The Role of religion in economic and demographic behavior in the US: a review of recent literature.

Abstract

The past few years have witnessed substantial progress in our understanding of how religious factors influence economic and demographic factors including education, female employment, fertility, and union formation and dissolution. In this paper I highlight results from recent studies on the role of religion in these and related economic and demographic behaviors, updating the critical literature review presented in an earlier article (Lehrer 2004a). Based on the theoretical framework suggested there, I also offer a reinterpretation of previous findings in the literature and identify promising avenues for future research. The focus of this review is on the United States, but a few closely related studies that employ data from other countries are also included.religion; fertility; education.