Religiosity of the Rich and Poor and Escape Theory: Cross-Country Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/IJIE.vol17no4.5Keywords:
Atheism, Escape theory, Religiosity, Poor countries, Rich countriesAbstract
This study attempts to explore the relevance of secularisation theory and
its relationship with escape theory, by examining the probable quadratic nature of
the relationship between income and religiosity beyond individual data. This research
reveals that cross-country data on the measurements of income and religiosity across
105 countries only weakly supports this quadratic relationship. Although an exceptional
case can be made for very rich countries, the explanatory power of secularisation theory
is not diminished in explaining the relationship between income and religiosity in rich
and poor countries, whereby religiosity declines in the presence of increased income. In
examining the relationship between income and religiosity at an aggregate level, this
study employs three different sets of econometric models, with each set using different
dependent variables as a proxy of religiosity. As for independent variables, in addition
to income and quadratic terms of income, several other variables were included in
regressions as control variables. Results from estimations reveal consistent findings,
in which religiosity decreases with decreasing income to a certain point, then begins to
increase with increasing income. This finding supports the study hypothesis that escape
theory does apply for both the poor and rich.
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