What Are the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of the Rational Choice Appr

1753 Words8 Pages
What Are The Main Strengths and Weaknesses of The Rational Choice Approach To
Religions Behavior?

One of the pioneers of the rational choice theory has been Gary Becker.
He states that this approach can be applied to all human behaviour, including religion. This approach has three assumptions. It assumes that people engage in maximising behaviour. When applying this approach to religion we are not concerned with money. We are concerned with the maximisation of personal benefits. When we make a decision we weigh up the costs and benefits and choose the option which offers the most benefit. Secondly, there are ‘markets that with varying degrees of efficiency allow the actions of different participants to function together…show more content…
Iannaccone explains these facts with reference to investment ie people have already spent a great deal of time and effort in their religion and to move to a new religion requires new investment and initial investment is wasted. Bruce suggests an alternative explanation would be that beliefs ‘ sediment', effecting our response to alternatives. He explains that beliefs which seem more plausible to us are beliefs which accord with residues of earlier stages of belief. The human capital model predicts religious switching will occur early in the life cycle as people search for the best match between their skills and the context in which they produce religious commodities. Over time diminishing marginal utility will occur ie gains from further switching will dimiinish as the potential for improvement decreases and the years left during which they can capitalise on that improvement decrease. Bruce suggests that socialisation with like-minded believers and how much of a satisfactory explanation of the world and our place in it is given is likey to increase plausibility over time and that there is no need for reference to economics. Iannaccone states that households peactice their beliefs more efficiently when husband and wife belong to the same religion. He believes they benefit from economies of scale as they can take the same car to church and avoid disputes over which religion the children are to practice etc. He states this is why tend to marry
Get Access
Related

  • Askari Bank: A Leading Pakistani Bank

    7412 Words  | 30 Pages

    Company Profile |Products |Sell Offers |Buy Offers |Contact Details | |Askari Bank, one of the leading banks of Pakistan. The bank was founded in 1992, and in the 18 years since, our growth and success patterns have far outgrown industry standards. Askari Bank has expanded into a nationwide presence of 150 branches, and an offshore banking Unit in Bahrain. A shared network of over 1,100 online ATMs covering all major cities in Pakistan supports the delivery channels for customer service. As on December

    Read More

  • Askari Bank: A Leading Pakistani Bank

    7426 Words  | 30 Pages

    is six to eight weeks internship with any recognized institution. I decided to take up Askari Bank Limited for my internship because it is a competing Bank nowadays and gives a good training to the internees.  So in order to learn more this was my choice. This report is about my internship that I have undergone at Askari Bank Limited Multan Branch from 2nd June 2008 to 18th July 08.  During my internship I am able to learn practical aspect of business, and get good working experience. On the very

    Read More

More about What Are the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of the Rational Choice Appr

Get Access