The Economic Sin of the People of Lut: A Lesson Plan

The objective in this paper is to address topics of economic inequality, discrimination, and crime from the story of the people of Lut (Sodom and Gomorrah) for an Economics of Religion class. The sin of the people of Lut is placed in an economic context from the Talmud and the Midrash and from exegetical literature including the Sunni, Shia, and the Ahmadi denominations. Four sample questions and suggested answers are provided to broach topics of discrimination and crime (based on Gary Becker), cultural stereotypes and economic development (based on Ha-Joon Chang), and economic inequality (based on Tom Malleson). This approach allows to shift away from mathematical technicalities and towards critical thinking.