This paper shows that Eastern Orthodoxbelievers are less happy compared with Catholics andProtestants using data covering more than 100 countriesaround the world. Consistent with the happiness results, thepaper also finds that relative to Catholics, Protestants,and non-believers, those of Eastern Orthodox religion haveless social capital and prefer old ideas and safe jobs. Inaddition, Orthodoxy is associated with left-leaningpolitical preferences and stronger support for governmentinvolvement in the economy. Compared with non-believers andOrthodox adherents, Catholics and Protestants are lesslikely to agree that government ownership is a good thing,and Protestants are less likely to agree that getting richcan only happen at the expense of others. These differencesin life satisfaction and other attitudes and valuespersisted despite the fact that communist elites sought toeradicate church-going in Eastern Europe, since communistsmaintained many aspects of Orthodox theology which wereuseful for the advancement of the communist doctrine. Thefindings are consistent with Berdyaev's hypothesis thatcommunism is a successor of Orthodoxy.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
