill (University of Washington). The discussion that develops is broad-ranging, covering countries as far-flung as Guatemala and China, and eras from the Ottoman Empire to contemporary Russia. Anthony Gill asserts that religious liberty is good for long-term economic growth, citing an example from the Netherlands in the 17th century, but also cautions that efforts to impose religious freedom from the top-down can cause conflict in the short-run, and that a strong culture of tolerance is needed for religious freedom and economic freedom to work conjointly. Timur Kuran shares these views noting that many skilled entrepreneurs leave places such as Pakistan in the search for more spiritually free environments and this harms their growth potential (while benefiting those countries where migrants move t0). At various points throughout the conversation he uses examples from the Ottoman Empire and contemporary Turkey to show how laws on religious behavior and towards religious minorities can have important economic impacts. Rachel McCleary offers a competing view noting an important difference between “believing” and “belonging.” Whereas certain religious beliefs may be conducive to economic growth, she notes that religious institutions either have no or a negative effect on economic growth and reducing political corruption. She cites her extensive research in Guatemala to support this claim. Ilan Alon sees both positive and negative effects on economic growth created by religious freedom and brings his experience in China and Norway to bear on this topic. Brian Grim peppers the discussion with a number of his own observations how particular companies such as the Kellogg Corporation have promoted religious freedom at various points in time. It is also noted that the Quakers were great at making chocolate and founded Cadbury. Near the end of the panel discussion, Anthony Gill makes a controversial point that bourbon is better than scotch as the participants field a number of questions from audience members. Recorded: November 15, 2016.

RELATED LINKS

Video presentation of the panel at the Religious Freedom Project (Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs).

Religious Freedom and the Common Good Symposium webpage.

Coming soon: Religious Freedom Institute. (The same project, but now in institutional form!)

Brian Grim’s bio at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.

Ilan Alon’s bio at the University of Agder.

Timur Kuran’s bio at Duke University.

Rachel McCleary’s bio at the Hoover Institution.

Anthony Gill’s bio at the University of Washington.

Explanation of bourbon vs scotch and definitive proof of which one is better.

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Religious Liberty & Economic Prosperity: A Panel Discussion.

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Timur Kuran on Islamic Economics.

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Rodney Stark on The Triumph of Faith

tonygill — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 10:21:04 +0000

The decline of religion around the world may be greatly exaggerated. This is the assertion made by Dr. Rodney Stark — co-founder and director of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and frequent guest on our program. He backs his claim with extensive survey evidence from a number of polling organizations (namely the Gallup World Poll) and other bits of evidence from scholarly studies. We take a tour de force of religion around the world to see that faith is as strong as ever, even in the United States.

Surveys by Pew Forum and the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) have indicated religious practice is on the decline in the United States. Tony asks Rod whether he has seen a similar trend in his own research using the Baylor Religion Study. While there has been an increase in the number of individuals who claim “no religious affiliation” or the infamous “nones” discussed by Pew, Prof. Stark notes that this really affects religious affiliation and not necessarily belief. His own examination of “nones” indicates that a substantial number of them still believe in God, pray weekly, and occasionally attend worship services. He also notes that many individuals who proclaim no traditional religious affiliation believe in “non-conventional” forms of the supernatural such as various New Age ideas of spirituality or entities such as elves. Tony points out that even in Iceland where attendance at church services is near the lowest in the Christian world, there is still a strong belief in elves to the point where people will hire clerics to investigate whether such creatures are inhabiting land they plan to build upon. Our conversation at this point also covers some issues with survey methodology and Rod explains the reason he is relying upon the Gallup World Poll for much of his research data.

