The interaction of structural and cultural aspects of the processes are emphasized. It also seeks to identify assumptions that have biased previous studies, causing them to overstate fundamentalism's threat and misinterpret the causes of fundamentalist militancy. The medieval Church is viewed as a franchise system. The paper analyzes the licensing of the friars as an institutional innovation which the popes of the 13th century initiated in order to appropriate the rents made possible both by the systematic development of the concept of purgatory and the introduction of resale price maintenance for indulgencies and penances. Using a game theoretic approach it can be shown that this institutional change forms a subgame perfect equilibrium.
Historical evidence supports the predictions generated by the model.
In underdeveloped countries we are faced with the vicious circle of high fertility, with resulting population growth and economic stagnation. The cultural background of this economic situation is marked by the low status of women, usually sanctioned by major world religions, which enjoy women's enthusiastic support. Religion is often described as a major obstacle to family planning and all other changes in women's status, which are the key to lowering fertility. Economic growth, education, and birth control are all interconnected, and they are all tied to secularization. Education seems the surest way, guaranteed to reduce fertility in most developing societies.