The Church vs the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?

Abstract

Recently economists have begun to consider the causes and consequences of religious participation. An unanswered question in this literature is the effect upon individuals of changes in the opportunity cost of religious participation. In this paper we identify a policy-driven change in the opportunity cost of religious participation based on state laws that prohibit retail activity on Sunday, known as "blue laws." Many states have repealed these laws in recent years, raising the opportunity cost of religious participation. We construct a model which predicts, under fairly general conditions, that allowing retail activity on Sundays will lower attendance levels but may increase or decrease religious donations. We then use a variety of datasets to show that when a state repeals its blue laws religious attendance falls, and that church donations and spending fall as well. These results do not seem to be driven by declines in religiosity prior to the law change, nor do we see comparable declines in membership or giving to nonreligious organizations after a state repeals its laws. We then assess the effects of changes in these laws on drinking and drug use behavior in the NLSY. We find that repealing blue laws leads to an increase in drinking and drug use, and that this increase is found only among the initially religious individuals who were affected by the blue laws. The effect is economically significant; for example, the gap in heavy drinking between religious and non religious individuals falls by about half after the laws are repealed.

Do Religious Proscriptions Matter? Evidence from a Theory-Based Test

“…The data on religious spending are the same as in Gruber and Hungerman (2008) and are taken from denominational yearbooks for the second half of the twentieth century. The data cover four denominations: the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, or LCMS (this was the 7 th largest denomination in the country in 1971, near the midpoint of the sample); the Southern Baptist Convention, or SBC (2 nd ), the United Church of Christ, or UCC (9 th ), and the United Methodist Church, or UMC (3 rd ).…”

Can technology help to reduce underage drinking? Evidence from the false ID laws with scanner provision

“…Inclusion of the state trends also reduces concerns for potential omitted variables bias. Second, following Gruber and Hungerman (2008), I consider models that contain a dummy for the two years before the effective date of the FSP law. If the treatment dummy is just picking up a pre-existing increasing trend in underage drinking rates at the treatment states, then this should be captured in this “lead” term.…”

Not the Opium of the People: Income and Secularization in a Panel of Prussian Counties

“…This point was perhaps most forcefully made by Karl Marx (1844), who referred to religion as "opium of the people" (p. 72) that is required only to alleviate the ailments of poor economic conditions. More generally, increased opportunity costs may restrain religious participation (e.g., Gruber and Hungerman (2008)). …”