We then expand our exploration to the rest of the world outside of the US and Europe. Whereas Europe has not seen any significant increase in religious practice or belief recently (outside of Muslim immigrants), the rest of the globe is experiencing a major explosion in religious affiliation, practice, and belief. Rod lists a couple statistics to bolster this point, including 81% of the world population claiming to belong to some organized religious faith, 71% saying that religion is important in their lives, and 51% having participated in some organized form of worship in the past week. Atheism rates remains relatively stagnant with only three countries registering more than 20% of the population as non-believers. Attendance and affiliation remains most flaccid in Europe. This continent registers low among individuals who attend religious services largely because Christianity was never deeply embedded in a number of these countries to begin with (particularly in Northern Europe) and monopolized state churches have little incentive to recruit and serve members, according to Prof. Stark.

Moving from the least religiously active part of the world, we then travel to Africa where religious practice has been growing exponentially. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa where there was nary a Christian on the continent in the late 1800s, but a vast majority now proclaim Christianity and attendance rates are the highest in the world. Rod points out that this is not only due to missionary work by Europeans in the early 20th century who introduced the faith, but more importantly is the result of indigenous church growth — i.e., Africans developing and organizing their own Christian denominations. Catholicism also shows strong growth in the region, surprising even the Vatican itself with its strong indigenous roots. We talk briefly about Islam in Northern Africa, and how contact between Muslims and Christians has created unfortunate conflict in some parts of the continent.

Asia is our next region of focus. Having recently co-authored a book with Xiuhua Wang on Christianity in China (see below), Rod explains how this country poses a unique challenge to secularization theory. While China is modernizing rapidly, it is also Christianizing equally fast and despite attempts by the communist regime to suppress or control the growth. Interestingly, the growth in religious practice is coming amongst the most educated and prosperous in Chinese society. While the central regime in China is concerned about this religious growth, many local officials take a hands-off approach to the practice of house churches. Tony speculates that there may be many parallels between what is currently happening in China to what went on in the pre-Constantine Church in the first three centuries. Japan becomes the next topic of conversation. Here, religious practice remains rather low. Rod points out that even with high rates of unbelief, many people still rely upon Shinto priests to bless their autos, homes, and even military equipment (which Tony mentions from a previous podcast with Ron Hassner).

Our last two topics cover Latin America and Islam. In the former, religious practice has increased dramatically despite the notion that Latin Americans have always been (since colonization) firmly Catholic. Prof. Stark tips his hat to Tony’s own research on the region and how Protestant missionaries in the 20th century lit a competitive fire underneath the Catholic Church, which prompted this institution to better serve its parishioner base. We discuss how the Latin American Catholic Church, whereas it used to rely upon imported priests, now sees significant growth in native seminarians and Rod provides an interesting anecdote from his time in California about how competition from Pentecostals motivated a Catholic parish. We touch a bit on Islam noting that while religious practice has been relatively high in North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, this faith has become “more intensified” in recent decades. The display of religious symbols (e.g., hijab) has become more pronounced, and Rod discusses how Islam provides a great deal of internal religious competition that can give rise to this, particularly in an environment that is showing increased resentment of Western morals.

We finish off with some reflections on secularization theory and why this perspective is still so entrenched in the Academy. Prof. Stark shares some comments on political correctness and encourages more honest research amongst intellectuals. Recorded: December 30, 2015.

The Triumph of Faith: Why the World Is More Religious than Ever, by Rodney Stark.

America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists, by Rodney Stark.

The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion, by Rodney Stark.

America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone… Including Atheists, by Rodney Stark (available November 2012).

Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.

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Rodney Stark on How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists.

Rodney Stark on the Triumph of Christianity, Part I.

Rodney Stark on the Triumph of Christianity, Part II.

Rodney Stark on the Triumph of Christianity, Part III.

Rodney Stark on The Crusades.

Brian Grim on Religious Liberty & Business

tonygill — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 08:00:28 +0000

Is religious liberty good for business? Can business people be enticed into caring about the rights of conscience? Brian Grim, president and founder of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, explains why such matters should be of concern to entrepreneurs and how commercial leaders can be motivated to promote such a basic human right.

