of religiosity mostly to facilitate our analysis of the effects of religion on
economic growth. Specifically, our study of re
ligiosity suggests plausible instrumental
variables that can be used to pin down the direction of causation from religion to
economic performance, rather than the reverse. These instrumental variables have
important influences on religiosity without (arguably) being heavily influenced by
economic growth. The estimation procedure th
en reveals how differences in religiosity—
driven by the variations in the instrumental variables—influence economic growth.