Economic Origins of Roman Christianity

In the global marketplace of ideas, few realms spark as much conflict as religion. For millions of people, it is an integral part of everyday life, reflected by a widely divergent supply of practices and philosophical perspectives. Yet, historically, the marketplace has not always been competitive. While the early Common Era saw competition between Christianity, Judaism, and the many pagan cults, Roman Christianity came eventually to dominate Western Europe. Using basic concepts of economic theory, Robert B. Ekelund Jr. and Robert D. Tollison explain the origin and subsequent spread of Roman Christianity, showing first how the standard concepts of risk, cost, and benefit can account for the demand for religion. Then, drawing on the economics of networking, entrepreneurship, and industrial organization, the book explains Christianity's rapid ascent. Like a business, the church developed sound business strategies that increased its market share to a near monopoly in the medieval period. This book offers a fascinating look at the dynamics of Christianity's rise, as well as how aspects the church's structure-developed over the first millennium-illuminate a number of critical problems faced by the church today.

Preface	p. xi
Roman Christianity: An Evolving Monopoly	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Aspiring to Monopoly	p. 5
A Word on Method	p. 8
The Roman Church as a High Medieval Monopoly	p. 9
Plan of the Book	p. 13
Religion, History, and Social Science	p. 19
Introduction	p. 19
Adam Smith and Max Weber	p. 21
Contemporary Theoretical Approaches to the Demand for Religion	p. 23
Monopoly, Rationality, History, and Religion	p. 29
Conclusion: Economics and Religious Behavior	p. 31
Economics of Religious Belief	p. 32
Introduction	p. 32
Nature of the Religious Good	p. 33
Demands and Contracts for the Religious Good	p. 39
Conclusion: Focus on First-Millennium Christianity	p. 50
Entrepreneurship, Networking, and the Success of Early Christianity	p. 51
Introduction	p. 51
Economic Analysis and Early Christianity	p. 52
Entrepreneurship: Proselytizing the New Religion	p. 60
Network-Consumption Externalities and Credence Issues	p. 65
The Adoption of Christianity: The Role of Saint Paul	p. 70
Conclusion	p. 75
Constantine and Rome's Acceptance of Christianity	p. 78
Introduction	p. 78
A Theory of the Adoption and Cartelization of Christianity by Rome	p. 80
Roman Acceptance of Christianity: Economic Factors	p. 86
The Critical Role of Constantine and the March to Cartelization	p. 90
Conclusion	p. 103
The Drive to Church Monopoly: Constantine to Charlemagne	p. 106
Introduction	p. 106
Economic Theory and Christianity in the Fourth-Twelfth Centuries	p. 108
Constantine through Justinian and Gregory I: Centuries of Competition and Consolidation	p. 116
The Frankish Kingdoms, Charlemagne, and the Rescue of the Roman Papacy	p. 131
Conclusion: The Roman Church circa the Early Ninth Century	p. 138
Roman Christian Monopoly in the Early Medieval Period	p. 142
Introduction: The Bumpy Road to Monopoly	p. 142
After Charlemagne: Breakdowns, Conflict, and Invasions	p. 145
Competition with Byzantium and the "Great Schism"	p. 155
Roman Church Monopoly Solidifies	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 167
Conclusion: The Roman Church Monopoly Triumphant	p. 171
Introduction	p. 171
How the Church Reached Monopoly Status	p. 172
Roman Monopoly Processes and Market Entry	p. 178
Does the Economics of Early Christianity Relate to Contemporary Religion?	p. 183
Appendix: The Impact of Saint Paul	p. 197
Notes	p. 205
References	p. 243
Index	p. 257
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