Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282418 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 10730
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Can weakened religiosity lead to the rise of totalitarianism? The Nazi Party set itself up as a political religion, emphasizing redemption, sacrifice, rituals, and communal spirit. This had a major impact on its success: Where the Christian Church only had shallow roots, the Nazis received higher electoral support and saw more party entry. "Shallow Christianity" reflects the geography of medieval Christianization and the strength of pagan practices, which we use as sources of exogenous variation. We also find predictive power at the individual level: Within each municipality, the likelihood of joining the Nazi Party was higher for those with less Christian first names.
Subjects: 
political religion
behavioral political economy
voting
Nazi Party
Protestantism
Shallow Christianity
political religion
Paganism
JEL: 
N13
N14
N44
P16
Z12
Z18
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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