Our conversation starts out with penguins but quickly moves towards the rationale behind Brian’s new venture, his foundation promoting religious freedom via an outreach to business enterprises. Tony asks about where the idea came from and how Brian went about setting it up. He details some of the steps and lays out a couple of the initial ventures that his organization has been undertaking. We also explore Brian’s deep background, finding out how a kid who wanted to be an astronaut and was on the waiting list at the US Air Force Academy ends up traveling the world promoting religious freedom.

We then dive into the topic of religious liberty more generally and Brian lays out why this particular freedom is important to believers and businesses. As a demographer of religion, Brian speaks to the various trends and changes that have been taking place across the world’s spiritual landscape. He notes that it is not just that religion is expanding via conversion, but changes can also be traced to fertility demographics. The religions that are also growing tend to be faiths that “ask something of their members,” an observation that is congruent with last week’s podcast guest, Larry Iannaccone. Brian peppers his general observations with remarks about the Uyghurs and Buddhists in western China. We also spend some time discussing Brazil, a country that ranks as being more religiously free than the United States and that has seen a renaissance of religious activity in recent decades. Brian shares his discussions with the vice president of Brazil and makes a few observations that are consistent with Tony’s research from two decades ago.

The second half of our interview investigates the role that businesses can (and do) play in promoting religious freedom. Brian illustrates his argument that commercial enterprises are a vital link in the struggle for religious liberty with various stories, including what has been happening in Indonesia. In that country, which requires citizens to be a member of a religion, businesses have been instrumental in promoting interfaith dialogue and understanding, including initiatives that allow inter-faith companies get married. This prompts Tony to wonder why businesses in the US try to stay out of such potentially controversial subjects, noting that businesses that do wear their faith openly (e.g., Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A) have been under public scrutiny and derision in some quarters. Brian offers his thoughts on the topic noting how religious freedom has become highly politicized in the US where the “separation of church and state” has been asserted in many different venues — both public and private.

Brian offers more examples of how the blending of religious and the freedom to express one’s conscience has very positive effects for business. He uses Kellogg’s, Ford, and Abercrombie & Fitch as examples. He also discusses how he “sells” the idea of religious freedom to a variety of commercial interests around the globe. We finish with Brian’s thoughts about where this all is heading. Are there reasons to be optimistic about religious human rights in the near future? Brian comes down as an optimist. Recorded: September 23, 2014.

The Senim Foundation (also established by Brian Grim).

The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century, by Brian Grim and Roger Finke.

The World’s Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography, by Todd Johnson and Brian Grim.

Yearbook of International Religious Demography, by Brian Grim and others.

The World Religion Database, by Todd Johnson and Brian Grim.

Georgetown’s Religious Freedom Project.

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Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty, and US Diplomacy.

Timothy Shah on the Case for Religious Liberty.

Allen Hertzke on Religious Liberty.

Will Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, and the Arab Spring.

Russ Roberts & Anthony Gill on Religion and Religious Liberty.

Ani Sarkissian on Religious Liberty in the Post-Soviet World.

Jonathan Fox on Religion & State around the World.

Anthony Gill on the Political Origins of Religious Liberty.

Russ Roberts & Anthony Gill on Religion & Religious Liberty (A Simul-Podcast with EconTalk)

tonygill — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 13:00:34 +0000

Welcome new visitors. Please consider “liking” us at our Facebook Fan Page or subscribing to our Twitter feed.

In a very special “simul-podcast,” Prof. Russ Roberts, host of the weekly podcast series EconTalk, interviews Tony about the economics of religion and the origons of religious liberty. Our conversation begins with a general observation that economists, and social scientists more broadly, have neglected the study of religion in social life. Tony observes that this is unusual considering that the most enduring institutions in history have been religious organizations, either as formal hierarchies (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church) or less formal “movements” (e.g., Judaism, Buddhism). We speculate as to why scholars have had this blind spot and several possibilities are advanced.

