Religion, Entrepreneurship, Income and Employment

Abstract

This exploratory study compares the entrepreneurial tendency and family income across religious denominations in the United States.  Information from the General Social Survey (GSS) database on self-employed and a matched sample of those employed by others is used to compare the family income and incidence of entrepreneurship by religion.  We show that Protestants are more likely to be self-employed than Catholics, although both are less likely than those that are not religious or Jews.  Religious affiliation has a mixed result on income, although increased attendance at religious services increases income for those employed by others.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v1i1.8641 Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol.1(1) 2014 3-9