In Persona Christi Capitis: Agency Problems When God is the Principal

Clara E. Jace () and Ennio E. Piano ()
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Clara E. Jace: George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Ennio E. Piano: ��Middle Tennessee State University, 1301 E. Main St., Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA

Journal of Economics, Management and Religion (JEMAR), 2021, vol. 02, issue 01, 1-30

Abstract: The in persona Christi Capitis doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church guarantees the validity of its sacraments, irrespective of the personal morality of the priest who performs them. While this protects their value as metacredence goods, it seemingly opens the door to opportunistic behaviour by the clergy. To balance out its institutional incentives, the Roman Catholic Church must rigorously screen its candidates for the priesthood. Historical evidence supports our hypothesis that the development of the in persona Christi Capitis doctrine was accompanied by marginal increases in the screening of seminarians, which may have been an optimal response to changing historical circumstances. Also consistent with our hypothesis, a cross section of contemporary Christian denominations shows a correlation between a group’s stance on sacramental theology and the strictness of its screening of candidates to religious ministry.

Keywords: Agency problems; Roman Catholic Church; economics of religion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1142/S2737436X21500023

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