Russ then presses Tony on whether or not religious competition and freedom produces greater amounts of religiosity in society. None other than Adam Smith is cited in response to this question. In the Wealth of Nations (Book V), Smith notes that the clergy in England, supported by state funds, “repose themselves on their benefices” and do little to activate their congregants, whereas in Pennsylvania, where religious freedom is the order of the day, individual pastors must work hard to get their sustenance from voluntary contributions of their flock. Not surprisingly, religion flourishes in the latter area relative to the former. Tony brings to bear some of his own research on Latin America to show that the Catholic Church became more responsive to their parishioners once Protestants began to challenge them for societal influence in the 20th century.

Russ then directs the question to the role of government. Tony lays out his theory of church-state bargains. Beginning with the interests of political rulers to stay in office, maximize revenue, and spur economic growth, he builds a theory why state leaders would want to support religious leaders. Religious leaders, who would like protection from “upstart sects” and a source of regular funding, are often willing to trade ideological and organizational support to the state in exchange for financial subsidies and restrictions on the religious freedoms of minorities. The conversation covers some examples of this and also explores the interesting “counter-cases” of the Soviet Union and China.

We finish with a discussion of religious liberty, or why a government that tightly regulates a religious market would ever want to de-regulate. We start by noting that there are a number of different dimensions to religious liberty and ways to violate it. Tony then advances an interest-based explanation for why leaders — who value political survival, tax revenue, and economic growth — would loosen restrictions on religious minorities when it serves those interests. He uses examples from the colonial U.S. and cites people as varied as William Penn and Tench Coxe. Current threats to religious liberty are then considered and Tony explains why property rights and the Kelo v New London case are critical to religious freedoms. Recorded: December 23, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

EconTalk podcast. (You can find the full transcript and other links at this great website.)

The Political Origins of Religous Liberty, by Anthony Gill.

Rendering Unto Caesar: The Catholic Church and the State in Latin America, by Anthony Gill.

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Larry Iannaccone on the Economics of Religion (at EconTalk).

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Anthony Gill on the Political Origins of Religious Liberty.

Chris Beneke on Religion, Markets, and the Founding Era.

Timur Kuran on Islamic Economics.

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Joel Fetzer on Confucianism and Democracy

tonygill — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 08:00:20 +0000

Max Weber, the famed sociologist who shaped a great deal of the social scientific study of religion, once wrote that a certain ideational version of Protestantism, namely Calvinism, was responsible for giving rise to industrial capitalism and, by extension, liberal democracy in Western Europe. In contrast, Weber also argued that Confucianism acted as an ideological roadblock to economic and political development. With the recent democratization of several countries that were historically influenced by Confucian thought, Joel Fetzer — a professor of political science at Pepperdine University — examines whether or not the claim that Confucianism is incompatible with democracy still rings true. Our primary focus is on Taiwan, a country that he studied extensively with his frequent collaborator Chris Soper, though we also extend an eye to the democratization process in South Korea, as well as the still-authoritarian countries of China and Singapore.

Joel begins the conversation by detailing the political history of Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore to set the table for latter discussion. He then discusses some of the more prominent political explanations for the political liberalization of the former two nations, which includes an emphasis on economic variables such as the rise of a middle class as well as the political manuevering of interest groups. Often overlooked in the study of democratization, though, is the role ideas play in reshaping the political landscape. We briefly talk about how ideas or culture may affect the shape of a political regime, with a tip of the hat to scholars such as Robert Putnam who have argued that cultural traditions can play an important role in the political organization of society.

With the potential influence of ideas on the table, we then examine Confucianism. Prof. Fetzer provides a basic introduction to this religion/philosophy. He notes that key elements of Confucian thought do seem to coincide with more authoritarian notions of leadership. We discuss the “five right relationships” that emphasize a deference to elders and to authority, the importance of filial piety, and the desire to promote social harmony over conflict. All of these virtues can be seen as working against the conflict and social fluidity that tend to characterize modern democratic thought. We then discuss how Confucianism, like many other religions, is rather malleable and how interpretations or emphases can change over time. This leads to an interesting discussion of how the educational system in Taiwan was used to emphasize different facets of Confucian thought at different times in its history, most specifically in the authoritarian and post-authoritarian eras. This is compared with how it is taught in Singapore currently.

