Religion Boosts US Economy More Than Apple, Amazon, and Google Combined

Author: Kresta in the Afternoon Published on: September 15, 2016 Published in: Religious Studies

A first-of-its-kind study takes an empirical look at the true “value” of faith.

A growing segment of religious nones, with their less-than-flattering views of the role of religious institutions, has led Georgetown University’s Brian Grim and Newseum Institute’s Melissa Grim to calculate three estimates of religion’s socio-economic value to the United States.

“Given the division of opinion on religion’s contribution to American society, this present study seeks to shed light on the topic by making an estimate of religion’s socio-economic value to society,” wrote the father-and-daughter team. “Indeed, we should know if the decline in religion is likely to have negative economic consequences.”

Most religiously unaffiliated Americans think churches and other religious institutions are too concerned with money and power (70%) and too involved with politics (67%), according to the Pew Research Center. And fewer unaffiliated Americans than religious Americans believe that churches strengthen community bonds (78% vs. 90%), help the poor and needy (77% vs. 90%), or do anything to help solve social problems (45% vs. 70%).

But religion, it turns out, is good for the economy.