THE THREE-LEGGED STOOL THAT THE eND OF hISTORY SITS ON:

Economic freedom--that is, the provision of property rights and the ability to form contracts with others--is taken as a given in the United States and most of the developed world. Countless studies demonstrate the importance of property rights and contracting, as well as good institutions and democracy more broadly, for economic growth and development. But what if economic freedom is a luxury that arises only in the presence of something even more fundamental: religious liberty?

Using data on more than 146 countries since 1996, my research finds that increases in religious freedom precede, and help explain, increases in economic freedom. The logic is simple: since religious freedom fundamentally involves granting individuals the autonomy to think and worship in whatever form they wish, it is arguably the most basic of all freedoms. Property rights are of little use if those who retain them do not have the freedom to think what they wish and practice what they believe.

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