Religiosity, Economic Growth and Development Dynamics: An International Perspective

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and economic growth as an indicator of modernization. It also examines the relationship between religiosity and various dimensions of development such as educational attainment, mortality rate, and urbanization. To this end, average country-level data from 6 different survey waves of the World Values Survey, spanning the period 1989-2022, and various data sources, including the World Christian Encyclopedia, Religion and State Project, Penn World Table, World Development Indicators are utilized. The analyses include a maximum of 108 countries. The ongoing secularization paradigm is experienced differently in each society, depending on the predominance of religious belief and societal characteristics, including the degree of cultural and social diversity. The Seemingly Unrelated Regression method is employed to address the potential problem of correlation between the error terms of the regressions utilizing different religiosity indicators. Estimates indicate that religiosity is negatively associated with economic growth, the presence of a state religion and religious pluralism, while it is positively associated with state regulation of the religious market. Education, which is one of the most fundamental indicators of development, is positively correlated with religiosity. Nevertheless, the most characteristic indicator of modernization and development, urbanization, is negatively related to religiosity.

Keywords

• Religiosity
• Economic growth
• Modernization
• Seemingly unrelated regression
• World values survey

Dinsellik, Ekonomik Büyüme ve Kalkınma Dinamikleri Üzerine Uluslararası Bir Perspektif

Abstract

Bu çalışma, dinsellik ve modernleşmenin bir göstergesi olarak ekonomik büyüme arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektedir. Ayrıca dinsellik ile eğitim, ölüm oranı ve kentleşme gibi kalkınmanın çeşitli boyutları arasındaki ilişki de incelenmektedir. Bu amaçla, 1989-2022 dönemini kapsayan Dünya Değerler Araştırması'nın 6 farklı anket dalgasından elde edilen ülke ortalamalarına dayanan veriler ve World Christian Encyclopedia, Religion and State Project, Penn World Table, World Development Indicators gibi çeşitli veri kaynakları kullanılmıştır. Analizlerde kullanılan örneklem en geniş şekliyle 108 ülkeden oluşmaktadır. Süregelen sekülerleşme paradigması, dini inancın baskınlığına ve kültürel ve sosyal çeşitliliğin derecesi de dahil olmak üzere toplumsal özelliklere bağlı olarak her toplumda farklı şekilde deneyimlenmektedir. Farklı dindarlık göstergelerini kullanan regresyonların hata terimleri arasındaki potansiyel korelasyon sorununu ele almak için Görünüşte İlişkisiz Regresyon yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Regresyon tahminleri, dindarlığın ekonomik büyüme, bir devlet dininin varlığı ve dini çoğulculuk ile negatif ilişkili olduğunu, dini piyasanın devlet tarafından düzenlenmesi ile ise pozitif ilişkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Gelişmişliğin en temel göstergelerinden biri olan eğitim, dindarlık ile pozitif ilişkilidir. Bununla birlikte, modernleşme ve kalkınmanın en karakteristik göstergesi olan kentleşme dindarlıkla negatif ilişkilidir.

Keywords

• Dinsellik
• Ekonomik büyüme
• Modernleşme
• Görünüşte ilgisiz regresyon
• Dünya değerler araştırması

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