Some researchers, such as Huntington (1996), Landes (1999), and Inglehart and
Baker (2000), argue that explanations for economic growth should go further to include a
nation’s culture. Culture is usually thought to influence economic outcomes by affecting
personal traits such as honesty, thrift, willingness to work hard, and openness to
strangers. Religion is one important dimension of culture. Thus, Weber (1930) argued
that religious practices and beliefs had important consequences for economic
development. Nevertheless, economists and other researchers have paid little attention to
religion and other measures of culture as determinants of economic growth. Our
principal aim in this paper is to fill this gap by analyzing the influences of religious
participation and beliefs on a country’s rate of economic progress.