Three Perspectives on Economics and Faith

Laurence R. Iannaccone, Koch Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Director of the Center for the Economic Study of Religion, "The Economics of Religion: Invest Now, Repent Later". Iannaccone received a master's of science in mathematics and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. While at George Mason, Iannaccone has established a yearly international conference on "Religion, Economics and Culture," an interdisciplinary Association for the Study of Religion, Economics and Culture (ASREC) and most recently the Consortium for the Economic Study of Religion (CESR).

Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, "What Do Markets Need to Work? Faith, Hope and Charity". Following a 12-year career as a professional musician, Brooks received a doctorate in public policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He has served as visiting scholar at AEI and the Louis Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University. He is the author of several books, including, Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It, Social Entrepreneurship: A Modern Guide to Social Value Creation, and Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism.

John P. Tiemstra, professor of economics at Calvin College, "Notes from the Revolution: Principles of a New Economics". Tiemstra, who is the former president of the Association for Social Economics, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on methodological issues surrounding the integration of Christianity and economics. Tiemstra is the author of many articles and books, including Reforming Economics: Calvinist Studies on Methods and an economics textbook, Institution and Economics: A Developmental Approach.

Dr. Rodney Stark, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and co-director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor, "Early Christianity: 'Opium' of the Privileged?" Stark received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the former president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Association for the Sociology of Religion. Starks is the author of several books that have been translated into more than a dozen languages, including Cities of God; Discovering God; The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism and Western Success; One True God: Historical Consequences of Monotheism; The Churching of America, 1776-1990: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy; and The Rise of Christianity.