Enterprise and Society Advance Access originally published online on June 21, 2007
Enterprise and Society 2007 8(3):730-732; doi:10.1093/es/khm065
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Copyright © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Business History Conference.
Robert B. Ekelund Jr., Robert F. Hébert, and Robert D. Tollison. The Marketplace of Christianity
Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., Robert F. Hébert, and Robert D. Tollison. The Marketplace of Christianity. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2006. x + 355 pp. ISBN 0-262-05082-X, $29.95 (cloth)
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Was the Protestant Reformation "a successful penetration of a religious market dominated by a monopoly firm" (Roman Catholicism), resulting in "product differentiation" and a multitude of innovative consumer choices (Protestant denominations)? Did Christianity evolve "to satisfy the changing demands of consumers/worshippers" (viii)? Anticipating that many might wince at such a worldly, even profane exposition, the authors endeavor throughout most of the book (save for the problematic final chapter) to avoid value judgments about the faith via reasoned economics. This book builds
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