Econ 17 Assignment 1
Make a PDF and submit the PDF in Canvas by the due date/time
Learning Objectives
● Understand how economic thinking can be applied to understand religion.
● Carry out economic analysis -- via analytical thinking and data analysis -- to deepen that understanding of religion.
● Investigate and engage with religion in the world today.
Related Top 10 Economics-of-religion Principles
1. Individuals act rationally when making religious choices.
2. Religious beliefs and values are shaped by one’s own choices and others’
Prepare
Here is a simple 2x2 Pascal’s Wager decision matrix:
For this assignment you will decide and justify what should be the numerical values for parameters W, X, Y, Z, and p if this matrix is to accurately represent the decision for the typical American adult.
Carefully review MM 1.2-1.4.
Next go to TheARDA.com, and click on “US RELIGION” then “STATISTICS” and then “BELIEFS (QUICKSTATS).” On this page you will find links that report how a sample of Americans answered survey questions about moral issues, religion and politics, religious beliefs, and more. Explore several of the links to see the type of information that is reported.
Tasks
1. Using your best judgment, select at least five survey questions from this web page to help in deciding what are the best values for your decision matrix to most accurately represent a typical American adult. In the table below, enter the questions you selected, and for each question explain why you selected it and which parameter(s) the question will address. [Note: five survey questions are sufficient, but if you want to use more than five then please add rows to the table as needed.]
Survey Question Justification (2-4 sentences each)
2. For each of the survey questions you identified in Task 1, explain what the survey responses reveal about the typical American. What did you learn? Add additional rows if you identified more than five survey questions in Task 1.
Survey Question From Task 1 What the Survey Responses reveal (3-5 sentences each)
3. Complete the following table to declare and justify the parameter values that you selected to represent a typical American adult. When providing your justification for any particular parameter:
○ Explain why that parameter value represents a typical American adult.
○ Each justification should refer to something you learned in Tasks 1 and 2.
○ Provide a short paragraph for each justification.
Parameter Value Justification (3-5 sentences each)
4. Living piously is the optimal choice when
Using this fact and your parameter values from Task 3 above, calculate the values for p for which living piously is the typical American adult’s optimal choice.
p ≥
5. Yes or no: Based on your value for p in Task 3 and your calculation in Task 4, should the typical American live piously?
6. Your own views might be different from those of the typical American. Complete the table below to declare and justify what you believe the parameters for the Pascal’s Wager decision matrix should be. For each justification, explain why your parameter value is the same or different from that in Task 3 above. [Note: you are graded for how well you justify your parameter values and not the parameter values themselves or your honesty in representing yourself.]
Parameter Value Justification (3-5 sentences each)
7. Yes or no: According to your personal parameter values from Task 6, should you be living piously? Explain your answer.
8. A Pascal’s Wager decision matrix is obviously a highly simplified representation of how people decide to live their lives. One of the shortcomings of this simple depiction of Pascal’s Wager is that it is based on a very particular notion of God from a particular Christian theology, but there are other notions of God from within Christianity and from other religious traditions.
Revise the Pascal’s Decision matrix immediately below so that it incorporates other types of beliefs about God. Insert additional rows or columns if needed, and indicate your changes by applying a blue font color. Be sure to list payoffs numbers.
9. In approximately 150-250 words, explain the logic behind your changes to the matrix you made to complete Task 8.
10.Based on what you learned about the typical American adult, how should the typical American adult act if faced with your decision matrix from Task 8? When providing your answer:
○ Provide a worded explanation of how you reached your conclusion.
○ You can provide a mathematical calculation if you think it will help support your answer.
○ Your answer should be at least 2-4 sentences.