THE ECONOMICS OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF

An economic theory of knowledge makes sense of much of the phenomenon of religious belief as merely a form of knowledge. Such a theory must, in general, address the incentives for and costs of coming to discove r some bit of knowledge and with the happenstance availability of rele vant knowledge in moments of decision. But it must also address the ca using and maintaining of belief, especially the way incentives actuall y bring one to come to believe some range of knowledge, not merely the incentives for coming across the content of that knowledge.