Religion as an Economic Institution
Religion influences the economy in a number of ways. First, consider the labor market and particularly religious-related occupations. Another way influence is in religious goods produced such as clothing, books, and other media. Services provided the religious sector also impact the economy.
Review these Bureau of Labor Codes for various religious workers:
Clergy (21-2011)
- Pray and promote spirituality.
- Prepare and deliver sermons and other talks.
- Instruct people who seek conversion to a particular faith.
- Administer religious rites or ordinances.
Directors, Religious Activities and Education (21-2021)
- Analyze member participation and changes in congregation emphasis to determine needs for religious education.
- Collaborate with other ministry members to establish goals and objectives for religious education programs, and to develop ways to encourage program participation.
- Implement program plans
- Schedule special events such as camps, conferences, meetings, seminars, and retreats.
Religious Workers, Other (21-2099)
- Students
- Nuns/Monks
The figure below shows the trend in yearly median wages for religious workers from 1999 to 2005 (in 2005 dollars). Although the last few years witnessed an increase in yearly median wages for all three types of religious workers, what the numbers show long periods of stagnate low wages. How much to pay clergy is a problem especially with smaller churches.
Data are from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Based on current Bureau of Labor Statistics, a clergy person in Jackson makes on average $41,170 in 2009 compared to $34,990 to for average Mississippi clergy person. The average U.S. clergy person in 2009 earned $46,960 a year. Compare clergy annual wages to sociologists.
Looking at 2009 clergy pay by states show some interesting patterns. Lower paid clergy tend to reside in middle and southern states. The opposite is the case for the east and west coasts. As you may have observed with the figure below, there are some exceptions to what was stated above.
In terms of religious non-profit expenditures and receipts (what religious organization bring in) vividly show how religion contributes to the U.S. economy.
Data are from Bureau of Economic Analysis. In particular, refer to National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) tables. Obtained at http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2006/11November/1106_new_nipa.pdf
What is the economic impact of religious institutions in the Jackson metropolitan area? Data from the Internal Revenue Service Exempt Organizations may shed some light.
Descriptive statistics were computed from 22 religious organizations in Jackson, MS. The data were collected from http://www.implu.com/. The total assets for all 22 organizations were $8,881,233, total income was $5,199,329 and total revenue was $3,299,975.
Using IRS filings for nonprofits, there were over 200 religious organizations. Multiplying 216 (number of religious organizations in Jackson) by 246,983 (the average religious organization income yielded $53,348,328 in total income for Jackson. Multiplying 216 by $164,364 yield $35,502,624 in total religious revenue for Jackson area.
Using GDP (2007) for Jackson Metro area ($1,242,000,000)[1]. Religious income made up 4.3 to 6.8% of Jackson GDP and religious revenue 2.7 to 3.2% of Jackson GDP. Caution: These numbers are very rough estimates of the impact of religious activity within Jackson, Mississippi.
The Theodicy of Disprivilege/Escape
“Long-haired preachers come out every night/Try to tell you what’s wrong and what’s right/But when asked how “bout something to eat?”/They will answer with voices so sweet:/You will eat, bye and bye,/In that glorious land above the sky;/Work and pray, live on hay,You’ll get pie in the sky when you die.”—– From the “Preacher and the Slave.” by Joe Hill in the Little Red Song Book. Reprinted in Zinn, Howard. 2003. A People’s History of the United States. New York:HarperCollins. Pg. 334.
How does religion reinforce the economic structure of society? Religion supports a sense of “business” morality. It stimulates consumption. Jobs are “callings.” And religious institutions tend to endorse one economic system over others. Even our beliefs about hell has economic implications.
The table below lists by denomination the support/nonsupport of General Social Survey respondents to the question: “On the whole, do you think it should or should not be the government’s responsibility to reduce income differences between the rich and the poor?” Hindus, Muslims, Native Americans, and Christians (non-affiliated) responded with the greatest support. On the other hand, Orthodox-Christians, Jews, Inter-denominational, and Catholics registered the highest levels of nonsupport.
Theodicy of Good Fortune
Perhaps you recall the discussion about Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Highlighted in his work was the role of Calvinism in early American history and how it contributed the rise capitalism. Calvinism stressed glorification of God, Predestination, and the idea of “callings.” Individuals were marked as being blessed if they did well economically. The issue of causation (chicken or egg) arises: which came first, Protestantism or Capitalism? How did both Protestantism and capitalism influence each other? The reality is much more complex and involves feedback loops (recursiveness) that make it hard to tease out causal factors for our present form of economy.
Observations by Rachfauhl (Note: P=Protestant, C=Catholic)
- Intellect in P went secular, in C went to church
- Necessarily, then, P endorsed universal education, less so for C
- In P, individual is considered responsible and independent
- P is more rigorous morally speaking than C
- Politics less intertwined in religion for P than C
A number of economists have decided to put a rational choice spin on the rise of Protestantism. The argument for some is that countries with primogeniture laws did not lend themselves to economic innovation and an “entrepreneurial spirit.” Primogeniture countries tended to be Catholic. The evidence is spotty–some primogeniture medieval Catholic states were thriving entrepreneurial centers (e.g. Medici Florence).
