Economic language has found its way into discussions of religion. We hear talk these days of “religious markets” and “religious entrepreneurs.” Religious “consumers” are said to “shop” for churches much as they shop for cars: weighing costs and benefits, and seeking the highest return on their spiritual investment. Religious “producers,” the erstwhile clergy, struggle to provide a “commodity” at least as attractive as their competitors'. Religion is advertised and marketed, produced and consumed, demanded and supplied.

One is tempted to dismiss such statements as a passing fad, misguided and possibly pernicious symptoms of a materialistic age with little or no appreciation of religion's true nature. This response is in my opinion mistaken. The logic of economics and even its language are powerful tools for the social-scientific study of religion. Economic theory offers a new paradigm for religious research, one that may eventually replace or encompass many of the approaches now competing for scholars' attention. The economic approach is both conceptually clean and empirically fruitful. It accounts for much of what is already known about religious participation, generates new predictions that suggest new avenues for empirical research, and forges links between the study of religion and a growing body of economic research on other “non-market” institutions and activities.