Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T02:01:54.966Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Political Economy of Religious Revival

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2015

Karrie J. Koesel
Karrie J. Koesel*
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Karrie J. Koesel, University of Oregon, Department of Political Science, 1284 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 974103-1284. E-mail: koesel@uoregon.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the religious economy approach by applying it to the religious revival across contemporary Russia and China. This comparison shows that the religious economy framework is beneficial in explaining some aspects of the communist and post-communist religious change, including macroeconomic market trends and why some faiths thrive while others fail. However, it has less explanatory power in explaining religious-state relations under market constraints — that is, how religious groups interact with state regulators to survive and grow; the range of options available to religious actors and their payoffs; and the political consequence of this interaction. This article draws on fieldwork in both countries to illustrate the benefits of grounding the religious economy approach more deeply in politics. The political economy of the marketplace reveals how and why religious groups engage the state to survive, and that they are becoming influential political and economic actors.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 211 - 235
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ashiwa, Yoshiko, and Wank, David L.. 2009. Making Religion, Making the State. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Bays, Daniel H. 2012. A New History of Christianity in China. Malden, MD: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Bays, Daniel H. 2003. “Chinese Protestant Christianity Today.” The China Quarterly 174: 488–504.Google Scholar
Bourdeaux, Michael. 2000. “Religion Revives in all its Variety: Russia's Regions Today.” Religion, State, & Society 28: 9–21.Google Scholar
Borchert, Thomas. 2005. “Of Temples and Tourists.” In The State, Market, and Religion in Chinese Societies, eds. Yang, Fenggang and Tamney, Joseph B., 97–111. Boston, MA: Brill.Google Scholar
Cao, Nanlai. 2008. “Boss Christians: The Business of Religion and the ‘Wenzhou Model’ of Christian Revival.” The China Journal 59: 63–87.Google Scholar
Chau, Adam Yuet, ed. 2011. Religion in Contemporary China. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chau, Adam Yuet. 2003. “Popular Religion in Shaanbei, North-Central China.” Journal of Chinese Religions 31: 39–79.Google Scholar
Chaves, Mark, and Cann, David E.. 1992. “Regulation, Pluralism and Religious Market Structure: Explaining Religious Vitality.” Rationality and Society 4: 272–290.Google Scholar
Chen, Cunfu, and Tianhai, Huang. 2004. “The Emergence of a New Type of Christians in China Today.” Review of Religious Research 46: 183–200.Google Scholar
Colton, Timothy J. 2008. Yeltsin: A Life. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Dean, Kenneth. 1993. Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast China. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Dimitrov, Martin. 2013. Why Communism Did Not Collapse: Understanding Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Asia and Europe. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ding, X.L. 1994. The Decline of Communism in China. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Elliott, Mark, and Corrado, Sharyl. 1999. “The 1997 Russian Law on Religion: The Impact on Protestants.” Religion, State and Society 27: 109–143.Google Scholar
Fagan, Geraldine. 2013. Believing in Russia. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Filatov, Sergei. 1999. “Sects and New Religious Movements in Post-Soviet Russia.” In Proselytism and Orthodoxy in Russia, eds., John, Witte Jr., and Bourdeaux, Michael, 163–84. Maryknoll: Orbis.Google Scholar
Filatov, Sergei. 2002. Religija i obshhestvo: Ocherki religioznoj zhizni sovremennoj Rossii (Religion and Society). Moscow: Letnij sad.Google Scholar
Fish, M. Steven. 1999. “Postcommunist Subversion: Social Science and Democratization in East Europe and Eurasia,” Slavic Review 58: 794–823.Google Scholar
