Econophysics of a religious cult: the Antoinists in Belgium [1920-2000]

TL;DR

This paper applies econophysics methods to analyze the financial history of the Antoinist religious movement in Belgium from 1920 to 2000, revealing growth and decay patterns influenced by economic factors.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanistic model combining GDP growth, inflation, and population dynamics to explain financial fluctuations in a religious community.

Findings

Identified a three-wave asymmetric regime in financial data.

Observed fluctuations correlated with economic crises.

Proposed a model integrating economic and demographic factors.

Abstract

In the framework of applying econophysics ideas in religious topics, the finances of the Antoinist religious movement organized in Belgium between 1920 and 2000 are studied. The interest of investigating financial aspects of such a, sometimes called, sect stems in finding characteristics of conditions and mechanisms under which definitely growth AND decay features of communities can be understood. The legally reported yearly income and expenses between 1920 and 2000 are studied. A three wave asymmetric regime is observed over a trend among marked fluctuations at time of crises. The data analysis leads to propose a general mechanistic model taking into account an average GDP growth, an oscillatory monetary inflation and a logistic population drift.