1. Answer the following questions about the concept of ideal strictness.
(a) In the term “ideal strictness,” what does the “ideal” mean?
(b) Do you think a person’s ideal strictness will change if their income changes? Explainnyour
answer.
(c) Why might a person be a member of a religious group even if their ideal strictness is very
different from the religious group’s strictness?
2. Under what conditions could competition be fiercer between congregations of the same
denomination than between congregations of different denominations? Provide the conditions
and explain why those conditions create strong intra-denominational competition. You might
want to re-read Section 10.6 in the book before giving your answer.
3. Read the “Plausibility” entry in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. You can get
to the Encyclopedia via the sidebar on the class web site.
(a) Explain in your own words the meaning of plausibility.
(b) For years, sociologists believed that religious competition would undermine religiosity by
undermining plausibility. Briefly explain the logic behind this claim.
(c) Briefly explain why the economic approach predicts that religious competition can actually
increase religiosity.
4. In chapter 9 of Faithonomics, Brekke discusses “crowding out.”
(a) What is “crowding out?”
(b) Why might a person’s contributions to their church be crowded out?
(c) Yes or no: Does Brekke think that there is crowding out with churches? What evidence does
Brekke provide to support his conclusion?
5. Back in 2016, the Pew Research Center published a study of switching congregations
among American adults. Read the main web page for the study here:
https://www.pewforum.org/2016/08/23/choosing-a-new-church-or-house-of-worship/
(a) According to the study, what are the main factors that people look for when switching
congregations? List at least five.
(b) Interpret and comment on these findings using concepts from our class.
