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Traditional scholarship approaches religious history from the demand side, attributing developments to the shifting desires, perceptions, and circumstances of religious consumers. This article advocates an alternative, supply-side approach that emphasizes the opportunities and restrictions confronting religious organizations and their leaders. Supply shifts lie at the root of major religious changes in America. Colonial revivalists, Asian cult leaders, and contemporary televangelists all prospered when regulatory changes gave them freer access to America's religious marketplace. The article concludes with a discussion of recent judicial decisions that threaten to restrict the future supply of religious innovation in America.

Democratizing Access to Data: The American Religion Data Archive

Introduction: Religious freedom : social-scientific approaches / Olga Breskaya, Roger Finke, and Giuseppe Tiordan -- How does secularity "travel"? : toward a policy mobilities approach in the study of religious freedom / Efe Peker -- Religious freedom, legal activism and Muslim personal law in contemporary India : a sociological exploration of secularism / Anindita Chakrabarti -- Religious freedom and secularism in post-revolutionary Tunisia / Anna Grasso -- Religious pluralism, religious freedom and the secularization process in the Greek educational system / Alexandraos Sakellariou -- Regulating sincerity : religion, law, public policy, and the ambivalence of religious freedom in pluralist societies / Zaheeda P. Alibhai -- The religionization in Alevi culture : an exploratory study on spiritual leaders (Dedes) / Nuran Erol Işuk -- One, many or none : religious truth-claims and social perception of religious freedom / Olga Breskaya and Giuseppe Giordan -- Religious freedom in prisons : a case study from the Czech Republic / Jan Váně and Lukáš Dirga -- Organizations and religious restrictions : an international overview of the intersection of state and non-governmental organizations and religious groups / Dane R. Mataic and Kerby Goff -- Religious freedom between politics and policies : social and legal conflicts over Catholic religious education in Italy, 1984-1992 / Guillaume Silhol -- The measure of Cedaw : religion, religious freedom, and the rights of women / Barbara R. Walters -- Religious freedom and religionization of world politics : viewed of EU political and religious representatives / Chrysa K. Almpani.

AbstractResearch has documented that religious minorities often face the brunt of religious discrimination. Yet formal tests, using global collections, have been lacking. Building on the religious economy theory and recent work in law and politics, we propose that minority religions face discrimination from the state because they represent unwanted competition for the state supported religion, are viewed as a threat to the state and larger culture, and lack support from an independent judiciary. Drawing on the recently collected Religion and State-Minorities collection on more than 500 minority religions, we find support for each of the propositions, though the level of support varies based on the targets of state discrimination. In general, the support is strongest when explaining discrimination against minority religion's institutions and clergy, but weakens when explaining more general discrimination against the membership.