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The Interaction Between Religion and Economic Performance in Nigeria

Received: 26 May 2022     Accepted: 10 June 2022     Published: 18 April 2023
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Abstract

The essence of this study is to promote the notion that religion is not reduced to spirituality alone but has the capacity to enhance development at any level of which economic factor is key and crucial to the development of a society or nation. Religions are ubiquitous across human society. It is natural to speculate that they may affect important economic outcome, such as economic growth as many have done dating at the very least to Max Weber’s (1905) celebrated work. One fundamental aspect that is common to all forms of religion is that they prescribe rules of behaviour, or practices that constrain followers. In other words, religious practices are a kind of informal institution imposing constraints that structure economic, political and social interactions. The aim of this paper is to understand the interaction between religion and economic performance in Nigeria and this study is motivated by the influence of religion in fostering the Nigerian economy. The methodology applied in this paper is socio-religious and comparative. Findings from this research shows that some activities performed in religious centres have basically economic motives. The study recommends the need for religious bodies to contribute to the economic growth of the society and concludes that religion is crucial for national economic development.

Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13
Page(s) 50-56
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Religion, Interaction, Economic Performance

References
[1] Okpe Nicholas Ojoajogwu. (2014) “Religion as a catalyst of nation building in Nigeria” Net Journal of Social Sciences. Vol. 2 (2), p. 71-76.
[2] Iannaccone, L. R (1998). “Introduction to the Economics of Religion” Journal of Economic Literature 36 (September), 1465-1496.
[3] Eliade, ed., (1986). Encyclopedia of Religion vol. 16. https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/religion. Retrieved on the 10th of June, 2022.
[4] Durkheim, E. (1915) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Macmillan.
[5] Adebirigbe, I. S., and Aiyegboyin, D.(1997). Religion, Study and Practice. Ijebu-ode: Alamsek Press.
[6] Lionel Robbins (1932) An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. https://www.merospark.com/content/176/robbin-s-definition-of-economics. Retrieved on the 10th of June, 2022.
[7] Imoisi, Anthony Ilegbinosa and Godstime Ikechukwu Opara (2014) “Microfinance and its Impact on Poverty Alleviation: A Case StudyofsomeMicrofinance Banks in Edo State, Nigeria” American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 27-41.
[8] Weber, Max. (2002) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and other Writings. New York: Penguin Books.
[9] Weber Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism 2007. Retrieved on the 10 June, 2022.
[10] Mersland, Roy, Bert D’ Espallier and Supphellen Magne.(2014). “The Effects of Religion on Development Efforts: Evidence from the Global Industry and a Research Agenda” Journal of World Development Vol. 41. P. 145-147.
[11] Damian Ruck. (2021) “The Link between Religion and Economic Development” World Economic Forum, Retrieved on the 10th of June 2022.
[12] Barro, R. J. and R. C. McClearly. (2003) “Religion and Economic Growth Across Countries” American Sociological Review 68 (5), 760-781.
[13] Geertz, C. (1969). “Religion as a cultural system,” in D. R. Cutler (ed.) The World Year Book of Religion: The Religious Situation, vol. I, London: Evans Brothers Limited, 639-688.
[14] The National Bureau of Economic Research Digest https://www.nber.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/nov03.pdf. Retrieved on 10 June, 2022.
[15] Noland, Marcus. (2005) “Religion and Economic Performance” World Development vol 33 (8), p. 1215-1232.
[16] Ephraim F. “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”. Social Research, Vol. XI, pp. 62-68, 1944.
[17] Okechukwu Odinaka Ajaegbu. (2012) “Religion and National Development in Nigeria” American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal Vol. 4, No. 4, p. 1-6.
[18] DiMaggio, P. (1994) “Culture and Economy,” in Smelser, N. J. and R. Swedberg, (eds)., Handbook of Economic Sociology. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 27-57.
[19] Essan, M. O. (2014) “Religious and Economic Development in Abeokuta North Local Government Area, Ogun State.” M. A. Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan.
[20] McCleary Rachel and Robert, B. J. (2006.) “Religion and Economy” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 2 (2).
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Joseph Esther Ojone, Yusufu Blessing Eleojo, Sanni Lois Avosuahi. (2023). The Interaction Between Religion and Economic Performance in Nigeria. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 8(2), 50-56. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13

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    ACS Style

    Joseph Esther Ojone; Yusufu Blessing Eleojo; Sanni Lois Avosuahi. The Interaction Between Religion and Economic Performance in Nigeria. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2023, 8(2), 50-56. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13

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    AMA Style

    Joseph Esther Ojone, Yusufu Blessing Eleojo, Sanni Lois Avosuahi. The Interaction Between Religion and Economic Performance in Nigeria. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2023;8(2):50-56. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13,
      author = {Joseph Esther Ojone and Yusufu Blessing Eleojo and Sanni Lois Avosuahi},
      title = {The Interaction Between Religion and Economic Performance in Nigeria},
      journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {50-56},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20230802.13},
      abstract = {The essence of this study is to promote the notion that religion is not reduced to spirituality alone but has the capacity to enhance development at any level of which economic factor is key and crucial to the development of a society or nation. Religions are ubiquitous across human society. It is natural to speculate that they may affect important economic outcome, such as economic growth as many have done dating at the very least to Max Weber’s (1905) celebrated work. One fundamental aspect that is common to all forms of religion is that they prescribe rules of behaviour, or practices that constrain followers. In other words, religious practices are a kind of informal institution imposing constraints that structure economic, political and social interactions. The aim of this paper is to understand the interaction between religion and economic performance in Nigeria and this study is motivated by the influence of religion in fostering the Nigerian economy. The methodology applied in this paper is socio-religious and comparative. Findings from this research shows that some activities performed in religious centres have basically economic motives. The study recommends the need for religious bodies to contribute to the economic growth of the society and concludes that religion is crucial for national economic development.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Joseph Esther Ojone
    AU  - Yusufu Blessing Eleojo
    AU  - Sanni Lois Avosuahi
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13
    T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3363
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20230802.13
    AB  - The essence of this study is to promote the notion that religion is not reduced to spirituality alone but has the capacity to enhance development at any level of which economic factor is key and crucial to the development of a society or nation. Religions are ubiquitous across human society. It is natural to speculate that they may affect important economic outcome, such as economic growth as many have done dating at the very least to Max Weber’s (1905) celebrated work. One fundamental aspect that is common to all forms of religion is that they prescribe rules of behaviour, or practices that constrain followers. In other words, religious practices are a kind of informal institution imposing constraints that structure economic, political and social interactions. The aim of this paper is to understand the interaction between religion and economic performance in Nigeria and this study is motivated by the influence of religion in fostering the Nigerian economy. The methodology applied in this paper is socio-religious and comparative. Findings from this research shows that some activities performed in religious centres have basically economic motives. The study recommends the need for religious bodies to contribute to the economic growth of the society and concludes that religion is crucial for national economic development.
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Nigeria

  • Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Nigeria

  • Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Nigeria

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