Religion and Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the role of religion in social entrepreneurship. It takes an institutional perspective and examines the way religious institutions and actors have supported social entrepreneurship. Max Weber has argued for the role of (Protestant) religion in motivating people to take entrepreneurial activity, leading to the rise of capitalism in the West. It has often been observed that religious groups, especially sects or minority religious groups such as Quakers or Jews, have strong links with entrepreneurial activity—there are a range of factors in the literature which help us explain this. These include in particular the place of high trust networks in facilitating entrepreneurial activity. In addition, religious institutions (through leadership discourse and institutional networks) have historically played important roles in shaping the activities of religious members and priests as well as philanthropists. This has operated through religious leadership discourse, for example papal encyclicals orienting priests to support economic solutions to poverty and social problems in their communities, and the direct action of individual priests, institutional development (networks/organizations) and local religious leaders to catalyse entrepreneurial activity. Thus these three dimensions of religious institutions (ideological discourse, networks and leadership) will be examined in relation to social entrepreneurship.

Based on paper presented at 3rd International Social Entrepreneurship Research Conference (ISERC), 18–19 June 2007 Copenhagen Business School Frederiksberg, Denmark.