Why churches need free-riders: Religious capital formation and religious group survival

Michael McBride ()

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2015, vol. 58, issue C, 77-87

Abstract: Prevailing theory claims that churches thrive when they overcome the free-rider problem. However, this paper argues that religious organizations need free-riders in a dynamic setting. If individuals’ contributions to congregations increase as their exposure to religion increases, then allowing potential members to free-ride temporarily may increase future membership and contribution levels. Free-riders thus comprise a risky but necessary investment by the church. Strict churches screen out riskier investments yet still allow some free-riding, while ultra-strict churches screen out all but members’ children. This new theory yields predictions consistent with stylized empirical facts.

Keywords: Religion; Free-riding; Religious capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L31 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Why Churches Need Free-riders: Religious Capital Formation and Religious Group Survival (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceco:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:77-87

DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2015.07.001

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