ABSTRACT

This chapter employs insights from five sociologists who had already highlighted the nature of the connectivity between religious beliefs and economic behaviour and in particular their understanding of the level of rational intent underlining both the religious sentiment and the economic behaviour. The sociologists are: Max Weber, Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Anthony Giddens. The chapter provides a key differences based on a summary of Max Webers' insights into the nature, orientation and conditioning to this world evoked in individuals by the strength of their religious beliefs. It shows that religion-nationalism rather than materialism and its relations has shaped the Irish economic disposition. Emile Durkheim observes that suicide rates indicate a level of unhappiness in society that usually increases at the very moment of greatest economic development was also evaluated. The chapter presents figures for mortality rates, suicide rates, educational enrolment rates and the population totals at 1971, 1981, 1991 and 1996 respectively.