Rejoinder to Stark and Iannaccone: "Heads, I Win...": On Immunizing a Theory

This rejoinder to Rodney Stark & Laurence Iannaccone (see abstract) reiterates that their supply-side theory of religious growth cannot explain the recent decline in religious participation in the Netherlands. Instead, they have adopted a different theory in which conflict between religious groups substitutes for competition between suppliers. This new move raises four issues: (1) the role of competition; (2) addressing the contradictions intrinsic to the supply-side approach; (3) the contradiction raised by the original suggestions that monopolization of religion leads to low participation, when just the opposite is argued in their response; & (4) the use of data from a prior study that disagrees with their theory as originally posed. It is suggested that by recognizing the role of social conflict in religious participation, Stark & Iannaccone indicate their readiness to return to the old paradigm in the sociology of religion. 5 References. D. M. Smith