Religious Beliefs And Wealth Accumulation

Abstract

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">One of the more interesting findings in the research on household wealth is the relationship between religion and wealth accumulation. In contrast to previous studies that use denominational affiliation, we use a more precise measure of religious belief constructed from responses to survey questions regarding interpretation of the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regression results indicate that households with more literalist Biblical beliefs have lower net worth overall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additional analysis using quantile regression reveals that this relationship holds only for the upper half of the wealth distribution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no relationship at lower levels of wealth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, while more literalist households are less likely to have an investment account or to have ever received an inheritance, they are more likely to own a home and to have a positive net worth.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>