Spatial Patterns in the Relationship Between Religion and Economic Growth

Using a modied version of the partial equilibrium adjustment model with spatial spillovers, we test how the density of religious congregations and religious diversity influence regional economic growth. With U.S. county-level data and using Geographically Weighted Regression, we nd evidence that there can be signicant spatial variation in the relationship between religion and economic growth. Our results show that religion corresponds to both higher and lower economic growth depending on the region. While religion is found to be important in understanding growth, the results strongly suggest that religion should not be treated as a monolithic concept, as different religious traditions have different impacts and those impacts vary across space.