Regular Religious Worship Correlates with Higher Personal Income

Jonathan Gruber, an economist at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), has an new paper finding that doubling religious attendance raises one's income by almost 10%. Religious participation is also correlated with lower rates of crime and drug use and higher rates of school attendance.  "Religious Market Structure, Religious Participation and Outcomes: Is Religion Good for You? NER Working Paper 11377 (May 2005).  Gruber offers several possible explanations:  Going to religious worship raises "social capital" (networking); enhances mutual emotional and financial insurance; or provide emotional balance for life's inherent travails.