The Ash Twins Blog

The following bullet points summarize the results from recent empirical work on the effects of religion:

• Eskin 2004: “Suicide ideation was more frequent in adolescents undergoing secular education than in those undergoing religious education. The secular group was more accepting of suicide than the religious group. Those from the religious group, however, were more accepting of a suicidal close friend than their secular counterparts.”
• Lehrer 1995: Religious denomination has a significant effect on the choice of women whether to enter the labor market. Women in interfaith marriages are more likely to enter the labor market.
• Evans & Schwab 1995: Attending a Catholic school is associated with a 13-percent increase in the probability of finishing high school and going to college.
• Brown & Taylor 2007: Church attendance in adulthood is associated with higher educational attainment.
• Gruber 2004: Government subsidies to charitable giving reduce religious attendance, suggesting that charitable giving and religious attendance are substitutes.
• Torgler 2006: Religiosity is associated with a higher intrinsic motivation to pay taxes.
• Hoxby 1994: There is some evidence that the competition provided by private schools improves the quality of public schools as measured by the success of alumni.