Connecting Religion with Economic Prosperity

In this Sunday's Times Magazine, DAVID LEONHARDT explores the relationship between various religions and economic success.

John Cassidy wrote an interesting piece on this topic for the New Yorker back in February.

Of course this is not a new idea, as both authors point out. It's one that I find a little uncomfortable, however, for a number of reasons. The idea that the economic challenges of the developing world could be the result of their fundamental religious beliefs might be comforting to those of us in more prosperous nations, but it seems a little overly simplistic. It is also invites the all too frequent confusion between causal and correlative data.