Raise your income by 10%

Yes, the headline does sound like a marketing ploy. But a recent issue of The Economist had an Economics Focus column on Wealth from Worship which looked at the surprising rewards of frequent church attendance. It seems that Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economist found that doubling your church attendance will raise your income by 10%. The article told of Gruber's further claims that, "regular religious participation leads to better education, higher income and a lower chance of divorce."

Cause and Effect
A key question of course is whether the data is coincidental or the result of a cause-effect relationship between church attendance and a better standard of living. Gruber cites three reasons for the potential earnings gains:

• Church attendance creates a web of relationships within the larger community which brings with it social capital, making business deals easier to pull off.
• Those who attend church regularly also have mutual emotional and (in times of distress) financial support that allows quicker recovery from problems.
• Lastly, Gruber posits that regular church attenders are more able to succeed due to being less stressed than their non-church going neighbors.

The full text of The Economist article is online here. What do you think of these less-than-spiritual reasons for attending church?

In the archives
You will find religion columns from the Tribune & Georgian on
Why a non-believer may want a church
Build a sense of community in church

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church