We now consider religion’s role in the determination of economic growth. Our
central perspective is that religion affects economic outcomes mainly by fostering
religious beliefs that influence individual traits such as thrift, work ethic, honesty, and
openness to strangers. For example, beliefs in heaven and hell might affect these traits by
creating perceived rewards and punishments that relate to “good” and “bad” lifetime
behavior. In this perspective, organized religion—and, more specifically, attendance at
religious services—would affect economic performance mostly indirectly, that is,
through influences on the religious beliefs. Hence, we envision a chain whereby church
attendance affects religious beliefs, which affect individual traits, which affect economic
outcomes