Скачать или смотреть UNGKU AZIZ BROWN BAG WEBINAR SERIES 5/2020 BY ASSOCIATE PROF. DR. MAKMOR TUMIN - 3 DECEMBER 2020

Abstract

Interesting theoretical and empirical work has suggested that religiosity declines with increasing income. However, there are evidence indicating that majority of the world’s richest people are religiously affiliated, suggesting that the relationship between income and religiosity is not linear. Some theory describes the religiosity of the poor as an escape from hardship caused by low economic status. Could the very rich also have an escape? This study uses cross-sectional data from 105 countries to examine this dual escape hypothesis, using per capita GDP by country as a measurement of income and three different survey-based measures of religious commitments (importance of religion, praying daily, and weekly attendance of religious service) to represent religiosity. Controlling for income inequality, education, Communism, and Islam, multivariate regressions revealed that the relationship between each of the three measures of religiosity and income is better explained by a quadratic regression than a linear regression. The predicted relationship between income and religiosity implies that religiosity decreases with increasing income to specific turning points (the first hypothesis), after which increased income associates with increased religiosity (the second hypothesis). The turning points are identified as 41,290 USD, 44,900 USD, and 34,270 USD for the importance of religion, praying daily, and weekly attendance of religious service, respectively. It is important to mention that while the study utilises sufficient data to support the first hypothesis, there is a lack of data to support the second hypothesis.