In 2018, a survey from Pew Research Center indicated that religious belief has dwindled in the United States.[1] Yet, debates about religion, religious freedom, and religious practices are in the media, politics, and dinner table conversations. From previous research, we know that religion has a powerful effect on individuals and families for better or for worse,[2] but what relationship does religion have with finances?
A study led by Dr. Brandan Wheeler explored how different demographic, relational, and financial factors influence emerging adults’ religiosity in the US South where, culturally, religion is a prominent part of daily life.[3] They discovered numerous interesting connections to different areas of emerging adults’ (aged 18-29) lives that you can read more about in their article; but in this article, we will focus on this question: how does religion affect one’s finances, and how do finances affect one’s religiosity? The answer has to do with stewardship, charitable giving, and coping with financial anxiety.
Stewardship
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, stewardship is “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”[4] For religious families, stewardship of financial resources often means careful management of their money and participating in charitable giving whenever possible.3 While some research indicates that emerging adults typically try to “avoid addressing finances, especially within the context of a romantic relationship,” this dutiful notion of careful management may propel emerging adults into actively engaging with their finances.3 Religiosity may counteract this avoidant tendency and, as a result, lead to overall better money management.
Charitable Giving
Another hallmark of religiosity is the belief in giving to others, sometimes in gratitude for their own financial prosperity and other times in devotion and connection to deity. 3 The researchers did not test for charitable giving explicitly, but when it organically arose in their results, they felt it necessary to mention its association with religiosity and finances multiple times. Charitable giving, while not solely done by religious people, tends to be strongly emphasized among religious communities.
Coping with Financial Anxiety
Financial insecurity is often considered a necessary milestone in a person’s life during their emerging adulthood as they work to establish themselves. Many who have surpassed emerging adulthood like to offer sentiments like “it’ll be good for you” or “you’ll appreciate this time when you’re older.” However, religiosity may offer more comfort than these platitudes. Many religious emerging adults may view their financial challenges as opportunities to connect to and depend on the Divine for guidance, comfort, or added resources.3 These additional religious resources may offer aid even when financial resources continue to be scarce.
So, does religion help finances? Wheeler and colleagues’ study certainly identified many positive associations with high religiosity, such as better financial management, more charitable giving, and improved coping for financial challenges.
However, there is one more key element of the equation that is important to understand: financial socialization.
Financial socialization is a phrase used in social science to describe the way finances were talked about, practiced, and experienced in the home when you were a child. It includes anything you learn (or didn’t learn) about money from your parents, directly or indirectly. So, to what degree parents teach their children to take responsibility for their finances, to charitably give, and how to cope with financial anxiety all have a tremendous impact on those children’s behaviors when they become emerging adults. Whether religion specifically or the teaching of the parents has a greater impact on emerging adult’s finances would require another study to parse out. For now, the question remains: would religious parents teach their children about finances in these ways without their religion?
Takeaways
- Though religiosity dwindles in the United States, the benefits of religion on finances include:
- Responsible money management
- Charitable giving
- Managing financial anxiety
- Learn from those with different beliefs than yourself and consider what value they share that you can incorporate into your life.
- Regardless of religious beliefs, teaching children these financial skills can help them improve their financial wellbeing as emerging adults.
References:
[1] Pew Research Center. (2018). Religious landscape study. http://www.pewforum.org/religiouslandscape-study/.
[2] Dollahite, D.C., Marks, L.D. and Dalton, H. (2018), Why Religion Helps and Harms Families: A Conceptual Model of a System of Dualities at the Nexus of Faith and Family Life. J Fam Theory Rev, 10: 219-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12242
[3] Wheeler, B. E., Wilmoth, J. D., Phillips, T. M., & Brooks, C. (2024). What factors within the context of a romantic relationship and the couple’s finances are related to the level of religiosity among contemporary emerging adults? Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 12(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1374
[4] Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Stewardship. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 27, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stewardship