Froese, Paul. 2008. The Plot to Kill God: Findings from the Soviet Experiment in Secularization. Berkeley, CA: UC Press.Google Scholar
Froese, Paul. 2004. “Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why and Atheistic Monopoly Failed.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religions 43: 35–50.Google Scholar
Gill, Anthony James. 2008. The Political Origins of Religious Liberty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gill, Anthony James. 2002. “A Political Economy of Religion.” In Sacred Markets, Sacred Canopies, ed. Jelen, Ted G., 115–132. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Gill, Anthony James. 1998. Rendering unto Caesar: The Catholic Church and the State in Latin America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Greeley, Andrew M. 2002. “Religious Revivals in Eastern Europe.” Society (January/February): 76–77.Google Scholar
Grim, Brian, and Finke, Roger. 2011. The Price of Freedom Denied. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gryzmala-Busse, Anna. 2012. “Why Comparative Politics Should Take Religion (More) Seriously.” Annual Review of Political Science 15: 421–42.Google Scholar
Hobsbawm, Eric J. 1990. “Introduction: Inventing Traditions.” In The Invention of Tradition, eds. Hobsbawm, Eric J., and Ranger, Terence, 1–14. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Holbig, Heike. 2009. “Ideological Reform and Political Legitimacy in China.” In Regime Legitimacy in Contemporary China. Institutional Change and Stability, eds. Schubert, Gunter, and Herberer, Thomas, 13–34. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Holbig, Heike, and Gilley, Bruce. 2010. “Reclaiming Legitimacy in China.” Politics & Policy 38: 395–422.Google Scholar
Iannaccone, Laurence R. 1998. “Introduction to the Economics of Religion.” Journal of Economic Literature 36: 1465–1495.Google Scholar
Iannaccone, Laurence R. 1991. “The Consequences of Religious Market Structure.” Rationality and Society 3: 157–177.Google Scholar
Jelen, Ted G., ed. 2002. Sacred Markets, Sacred Canopies: Essays on Religious Markets and Religious Pluralism. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Jin, Hua, Kui, Su, Zhou, Jin, and Feng, Ni. 2000. Jilinshengzhi, Zongjiaozhi (Jilin Provincial Gazeteer, Religious Gazeteer). Changchun: Jilin renmin chubanshe.Google Scholar
Jowitt, Ken. 1992. The New World Disorder. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kaariainen, Kimmo. 1998. Religion in Russia After The Collapse of Communism. New York, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press.Google Scholar
Kirill, Metropolital of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. 2000. “The Russian Orthodox Church and the Third millennium.” Ecumenical Review 52: 300–308.Google Scholar
Koesel, Karrie J. 2014. Religion and Authoritarianism: Cooperation, Conflict, and the Consequences. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Koesel, Karrie J. 2013. “The Rise of a Chinese House Church: The Organizational Weapon.” The China Quarterly 215: 1–18.Google Scholar
Krindatch, Alexey D. 2006. “Changing Relations between Religion, the State and Society in Russia.” GeoJournal 67: 267–82.Google Scholar
Leung, Beatrice. 2005. “China's Religious Policy: The Art of Managing Religious Activity.” China Quarterly 184: 894–913.Google Scholar
Levy, Richard 1995. “Corruption, Economic Crime and Social Transformation since the Reform: Debate in China.” Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs 33: 1–25.Google Scholar
Lofstedt, Torsten. 2012. “Religious Revival among Orthodox and Pentecostals in Russia.” Religion, State & Society 40: 92–111.Google Scholar
Madsen, Richard. 2011. “Religious Renaissance in China Today.” Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 40:17–42.Google Scholar
Madsen, Richard. 1998. China's Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in and Emerging Civil Society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Marsh, Christopher. 2011. Religion and the State in Russia and China: Suppression, Survival and Revival. New York, NY: Continuum.Google Scholar
