Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Religious Participation and Economic Conservatism

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gaskins, B; Golder, M; Siegel, DA
Published in: American Journal of Political Science
January 1, 2013

Why do some individuals engage in more religious activity than others? And how does this religious activity influence their economic attitudes? We present a formal model in which individuals derive utility from both secular and religious sources. Our model, which incorporates both demand-side and supply-side explanations of religion, is unusual in that it endogenizes both an individual's religious participation and her preferences over economic policy. Using data on over 70 countries from the pooled World Values Survey, we find that religious participation declines with societal development, an individual's ability to produce secular goods, and state regulations on religion, but that it increases with inequality. We also find that religious participation increases economic conservatism among the poor but decreases it among the rich. Our analysis has important insights for the debate about secularization theory and challenges conventional wisdom regarding the relationship between religious participation and economic conservatism. ©2013, Midwest Political Science Association.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

American Journal of Political Science

DOI

EISSN

1540-5907

ISSN

0092-5853

Publication Date

January 1, 2013

Volume

57

Issue

4

Start / End Page

823 / 840

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 1606 Political Science
  • 1402 Applied Economics
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Gaskins, B., Golder, M., & Siegel, D. A. (2013). Religious Participation and Economic Conservatism. American Journal of Political Science, 57(4), 823–840. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12024
Gaskins, B., M. Golder, and D. A. Siegel. “Religious Participation and Economic Conservatism.” American Journal of Political Science 57, no. 4 (January 1, 2013): 823–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12024.
Gaskins B, Golder M, Siegel DA. Religious Participation and Economic Conservatism. American Journal of Political Science. 2013 Jan 1;57(4):823–40.
Gaskins, B., et al. “Religious Participation and Economic Conservatism.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 57, no. 4, Jan. 2013, pp. 823–40. Scopus, doi:10.1111/ajps.12024.
Gaskins B, Golder M, Siegel DA. Religious Participation and Economic Conservatism. American Journal of Political Science. 2013 Jan 1;57(4):823–840.
Journal cover image

Published In

American Journal of Political Science

DOI

EISSN

1540-5907

ISSN

0092-5853

Publication Date

January 1, 2013

Volume

57

Issue

4

Start / End Page

823 / 840

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 1606 Political Science
  • 1402 Applied Economics