The Ambivalent Role of Religion for Sustainable Development: A Review of the Empirical Evidence

GIGA Working Papers, No 297, February 2017

66 Pages Posted: 5 Jun 2017

See all articles by Matthias Basedau

Matthias Basedau

German Overseas Institute (DUI)

Simone Gobien

GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Sebastian Prediger

German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA); University of Erlangen-Nuremberg-Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen Nürnberg

Date Written: February 28, 2017

Abstract

Until recently, academia has largely neglected the impact of religion on sustainable development. However, empirical studies have shown that religion remains important in many societies and that its importance has been increasing since the beginning of the new millennium. This paper reviews the empirical quantitative literature on the effect of religion on development from the last decade. We start by disaggregating the concepts of religion and sustainable development into four religious and three developmental dimensions and proposing a framework to identify causal mechanisms. Numerous mechanisms are possible, and this complexity explains why only a few uncontested findings exist. Religion is ambivalent vis-à-vis development: although religious dimensions exert a positive influence on physical and mental health as well as on general well-being, scholars have found a negative relationship between religious dimensions and both income and gender equality. Studies agree that the dominance of one religious group together with parallel ethnic and religious cleavages increases the risk of conflict, while studies on the pro-peace effects of religious factors are largely missing. Methodological challenges relate to the availability of fine-grained data, especially for non-Western countries, and the use of concepts and definitions. Most importantly, the study of religion and development requires methods that allow for causal inference.

Keywords: religion, sustainable development, quantitative evidence, growth, inequality, education, conflict, health, multidimensionality

Suggested Citation

Basedau, Matthias and Gobien, Simone and Prediger, Sebastian, The Ambivalent Role of Religion for Sustainable Development: A Review of the Empirical Evidence (February 28, 2017). GIGA Working Papers, No 297, February 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2976174 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2976174

Matthias Basedau (Contact Author)

German Overseas Institute (DUI) ( email )

Neuer Jungfernstieg 21
Hamburg, D-20354
Germany

Simone Gobien

GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies ( email )

Jungfernstieg 21
Hamburg, 20354
Germany

Sebastian Prediger

German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) ( email )

Neuer Jungfernstieg 21
Hamburg, DE D-20354
Germany

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg-Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen Nürnberg ( email )

Schloßplatz 4
Erlangen, DE Bavaria 91054
Germany

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
291
Abstract Views
1,601
Rank
190,856
PlumX Metrics