ABSTRACT
Education is an important aspect of religious life. Most parents aspire to raise their children in their own religion, defined broadly to include as “religion” any belief system that speaks to spiritual needs and for which there is a community of adherents. They also provide their children with a “secular” education that enhances their productivity as workers, as consumers and as members of society. Individuals may be viewed as choosing a portfolio of human-capital investments, some of which are religious (i.e., specific to a particular belief system) and the rest of which are secular (i.e., general with respect to religion). Religious and secular educations are thus substitutes for each other as they compete for investment resources, primarily time and money.
