State Welfare Spending and Religiosity

Anthony Gill and Erik Lundsgaarde
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Anthony Gill: Political Science, Box 353530, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195–3530 tgill@u.washington.edu

Rationality and Society, 2004, vol. 16, issue 4, 399-436

Abstract: What accounts for cross-national variation in religiosity as measured by church attendance and non-religious rates? Examining answers from both secularization theory and the religious economy perspective, we assert that cross-national variation in religious participation is a function of government welfare spending and provide a theory that links macro-sociological outcomes with individual rationality. Churches historically have provided social welfare. As governments gradually assume many of these welfare functions, individuals with elastic preferences for spiritual goods will reduce their level of participation since the desired welfare goods can be obtained from secular sources. Cross-national data on welfare spending and religious participation show a strong negative relationship between these two variables after controlling for other aspects of modernization.

Keywords: religious economy; secularization; welfare spending (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:16:y:2004:i:4:p:399-436

DOI: 10.1177/1043463104046694

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