Quantitative Evidence Favoring and Opposing the Religious Economies Model

In this chapter, I review the recent and current state of quantitative research ¹ with regard to three major empirical claims made by proponents of the religious economies model: the pluralism hypothesis, the market share hypothesis, and the regulation hypothesis. The pluralism hypothesis asserts that geographic areas having a greater diversity of religious groups will have higher rates of religious participation. The market share hypothesis asserts that particular religious groups (e.g., denominations) will have higher commitment levels (among both leaders and followers) when they are located in geographic areas where the denomination is relatively small in relation to other religious groups. The regulation hypothesis asserts that overall rates of religious participation will be higher in areas where there is less government regulation and/or subsidy of religious groups.