Yet another religious figure has attempted to identify the causes of the current economic crisis. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader and Nobel Prize winner, has voiced his belief that the current situation is a consequence of flagging spirituality around the world. He notes:
People have become selfish and materialistic, which has led to the economic slowdown.
This reflects the view of Pope Benedict XVI who said in his Christmas message:
If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.
Both of these men, as leaders of spiritual and religious movements, would prefer us to focus our attention and resources on spiritual and religious ideas. This is as natural for them as it is for Wall Street financiers to extol the virtues of finance and sell their trade. The only difference is that you don't see JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs preaching about religion.
As a matter of economics, however, the question is how well spirituality correlates with economic well-being. One can point out the poverty in Tibet, the Dalai Lama's home, as a rather scathing rejoinder, or that we had centuries of focus on religious activity before we gave capitalism (aka greed) a shot, but let's try actual research.
Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary released an NBER working paper, entitled Religion and Economic Growth, in 2003 documenting the effect of religion on economic growth. They reach the conclusion that belief in certain tenets of religion (like heaven and hell) correlates positively, and church attendance negatively, with economic growth. They reach a similar conclusion in their article, Religion and Economy, for the Journal of Economic Perspectives (Vol. 20, No. 2, Spring, 2006).
Spirituality, however, is not the same as belief. Spirituality would entail more church attendance and more participation in religious activity. That, as the researchers note in their work, would take resources away from other, non-religious sectors for very little benefit.
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