Religious faith stood out as an important characteristic of American life from the beginning. These days, many Americans consider faith as a kind of quality-of-life issue — a significant factor for those who practice, but entirely personal. It turns out, though, that the practice of religion benefits all of us.
The scope and scale of these good consequences are relatively straightforward. In the non-financial sphere, for example, faith tends to lead to happiness and optimism. More surprisingly, faith produces financial rewards. In a nutshell, research shows a positive correlation between income and religious practice.
Surveys typically find that, on average, those who practice Judeo-Christian faith traditions do better financially than non-religious people, all other things being equal. The General Social Survey found that in 2004, the average "religious person" — someone who attends a house of worship at least once a week — had an income 8 percent higher than the average "secularist," someone who attends once a year at most.
But does going to church "cause" your income to rise? Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, figured out an ingenious way to isolate and examine what researchers call "causal effects."
In a given geographic area, Gruber found, the greater the proportion of population that shares an individual's religion, the higher levels of income tend to be.
Looks like religion in one's life and community means a better payday. But why? Here are four plausible reasons:
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.
Such spillover effects are striking. If practicing their faith increases the earning capacity of religious folks in your community, the impact on economic growth will help you — through job opportunities, tax revenues and charitable giving, among other channels.
In this limited sense, Judeo-Christian tenets are good news for everyone in the here and now, regardless of our specific individual beliefs about eternity.
Simply by being who they are and living how they live, people of faith help their communities economically. Their religion isn't good for them alone. Converted or not, it's good for the neighbors, too.
Arthur Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute, where Robin Currie is a senior writer and editor. This article is adapted from "Indivisible," a collection of essays published by The Heritage Foundation.