Journal article
Money and power in religious competition: A critique of the religious free market
J Chen
Oxford Journal of Law and Religion | OXFORD UNIV PRESS | Published : 2014
DOI: 10.1093/ojlr/rwt069
Abstract
Academics have frequently alluded to the normative value of the religious free market fostered by the twin legal guarantees of the free exercise of religion and the absence of state establishment of religion. This article challenges the idealized portrayal of a religion's 'flourish[ing] according to the zeal of its adherents and the appeal of its dogma' and examines the dynamics of material wealth and political power in a religion's success. This article suggests that controversial measures such as affirmative action for socio-economically disadvantaged religions and restrictions of religious involvement in politics are not necessarily incompatible with the religious free market.
Grants
Funding Acknowledgements
Assistant Law Professor (University of Hong Kong), JSD Candidate (University of Chicago), LLM (University of Chicago), LLB (University of Singapore). Admitted to the bar in New York and Singapore. Email: jianlin@ hku. hk. The author wishes to thank James Lindgren and the participants of the Northwestern Law School Legal Scholarship Workshop for their insightful comments and critiques. This research has been generously supported by the University of Hong Kong's Seed Funding Programme. All errors are mine alone.