Might there be an inextricable relationship between Economics and Religion in the way countries like in Brazil were offered a path to modernization and development?

Contributions to the study of economic development and modernization in the second half of the twentieth century included little on the role of religion. This paper begins with a statement by the campus director of an American university development project in Brazil making what, at the time, was a shocking statement: that no nation could develop economically, lest their people become Protestant. Six decades later Brazil has a modern economy and is well on its way to becoming a Protestant nation. In addition, Protestants, especially Pentecostals and other Evangelicals, have an influence in electoral politics supporting conservative candidates and their policies far beyond their numbers. The paper asks the question, was the statement by the campus director of the development program in Brazil simply his conjecture based on his personal beliefs, or might there be a relationship between the economics and politics of modernity that includes Protestantism as a functionally interdependent part?