Religion as an economic driver

WASHINGTON—Religion adds over a trillion dollars to the U.S. economy each year, more than the country’s 10 largest businesses combined, according to new research.

Georgetown University researcher Brian Grim revealed today that faith adds $1.2 trillion to the economy each year, based on the revenues from religious congregations, religious institutions, and faith-inspired businesses.

“The socioeconomic impact of religion on the U.S. can’t be overstated,” Grim said today while unveiling his new study at an event sponsored by Faith Counts. “Whether directly or indirectly, whether we realize it or not, religion’s influence positively impacts all of us in substantial and measurable ways.”

Over 150 million Americans attend one of the country’s more than 344,000 congregations. From Adventists to Zoroastrians, faith congregations can be found in every corner of the country, including impoverished areas, inner cities, and rural communities.

Grim reports American religion’s total economic contribution would make it the world’s 15th largest economy.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, Americans paid $46 billion for faith-based higher education and $27 billion for religious elementary and secondary schools. In 2015, students scored higher on their SAT at religious schools than public-school students while reporting feeling safer with fewer instances of bullying and violent crime.

Faith-based healthcare networks serve millions of Americans each year with annual revenues of $161 billion.

Three-fourths of U.S. congregations report collaborations with other groups for social programs, and 93 percent of congregations recruit volunteers to serve outside their buildings. In addition, churches field 1.5 million social programs and gather together 7.5 million volunteers each year. Faith-based ministries run 130,000 drug and alcohol abuse programs and more than 121,000 programs to help train and equip people for employment.

Grim told me the research is not connected with specific policy changes, but he hopes it will be a starting point for policymakers to recognize the economic value of faith and ensure Americans are free to worship.

William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who worked for the Clinton administration, joined Grim today at the National Press Club to discuss the research. He said assigning hard numbers to religion’s impact on society could be crucial for future policy changes.

“I have found senior officials distinguish pretty sharply between feel-good rhetoric on one hand and actual substance on the other,” Galston said. “You need a credible calling card to get in the door, and work like this, I think, makes it more likely that these questions will be taken seriously.”

Grim’s report highlights the importance of having faith congregations in communities and how their absence can lead to negative economic consequences.

A 2015 study from Nancy Kinney and Todd Bryan Combs in the Journal of Urban Affairs found faith congregations help sustain the structure of communities. Shutting down congregations in cities leads to socioeconomic collapse and declines in neighborhood viability.

The Pew Research Center reported last year younger generations are turning away from religion—one-third of adults under 30 choose not to affiliate with faith. In total, around 6 percent of the U.S. population identifies as atheist or agnostic, while 14 percent claims no particular religious affiliation.

Ram Cnaan, a religion and social policy researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said knowing their economic value should help strengthen church leaders.

“I hope this is a confidence boost to everyone,” Cnaan said. “I wish I could go to every church in America and say ‘be proud; you are part of something very big and very important.’”