Purveyors of the prosperity gospel imply that if you have faith, God pretty much has to bless you with financial wealth. Stated so baldly, it’s easy to see that the claim is hokum—were all those poor apostles lacking in faith?
But the simplistic formula that faith equals fabulous wealth may still disguise an intriguing half-truth concerning religion and prosperity. In a piece adapted from their essay in the Heritage Foundation volume Indivisible, the AEI’s Arthur Brooks and Robin Currie discuss some intriguing evidence that religious practice, at least of the Judeo-Christian variety, does have positive economic consequences. This seems to go beyond the idea that religious traditions and ideas can give rise to wealth-producing institutions. There seems to be something about such religious communities that, in real time, enhances the economic prospects not just of its practitioners, but even of the neighbors of practitioners.
Brooks and Currie suggest four reasons for this:
—Religious faith builds healthy social bonds. Social capital, political scientist Robert Putnam called it. Strong connections among us strengthen social cohesion and sense of community. These bonds encourage honesty, dependability, responsibility, accountability, loyalty, sacrifice, generosity, trustworthiness, and transparency. Expectations of good behavior create a “virtuous cycle” in which trade and commerce flourish.
—Faith develops robust human capital. Skills acquired through education and training, when coupled with hard work and perseverance, produce economic value and boost material well-being. Religious people, data show, tend to attain higher education levels. In short, those who live in religious communities do better materially than those who live in secular communities because they’re better educated.
—Faith encourages entrepreneurship. The Judeo-Christian ethic, with its emphasis on private ownership of property, exercising talents, and stewarding resources, paves the way for enterprise, achievement, and fulfilling potential. Many scholars say these are characteristics of Western nations informed by the Judeo-Christian ethic.
—Faith promotes constructive behavior. Emile Durkheim, a Jewish-born sociologist, abandoned the faith of his parents at an early age. In his classic study “Suicide,” however, Durkheim concluded that people of faith who adhered to the constraints of their religious group tend to live happier, more productive lives and contribute to societal well-being.
All this is, of course, contrary to the prevailing meme that the devotedly religious tend to be poor and backward—you know, clinging to their gods, guns, and religion … And yet the evidence is mounting that there’s a positive correlation, maybe even a causal relation, between the observance of some religions and economic well-being. Let’s hope that more economists begin to take notice.