This paper surveys the recent social science literature on religion in economic history, covering both socioeconomic … causes and consequences of religion. Following the rapidly growing literature, it focuses on the three main monotheisms … facilitated a close historical interconnection of religion with political power and conflict. Second, human capital often played a …

—together with standard growth models to frame the role of religion in economic growth. Unifying a growing literature, we argue that … religion can enhance or impinge upon economic growth through all four elements because it shapes individual preferences …, societal norms, and institutions. Religion affects physical capital accumulation by influencing thrift and financial …

The interplay between religion and the economy has occupied social scientists for long. We construct a unique panel of … doubt on causal interpretations of the religion-economy nexus in Prussian secularization. …

We use four ways of the European Social Survey, covering 2000 to 2008, to analyze the effect of religion on happiness … the effects of belonging to an organized religion from the effect of holding religious beliefs, we find that the former … lowers happiness while the latter raises it. We interpret this as evidence that the tangible aspects of religion (such as …