Religion and Economy: Several Cases

English

«We Express Our Full Readiness to Help the Soviet Power...» A Short Experience of Integration of the Russian «Spiritual Christians» into the Socialist Economy of the 1920s

The article examines the history of a short‑lived cooperation between the Soviet power and the communities of the Russian Spiritual Christians (dukhovnye khristiane), such as Dukhobors, Molokans, and New Israelites. After the revolution and during the 1920s, the communities of these Christian sects created a type of economic associations that formally could correspond to the Bolsheviks’ economic policies. The Bolsheviks considered these communities as their allies, believing that they could become agents of socialist economic forms in the agriculture.

Jadidist Economics: Early 20th Century Tatar Religious Reformers on Usury and Banks

The article deals with three main approaches of Tatar religious re‑ formers of the early 20th century to the problem of the Quranic usury ban. They all believed of the traditional scholastic Muslim doctrines as being outdated and hampering the economic development of the com‑ munity. They offered their own modern interpretations on the basis of various methods of reading the sacred texts.

The Economy of Turkish Jamaats: A Neosuft Comeback at the Turn of the 21st Century

Modern Muslim communities in Turkey, the jamaats, fastened by a particular ideology and a leader (not necessarily living now), have played and still play a significant role in the socio‑political life. They affect the views of a significant part of the population, create efficient institutions of civil society, interfere in politics, and are actively involved in the economy.

The Gross National Product and the Gods

In this article, the author briefly describes the concept of economic culture. This concept suggests that different cultural attitudes and habits affect economic behavior. In some cases, this influence could become a good foundation for more successful economic development of a single country or even a whole region. In other cases, this influence could be negative. All this deserves concrete empirical studies on the ground.