Do good economic times translate to increased religious activity? Below is the hypothesized form of this question. What the graph shows is as GDP increases the number of churches increase as well.
The figure below test the question posed above with actual data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. What the data show, is that there is an increase in churches as GDP increases. Note this graph has two scales: GDP on the right and number of churches on the left.
GDP data are from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Church numbers are from The ARDA’s Religious Congregations and Membership Study, (Counties File) for 1952, 1971, 1980, 1990, and 2000
How about bad times being good for religion? Check this NY Times article out.
Some thought needs to be given to the rise of Gospels of Prosperity (e.g. Joel Osteen). How do these rhetorics square with inequities in society? How about specific facets of our economy such as interest on loans–is this a form of usury?
Marx and Religion
Remember “Opiate of the Masses?” The argument Marx poses is that elites (Bourgeoisie) use institutions such as religion to misdirect believers away from inequities of the system and towards a paradise in another world. A number of songs tap into this logic such as Candy Land, Sugar Mountain, and Pie in the Sky.
[1] These data were obtained from http://www.bea.gov/regional/REMDchart/default.cfm#chart_top
SOURCES
Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). “U.S. Congregational Membership.” http://www.thearda.com/.
Bureau of Economic Analysis. “Gross Domestic Product Data.” http://www.bea.gov/.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2010. Various tables.
Eubanks, Michelle Rupe. 2008. “Church Business.” Florence Times Daily, February.
Johnstone, Ronald L. 2007. Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Samuelsson, Kurt. 1961. Religion and Economic Action. New York: Basic Books.
Staff. 2009. “Bad Times are Boom Times for Evangelical Churches.” The Week, March.
Weber, Max. 1993. The Sociology of Religion. Boston: Beacon Press.
Zinn, Howard. 2003. A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. New ed. New York: HarperCollins.
My comment is about the idea that government should reduce income differences between the rich and the poor. I believe that the economic crisis society is in has forced the government to have to look at the economic system as a whole. As a religious believer, I support the government getting involve to a certain level. Because there are many people experiencing economic hardship in the religious community as well as in the secular community. Therefore, it is important for government to monitor spending in our society when it comes to the rich and the poor to the magnitude of taxes. I believe the poor should not be responsible for paying most of the taxes that support the economy. The rich should not have to pay all the taxes but be a little more charitable to those that are less fortunate. Well, I guess we could say this to our religious institutions that are prospering in the community where most people are poor or middle class. Although, I’m a believer in tithing to my local church. I wish all people could come together for a better tomorrow. Because the religious group is like any other community or business in our society, it has to keep the lights on to service those in need of support to reach their goals in this life as well. So, there should be something government can do to reduce the differences in the rich and the poor.
I also believe that government should be able to monitor the injustice factor, otherwise, Bernie Madoff would still be taking people for their life savings. Essentially, the credo that money makes the world go round holds true for religious institutions themselves. As represented in the chart above, the receipts for expenditures leaves a significant amount left over; what they gross. Unfortunately, when money, power and access are on the line, regardless if the institution is deemed holy, the ills of man, $, greed, etc. will lead to injustices. In response to the “Opiate of the Masses” avenue, man/woman has been led off the trail of true efficacy either by propaganda or sword. This is a harsh reality that those that are in power will go to great lengths to maintain that power.
In reviewing the above as well as the text, I would also have to agree with Jason. It is well documented throughout history the intertwined relationship between religion & economics as well as the church & the government. Furthermore, from a religious perspective, various teachings (Christianity, Hinduism, etc.) have always encouraged provisions be made for the poor or less fortunate and responsibility was assumed by religious institutions. To me, the teachings of Calvinism/Protestantism were and still are conflicting to the initial religious teachings. From Calvinism came the “Protestant Work Ethic” which promotes the notion of “hard work, self-discipline, deferred gratification, and the belief that such efforts will result in rewards (e.g. wealth, higher social status, greater freedoms) that ultimately will result in entry into heaven. This tenet served as the core basis for the establishment of societies core values and has been a guide for middle-class U.S. families since the Colonial era. I too agree that government should assume more of a role/responsibility in addressing the class system that exists in our society today that contributes the injustices experienced by the majority.
In regards to religion & economics, although the church as an organization as made great contributions to our society, I feel that many have lost focus and have become more of a “business”, than a resource for its member’s. I understand that revenue is needed to keep the lights on, etc. however when observing the increasing number of new churches developing, the “mega church movement”, etc. I see less emphasis placed on the original of service & more focus on revenue generating. With such of a net excess, this has led “greed” influencing the leadership of the church organizations and to some extent for me conflicting to the Protestant concept of one receiving “the calling” into pastoral stewardship to those who are “choosing” to become clergy for a career choice.