If religion didn’t exist, would the world be richer?

This question arises from a rather simple statistical observation. In countries where more than 5% of the population declares to be non-religious, per-capita GDP grows by 2.3% a year on average. Conversely, in countries where less than 5% of the population declares to be non-religious, GDP grows by 1.3% a year on average. The growth rate declines even further as the share of non-religious population shrinks.

In their search for the fundamental causes of economic development, scholars from various disciplines have come to question the role of religion (Barro and McCleary and Durlauf, Kourtellos and Tan).

In his comprehensive analysis of modern economic growth theory, Acemoglu includes religion as one of the key cultural determinants affecting long-term economic development.

An answer that has gained some popularity is that religious affiliation is harmful when the population is fragmented or polarised between two or more religions Particularly in countries that are at early stages of institutional development, religious fragmentation or polarisation can be a source of socio-political instability, distrust, and conflict, which ultimately harms economic development (see Montalvo and Reynal-Querol; Boakye).

Yet, there is another side to this story. Economic growth (development), is a process of innovation. A diverse, multicultural society provides the ideal environment for the creation and diffusion of new ideas.

In this sense, religious pluralism can be a driver of development, rather than an obstacle. But for this to happen, mutual understanding and learning is essential. This in turn calls for effective interfaith dialogue as a tool of economic development.

From dialogue to development

Interfaith dialogue (ID) is an exchange of information, beliefs or opinions between members of different faiths communities with the conscious effort to develop or strengthen respect and understanding between them. Dialogue is the process by which this occurs; interfaith is the context in which this process takes place.

Rather than taking and aggressively defending a position while seeking to show the weaknesses of another’s argument, dialogue focuses on listening or collaborating, which lead to participant openness to transformation of prejudice and perspective. It is both a skill that can be developed and a process facilitated by the environment in which the exchange takes place.

A process that brings faith communities together to collaborate can have significant collective and generative impacts on economic development.

Firstly, interfaith dialogue can strengthen social cohesion and peace, breaking the link between religious fragmentation and conflict.

Second, interfaith dialogue brings together a range of perspectives, insights, traditions and world views that may be used as fuel for innovation.

In addition to these collective aspects, interfaith dialogue also has a generative feature. The act of bringing together different perspectives, in a respectful, safe setting, allows the generation of new interpretations and collaborative perspectives that can be added to the economic development resource base.

Further, interfaith dialogue can also impact economic development in its capacity to unite and give greater articulation to the corrective or normative perspectives of faith communities, for example in the areas of social responsibility and sustainability.

Finally, interfaith dialogue can impact economic development as it acts as a barometer for the health of human rights in an area. While perhaps not as direct an impact, successful interfaith dialogue requires and reinforces human rights, such as freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion which in turn provide support to economic development endeavours.

Connections

The connections between interfaith dialogue and economic development enumerated above are ideal, not assured. However, much can be done to reinforce their collective and generative aspects.

We will present three areas in which this can take place.

One

Connections can be reinforced through policies and laws supportive of and informed by ID processes. Efforts to strengthen social cohesion in our diverse communities and deepen respect for human rights provide a solid foundation for ID to contribute to the peace and social stability necessary for economic development.

In Australia, these efforts are numerous and sincere, but too often makeshift and poorly coordinated, such that their collective impact is perhaps less than the sum of the individual initiatives.

Further, these policies and laws themselves can be strengthened if they take into account the insights, traditions and collaborative perspectives of those they seek to support.

One way such coordination and consultation could be achieved is through the establishment of representative interfaith dialogue bodies, including at the state and national levels.

Two

A second opportunity to reinforce these connections is through the development of social norms that accept these and against which their success and relevancy are measured. Norms are not like policies and laws in being proposed, accepted and implemented; rather, norms develop and evolve over time through debate, discussion and dialogue. Therefore, opportunities to articulate and advocate for these values are essential components of connecting interfaith dialogue and economic development.

Three

And finally, I forward as an opportunity to reinforce these connections in the business world, proposing that as businesses find ways to bring together perspectives, insights, traditions and worldviews through interfaith dialogue, they will access innovative opportunities to strengthen their economic performance and sustainability.

Successful implementation of the above recommendations is dependent upon sincere commitments of leadership, institutions, and financial support. A call for committed leadership is not a call for government control of interfaith dialogue processes across Australia. But it is a broad call for articulate, committed engagement and vision from government, civil society and business leaders.

The call for institutional support of interfaith dialogue initiatives includes the formation of new structures, such as representative bodies, and the revisiting of established ones, such as economic advisory councils. These endeavours will have the view of taking advantage of the economic benefits of interfaith dialogue.

Very little of this is possible without the commitment of financial support. In fact, one way to assess committed leadership is the willingness and ability to fund these pursuits — financial support should come from civil society, government and business partners.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

BRIAN J. ADAMS

Dr Brian J. Adams is the Director of the Centre for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue (ICD) at Griffith University.

As a former Rotary Peace Fellow, Brian is primarily focused on promoting respect and understanding across cultural, religious and organisational boundaries. This work is supported by a Ph.D. (political science) in deliberative dialogue and two Master degrees in community development and conflict resolution.

FABRIZIO CARMIGNANI

Professor Fabrizio Carmignani is Head of the Department of
Accounting, Finance and Economics at Griffith University.