DP6629 Unravelling Secularization: an International Study

Author(s): Pablo Brañas-Garza , Teresa García-Muñoz , Shoshana Neuman

Publication Date: January 2008

Keyword(s): religion , convert-out , church attendance , prayer , parental religiosity , Europe

JEL(s): D13 , J12 , J13 , Z12

Programme Areas: Labour Economics

Link to this Page: www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP6629.asp.asp

The current study examines individuals who were raised in a certain religion and at some stage of their life left it. Currently, they define their religious affiliation as ‘no religion’. A battery of explanatory variables (country-specific ones, personal attributes and marriage variables) was employed to test for the determinants of this decision. It was found that the tendency of individuals to leave their religion is strongly correlated with the degree of strictness of their country and with their spouse's religious characteristics. Moreover, personal socio-demographic features seem to be less relevant.