“Keeping Faith, Losing Faith: Religious Belief and Political Economy” considers the historical and current relationship between religious and economic schools of thought. The volume explores the integration of theology and economics that was prevalent before the twentieth century, the rise of secular neoclassical economic models in the middle of that century, and the recent trend toward examining economic behavior through the prism of religious belief.

Two of the essays examine the antagonism between Christianity and utilitarianism in postrevolutionary French economics and the rising influence of the materialism of the market vis-à-vis the declining authority of the Roman Catholic Church in eighteenth-century Europe. Other topics explored include the work of the great American neoclassicist Frank Knight, the combination of utility analysis and Christian principles among the “clerical economists” in America, and the effect of a crisis of personal faith on the theories of the English philosopher and economist Henry Sidgwick.

Beni-Amer cattle owners in the western part of the Horn of Africa are not only masters in cattle breeding, they are also knowledge sovereign, in terms of owning productive genes of cattle and the cognitive knowledge base crucial to sustainable development. The strong bonds between the Beni-Amer, their animals, and their environment constitute the basis of their ways of knowing, and much of their knowledge system is built on experience and embedded in their cultural practices.

In this book, the first to study Beni-Amer practices, Zeremariam Fre argues for the importance of their knowledge, challenging the preconceptions that regard it as untrustworthy when compared to scientific knowledge from more developed regions. Empirical evidence suggests that there is much one could learn from the other, since elements of pastoralist technology, such as those related to animal production and husbandry, make a direct contribution to our knowledge of livestock production. It is this potential for hybridization, as well as the resilience of the herders, at the core of the indigenous knowledge system.

Fre also argues that indigenous knowledge can be viewed as a stand-alone science, and that a community’s rights over ownership should be defended by government officials, development planners and policy makers, making the case for a celebration of the knowledge sovereignty of pastoralist communities

Brightly colored and intricately designed, molas have become popular with buyers across the United States, Europe, and Japan, many of whom have never heard of the San Blas Kuna of Panama who make the fabric pictures that adorn the clothing, wall hangings, and other goods we buy. In this study, Karin Tice explores the impact of the commercialization of mola production on Kuna society, one of the most important, yet least studied, social changes to occur in San Blas in this century. She argues that far from being a cohesive force, commercialization has resulted in social differentiation between the genders and among Kuna women residing in different parts of the region. She also situates this political economic history within a larger global context of international trade, political intrigue, and ethnic tourism to offer insights concerning commercial craft production that apply far beyond the Kuna case. These findings, based on extensive ethnographic field research, constitute important reading for scholars and students of anthropology, women’s studies, and economics. They also offer an indigenous perspective on the twentieth-century version of Columbus’s landing—the arrival of a cruise ship bearing wealthy, souvenir-seeking tourists.