An Overview of a Special Issue of Entrepreneurship & Regional Development

We are proud to introduce a landmark special issue of Entrepreneurship & Regional Development dedicated to the distinctive domain of Religious Entrepreneurship. The issue explores how the discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities is influenced by practices shaped by a belief in–and connection to–the divine.

Featuring 15 articles from 44 authors across the globe—including research from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas—this collection represents the largest assembly of research on this topic in a top-tier entrepreneurship journal to date. By examining the “theological turn” in entrepreneurship, these studies move beyond treating religion as a mere variable and instead explore it as a fundamental force that shapes the distribution of individuals, organizations, and outcomes.

On September 21, 2026, from 9:00-10:30 a.m., the Center for L.I.F.E. will host a free, online conversation with the editors and select authors on how the issue came to be, the key insights from the research, and what it means for the future of the field.

Explore the Special Issue

Theme 1: Religious Entrepreneurship as Enabler or Constraint of Action

• Hindu Religious Entrepreneurship: Research by Sahasranamam and Kondayya illustrates how entrepreneurs in India engage in “translation work” to use Hindu practices and knowledge as a contemporary enabler for business.
• Venture Internationalization: Fernhaber and Hawash analyze over 17,000 ventures across 52 countries, finding that while religious diversity encourages international expansion, specific forms of “normative” religiosity can actually act as a constraint.
• Sacred Values and Cultural Tightness: A multi-country study by Sanchez-Ruiz et al. reveals that religiously sacred values often constrain entrepreneurial action, particularly in societies with tight cultural norms.
• Spiritual Bricolage in Ethiopia: Tesfaye et al. explore how women entrepreneurs leverage spiritual resources to reframe adversity and persist in their ventures.

Theme 2: Religious Entrepreneurship as Identity, Meaning, and Legitimacy

These articles explore the relationship between religious conviction and the ways entrepreneurs define themselves and their success.

• Managing Multiple Identities: Biru et al. study Catholic missionary organizations in Uganda to show how “identity elasticity” allows organizations to simultaneously pursue social, economic, and spiritual value.
• Entrepreneurship Influencing Religion: In a study of Protestant church planters in the U.S., Conger and Welter demonstrate the reverse relationship—how the entrepreneurial act of starting a church fundamentally changes the religious identity of the leader.
• The Master Narrative: Rifo and Poblete find that South American entrepreneurs navigate sacred and secular tensions by using specific narratives that allow them to redefine success through a religious lens.
• Tradition as a Constraint: Rocha et al. focus on the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to show how tradition acts as an “enabling constraint” that both limits and facilitates identity negotiation.

Theme 3: Religious Entrepreneurship as Social and Ethical Impact

This theme highlights how religious perspectives lead to a broader range of pursued outcomes beyond simple wealth creation.

• Sacred-Entrepreneurial Hybridity: Haugh examines the Church of England’s use of sacred buildings for income generation, proposing a model of care ethics that benefits the community and environment.
• Persistence Toward Spiritual Impact: A study of Kenyan pastors by Dwyer and Neubert highlights how the pursuit of “spiritual value” for God significantly influences risk-taking and persistence.
• Productive Outcomes in Iran: Emami et al. find that religious beliefs in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) nations lead to productive entrepreneurship by encouraging personal social responsibility.

Theme 4: Religious Entrepreneurship as Institutional Work

The final section investigates how religious organizing interacts with, maintains, or disrupts various institutional contexts.

• Institutional Voids in South Africa: Patel et al. find that in contexts of extreme poverty, the self-employed may actually disengage from religious institutions rather than depend on them.
• Moral Legitimacy in Scotland: Harris et al. identify strategies like “stewardship framing” and “strategic evangelism” used by Evangelical entrepreneurs to make profit-seeking morally acceptable within their networks.
• Transparency in Mexico: Moss et al. explore how Mexican entrepreneurs address institutional voids by transferring their religious beliefs into their business ventures with varying levels of transparency.
• Strategic Engagement in Nicaragua: Hechavarria et al. reveal that “motivational identities” determine how entrepreneurs interact with religious institutions—some seek status, while others seek tangible resources.