Is Your Religion Your Financial Destiny?
("David Leonhardt," May 11, 2011)
New York, USA - The economic differences among the country’s various
religions are strikingly large, much larger than the differences among states
and even larger than those among racial groups.
The most affluent of the major religions — including secularism — is
Reform Judaism. Sixty-seven percent of Reform Jewish households made more than
$75,000 a year at the time the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
collected the data, compared with only 31 percent of the population as a
whole.
Hindus were second, at 65 percent, and Conservative Jews were third, at 57
percent.
On the other end are Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Baptists. In
each case, 20 percent or fewer of followers made at least $75,000. Remarkably,
the share of Baptist households making $40,000 or less is roughly the same
as the share of Reform Jews making $100,000 or more. Overall, Protestants,
who together are the country’s largest religious group, are poorer than
average and poorer than Catholics. That stands in contrast to the long
history, made famous by Max Weber, of Protestant nations generally being
richer
than Catholic nations.
Many factors are behind the discrepancies among religions, but one stands
out. The relationship between education and income is so strong that you can
almost draw a line through the points on this graph. Social science rarely
produces results this clean.
What about the modest outliers — like Unitarians, Buddhists and Orthodox
Christians, all of whom are less affluent than they are educated (and are
below the imaginary line)? One possible explanation is that some religions are
more likely to produce, or to attract, people who voluntarily choose
lower-paying jobs, like teaching.
Another potential explanation is discrimination. Scott Keeter of Pew notes
that researchers have used more sophisticated versions of this sort of
analysis to look for patterns of marketplace discrimination. And a few of the
religions that make less than their education would suggest have largely
nonwhite followings, including Buddhism and Hinduism. Pew also created a
category of traditionally black Protestant congregations, and it was somewhat
poorer than could be explained by education levels. These patterns don’t
prove discrimination, but they raise questions.
Some of the income differences probably stem from culture. Some faiths
place great importance on formal education. But the differences are also
self-reinforcing. People who make more money can send their children to better
schools, exacerbating the many advantages they have over poorer children.
Round and round, the cycle goes. It won’t solve itself.
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