ABSTRACT
Rational Choice Theory and Religion considers one of the major developments in the social scientific paradigms that promises to foster a greater theoretical unity among the disciplines of sociology, political science, economics and psychology. Applying the theory of rational choice--the theory that each individual will make her choice to maximize gain and minimize cost--to the study of religion, Lawrence Young has brought together a group of internationally renowned scholars to examine this important development within the field of religion for the first time.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |101 pages
Summary
chapter |20 pages
The Consequences of Religious Competition
Supply-side Explanations for Religious Change
chapter |21 pages
Embedding Religious Choices
Preferences and Social Constraints into Rational Choice Theories of Religious Behavior
1
part |78 pages
Assessment
chapter |14 pages
Economic Man and the Sociology of Religion
A Critique of the Rational Choice Approach
