The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., whose purpose is to ensure international monetary cooperation, promote the growth of international trade, ensure the stability of financial exchange, provide assistance for countries in debt, and ultimately advance global financial stability. It monitors the economic progress of countries and provides technological assistance and training. In 2010, 187 nations belonged to this organization. The ways in which people practice and understand religion can transform as a result of changing economic circumstances. The policies of the IMF, which have a deep impact on the developing world, should also be understood as a causal force of religious change.

In 1944, delegates from 44 nations convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to put together agreements that would ...