Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care

In 2005, I debated my then-colleague Larry Iannaccone on the economics of religion. The turnout — around 300 people at GMU back when it was clearly a commuter school — surprised me and totally shocked Larry. I still remember his eyes bugging out when he entered the auditorium! Though perhaps he was just astounded to see me wearing a suit.

We tried recording using an early-gen iPod, but that failed. All that remains of the debate is the following opening statement and this supplementary webpage, though I’d obviously be happy to run any response Larry cared to write. Enjoy!

Larry Iannaccone and his co-author Rodney Stark once wrote that the belief that society is getting less religious says "less about empirical fact than it does about secularization faith — a faith that, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, sustains the conviction of many social scientists that religious institutions must soon decay..."  In short, belief in secularization is just a religion. 

Larry's critics were, unsurprisingly, not pleased.  To tell people that their non-religious beliefs are just a religion is an insult.  Why is it an insult?  There isn't any nice way to answer, so I'll be blunt.  It is an insult because the way that people form religious beliefs is so intellectually irresponsible that their conclusions are almost guaranteed to be false.  People:

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