Well, some may think that Economics is hell. But here’s a twist. Evidence suggests that a society’s belief in Hell affects their economy. Yeah, that’s what I thought!

A pair of Harvard researchers recently examined 40 years of data from dozens of countries, trying to sort out the economic impact of religious beliefs or practices. They found that religion has a measurable effect on developing economies – and the most powerful influence relates to how strongly people believe in hell.

More here. Another here looks at the economic malaise in many Islamic countries and their lack of religious pluralism.