Religious Persecutions

This chapter reviews an emerging area of research within economics that seeks to understand the causes and consequences of religious conflicts. After summarizing some key theoretical papers, it focuses on anti-Semitism, the most deeply rooted source of religious persecution documented in the academic literature. It discusses a series of works that investigate the economic, political and cultural roots of this phenomenon and then turns to its economic consequences for economic development. Furthermore, it discusses the works that have looked at the fate of the Jewish population itself and how it scrambled to escape the Nazi persecutions. Religious persecution is not limited to Jews. This chapter also reviews studies on conflicts and persecutions of other religious groups. Specifically, it will discuss works that have looked at rivalries between Protestants and Catholics, between Muslims and Hindus, and between Christians and Muslims.