Does Religious Affiliation Protect People's Well-being? Evidence from the Great Recession After Correcting for Selection Effects

34 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2019 Last revised: 15 Jul 2020

See all articles by Christos Makridis

Christos Makridis

Stanford University; Columbia University - Columbia Business School

Byron Johnson

Baylor University - Institute for Studies of Religion

Harold Koenig

Duke University

Date Written: November 15, 2019

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of religious affiliation on individual well-being. Using Gallup’s U.S. Daily Poll between 2008 and 2017, we find that those who are engaged in their local church and view their faith as important to their lives have not only higher levels of subjective well-being (SWB), but also acyclical levels. We show that the acyclicality of SWB among Christians is not driven by selection effects or the presence of greater social capital, but rather a sense of purpose over the business cycle independent of financial circumstances.

Keywords: Well-being, life satisfaction, social capital, business cycle, financial circumstances

JEL Classification: E32, I12, I31, Z12

Suggested Citation

Makridis, Christos and Johnson, Byron and Koenig, Harold, Does Religious Affiliation Protect People's Well-being? Evidence from the Great Recession After Correcting for Selection Effects (November 15, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3429422 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3429422

Christos Makridis (Contact Author)

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Columbia University - Columbia Business School ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

Byron Johnson

Baylor University - Institute for Studies of Religion ( email )

One Bear Place #97236
Waco, TX 76798
United States

Harold Koenig

Duke University ( email )

100 Fuqua Drive
Durham, NC 27708-0204
United States

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