Prof. Fetzer than shares some of the empirical observations from his study conducted with Chris Soper. In conjunction with what Weber and others have argued, they find that adherence to Confucian values do correspond to holding authoritarian values under autocratic regimes. Interestingly, this relationship doesn’t necessarily hold under democratic regimes. Indeed, people identifying with Confucianism may be more favorable to values such as minority rights under democratic regimes. This leads to one of the main assertions of their research, that while Confucianism may not be a cause of political liberalization in these societies, the philosophy itself is not necessarily inimical to democratic values under more liberalized regimes. We finish our discussion by examining the role that Christianity may have played in the democratic process both in South Korea and Taiwan. Recorded: October 4, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Joel Fetzer’s bio at Pepperdine University (includes links to available articles).

Confucianism, Democratization, and Human Rights in Taiwan, by Joel Fetzer and J. Christopher Soper.

Muslims and the State in Britain, France, and Germany, by Joel Fetzer and J. Christopher Soper.

Luxembourg as an Immigration Success Story, by Joel Fetzer.

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Robert Delahunty on Alexis de Tocqueville and Religion.

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Robert Woodberry on Missionaries and Democracy

tonygill — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 08:00:38 +0000

Did Protestant missionaries help plant the seeds of democracy throughout the world? We take up that question with Prof. Robert Woodberry, associate professor of political science at the National Univesity of Singapore, whose recent article “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy” in the American Political Science Review is reinvigorating interest in the link between religion and political outcomes around the world and throughout history. Our conversation begins with an examination of the standard theories for why democracy has emerged in some places but not in others. Prof. Woodberry carefully indicates that democracy is more than just elections, but includes respect for civil liberties and the rule of law. Our conversation tuns to the role religion plays in the promotion of liberal democracy and how Bob became interested in this topic. He mentions that one of his dissertation advisors, Ken Bollen, had noticed an interesting historical correlation between Protestantism and democracy back in the 1970s, but most other scholars simply ignored that observation. It was left to Bob to pick up the torch and run with it, a task he was well-suited for given his family’s history in missionizing. Tony then asks Bob why he thinks scholars have so frequently overlooked the “religious factor” in the study of democratization, and Prof. Woodberry then provides some interesting speculations that click well with previous discussions we have had with other guests on our podcast. Prof. Woodberry then spells out his thesis, arguing that “conversionary Protestants” — Protestants interested in fulfilling the task of The Great Commission (Matthew 28: 16-20) be it in post-Reformation Europe or elsewhere — have a strong interest in convincing individuals to make a free choice to accept Jesus as their savior. In doing so, these Protestants encourage literacy, which in turn incentivizes the creation of mass printing. The voluntarism inherent in these Protestant churches also foments the development of skills associated with civic organization, which become the basis for the vibrant civil society needed to challenge autocratic rulers. Tony notes that this finding is consistent with other sociological research finding that church attenders are more likely to be involved in non-church civic organizations than their secular counterparts. Tony also encourages scholars studying “new social movements” to look at “old social movements” (i.e., churches) because they have been collectively organizing for centuries, if not millenia. Finally, Bob also notes that conversionary Protestants were strong advocates for religious liberty, which often corresponded with respect for other civil liberties such as the right to assemble and speak one’s mind. This led many of these Protestants to also speak out against the more severe abuses of colonialism such as slavery. All of this then prompts non-religious organizations to follow the lead of these Protestant groups so as to not be outdone in the competition for the hearts and minds of the general population. It is at this point where Tony gets a chance to plug his first book which connects well with Prof. Woodberry’s findings. We look at why the Catholic Church did not proceed along a similar path until very recently, and why civilizations such as Imperial China did not allow for the expansion of printing and literacy despite having invented movable typeset printing long before Europe. We conclude our discussion with Bob’s thought on the Arab Spring. Recorded: June 12, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Robert Woodberry’s bio at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.

“The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy” by Robert Woodberry in The American Political Science Review (requires purchase or subscription).

