Religion, morality and economic transformation

The connections of religion, morality and economy featured prominently among the classical works in the sociology of religion, but new economic forms, their global entanglements and their effects on religious actors demand new research approaches. In Buddhism one finds ritual technologies of self-cultivation, which are used for enhancement of productivity. There are also ritual economies, which re-distribute wealth according to moral criteria. The economy is therefore not to be understood as a solely rational and secular matter, but is embedded in religious practices and moral values.