This note summarizes some thoughts I wrote up in an application for the first Roots of Progress blog building intensive. (I wasn’t selected; ROP is still awesome). I’m keeping it, because maybe I should still write it?
Someone should write about religion & economic progress. How does religion effect progress? How has/could religion accelerate/decelerate progress?
This could be parts theological, historical, and practical.
- Theological, in examining the case for religious support of progress and questions that raises.
- Historical, in looking at where religious figures & religion have had positive and negative influences on progress.
- Practical, in showing specific ways religious institutions can help.
I’ve been geeking out over Max Roser’s “The short history of global living conditions” for 7 years ever since my first economics professor had it taped to their door. But over time I’ve also noticed tensions between those facts and what many people in religious circles seem to believe and think. I want to explore and explain those tensions by researching questions about religion & progress. My context is US-mainline-Christianity; I’d start there but would want to research more broadly.
This topic matters because it benefits Progress Studies to have more support from religious people.
Progress requires some level of public support. Broad public support has to include religious people; despite the rise of secularism over the last decades and centuries, 84% of the world and 70% of Americans still have a religious affiliation. But religiosity is associated with negative attitudes towards science (such as disagreeing with “because of science and technology, there will be more opportunities for the next generation”).
It seems likely that religious people are disproportionately served negative perspectives on progress. So it would help progress studies to have someone write thoughtfully and positively on progress for a religious audience.
Progress is a policy choice. Imagine if the US Conference of Catholic Bishops or National Association of Evangelicals were lobbying for progress.
Could I do this kind of writing and research?
- I have a revealed preference for the topic area (see About and The Bible in the 21st Century).
- I have prior experience at a think tank.
- I can read rigorous academic research (see The Economic Benefit of the Freedom of the Seas).
I’m early in my career, and being a full-time writer isn’t currently my plan — and I’d be surprised if this niche is enough for an independent substack career.
But writing about progress could accelerate my broader career goals. I’d like to continue working in director-level roles at effective, growing nonprofits over the medium term, building a COO-toolkit over the next 5 years. A COO role is further out, but I’d like to build the capacity and network to get there at a high-potential company in a sector I care about (housing affordability, autism education, progress studies — I know some focus would help).
More and better writing will build the skills that I need anyway for that kind of role, which is why I’m actively writing more. Writing on progress topics will help me narrow down my interests. And it would help me bump into interesting people with similar interests.
So far in writing I’ve missed a bit of accountability and activation energy. I’ve toyed with an idea like this before but haven’t fully started. Maybe now’s the time!