“The Pioneering Protestants” by Robert Woodberry and Timothy Shah in The Journal of Democracy (requires purchase or subscription).

Rendering Unto Caesar: The Catholic Church and the State in Latin America, by Anthony Gill (host of Research on Religion)

RELATED PODCASTS

Timothy Shah on the Case for Religious Liberty

Timur Kuran on Islamic Law and Economic Development.

Jared Rubin on Christian and Islamic Economic History.

Matthew Sutton on Aimee Semple McPherson.

Kevin Cooney on Religion and the Rule of Law in China

tonygill — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:00:55 +0000

Prof. Kevin Cooney of Northwest University joins the podcast to discuss his latest trip to China where he met with several scholars to discuss religion and the rule of law. We start out by talking about the logistics of this trip sponsored by the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity (Calvin College) and the Plowshares Institute, revealing how the trip had to be carefully planned and marketed given the sensitivity of religion in China. We discuss why the nature of this trip was about the rule of the law and not about religious liberty per se. Kevin then shares his experiences in China teaching English 25 years earlier and reflects upon how things have changed in the country over that time. We then discuss the organization and operation of churches in this communist nation, shining some light on the role of religious groups in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the recent crackdown on the Shouwang Church. We speculate why governments would want to repress churches that don’t appear to threaten the government. Kevin shares his reflection on the demographic and spiritual characteristics of several house churches, noting that Christianity is surprisingly attractive among the young and wealthy. He also gives a vivid portrayal of what Christians in China must do to worship on a daily basis. We discuss the recent crackdown on the Shouwang Church and the strategic choices made by both the government and the church leaders in this confrontation. We finish with some more general philosophical observations about religion’s role in society, the importance of freedom and whether China is on the path to further democratization. Recorded: August 23, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

Kevin Cooney’s website at Northwest University.

Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity (Calvin College).

Plowshares Institute.

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Karrie Koesel on House Churches in China.

Karrie Koesel on Religion and Politics in China.

Lan Chu on Catholicism in Vietnam.

Roger Finke on Religious Persecution.

Lan Chu on Catholicism in Vietnam

tonygill — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:00:12 +0000

Despite having lived under a highly-nationalistic and communist regime for over three decades (and a half century in the northern part of the country), the Catholic Church continues to makes its spiritual and social presence felt in Vietnam. Prof. Lan Chu, an assistant professor in the Department of Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College, explains how the Catholic Church has survived in this turbulent and often repressive environment. We start with a brief discussion of the Catholic Church in Southeast Asia, noting how it came with Portuguese missionaries but was then largely associated with French colonization. Prof. Chu notes how Catholic priests assisted in forging a national identity during the Japanese occupation of the region during World War II, and then how things changed following the 1954 Geneva Accords that divided Vietnam into two separate countries, North and South. We track both the conditions and reactions of the Church in both the North and South, noting how each developed a different culture. Interestingly, whereas the presence of the southern Vietnamese Catholic bishops at Vatican II helped to create a more critical position of the Diem regime and a more conciliatory attitude towards communism, the bishops in the north were prevented from travelling to Rome, isolated from Vatican II’s message and subsequently developed a more hard-line stance to the communist regime. Despite the fact that the Viet Minh regime exercised control over the selection of bishops and controlled the ordination of priests, the limited pool of candidates from which to choose from meant that Catholic leaders were still able to maintain a degree of independence. We discuss what happens to the Church following the North Vietnamese invasion of the south and unification of the country in 1975. Prof. Chu notes how Catholic leaders have been able to carve out a social space for themselves by using the regime’s own rhetoric on human rights to assert their own political rights and social activity in society. The current regime has often encouraged the Church’s charitable activity as a means of providing needed social services for the population. Throughout the interview we make comparative references to the Catholic Church in other communist countries such as Poland and Cuba. We finish with some speculation about the likelihood that Catholics will help promote political liberalization in the country. Recorded: August 10, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Lan Chu’s website at Occidental College.

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