Nathan, Andrew. 1997. China's Transition. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Norris, Pippa, and Inglehart, Ronald. 2004. Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Perry, Elizabeth J., and Selden, Mark, eds. 2003. Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2014. “Religious Hostilities Reach Six-Year High.” http://www.pewforum.org/2014/01/14/religious-hostilities-reach-six-year-high (Accessed on April 22, 2015).Google Scholar
Philo, Chris, and Kearns, Gerry. 1993. “Culture, History, Capital.” In Selling Places: The City as Cultural Capital, Past and Present, eds. Kearns, Gerry, and Philos, Chris. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Potter, Pitman B. 2003. “Belief in Control: Regulation of Religion in China.” The China Quarterly 174: 317–37.Google Scholar
Poplavsky, Roman. 2012. “Pentecostal Churches in Russia.” Religion, State & Society 40: 112–132.Google Scholar
Ramet, Sabrina Petra. 1998. Nihl Obstat: Religion, Politics and Social Change in East-Central Europe and Russia. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Richters, Katja. 2013. The Post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sarkissian, Ani. 2009. “Religious Reestablishment in Post-Communist Polities.” Journal of Church and State 51: 472–501.Google Scholar
Shambaugh, David. 2008. China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Stark, Rodney. 1997. “Bringing Theory Back In.” In Rational Choice Theory and Religion: Summary and Assessment, ed. Young, Lawrence A., 3–26. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stark, Rodney, and Bainbridge, William Sims. 1985. The Future of Religion. Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Stark, Rodney, and Finke, Roger. 2000. Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Stark, Rodney, and Iannaccone, Laurence. 1994. “A Supply-side Reinterpretation of the ‘Secularization’ of Europe.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 33: 111–124.Google Scholar
Triesman, Daniel. 1999. After the Deluge. Ann Arbor, CA: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Trần Thị Liên, Claire. 2013 “Communist State and Religious Policy in Vietnam: A Historical Perspective.” Hague Journal on Rule of Law 5: 229–252.Google Scholar
Vala, Carsten T., and O'Brien, Kevin J.. 2007. “Attracting without Networks: Recruiting Strangers to Unregistered Protestantism in China.” Mobilization: An International Quarterly 12: 79–94.Google Scholar
Wang, Xiaoying. 2002. “The Postcommunist Personality: The Spectre of China's Capitalist Market Reforms.” The China Journal 47: 1–17.Google Scholar
Webster, Paul. 2008. “Religious Revival: Buddhism is Big Business in China.” http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-strategy/religious-revival (Accessed on April 22, 2015).Google Scholar
Wielander, Gerda. 2013. Christian Values in Communist China. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Wielander, Gerda. 2011. “Beyond Repression and Resistance: Christian Love and China's Harmonious Society.” China Journal 65: 119–139.Google Scholar
Wright, Teresa, and Zimmerman-Liu, Teresa. 2013. “Engaging and Evading the Party-State: Unofficial Chinese Protestants in China's Reform Era.” China: An International Journal 11: 1–20.Google Scholar
Wu, Jiao. 2007. “Religious Believers Thrice the Estimate.” http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/07/content_802994.htm (Accessed on April 22, 2015).Google Scholar
Wu, Yakui. 2000. “Zhujiajia de zongjiao – Jiantan zongjiao hudong changsuo de lvyou jingguan gongneng. (Religion In Zhujiajia – The Role of Religious Places in Tourism and Sightseeing)” Dangdai zongjiao yanjiu 41: 20–24.Google Scholar
Yang, Fenggang. 2012. Religion in China: Survival and Revival Under Communist Rule. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Yang, Fenggang. 2010. “Oligopoly Dynamics: Consequences of Religious Regulation.” Social Compass 57: 194–205.Google Scholar
Yang, Fenggang. 2009. “Religion in China under Communism: A Shortage Economy Explanation.” Journal of Church and State 51: 3–33.Google Scholar
Yang, Fenggang. 2006. “The Red, Black and Gray Markets of Religion in China.” Sociological Quarterly 47: 93–122.Google Scholar
Yang, Fenggang. 2005. “Lost in the Market, Saved at McDonald's: Conversion to Christianity in Urban China.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44: 423–441.Google Scholar