Religious capital and religious rewards: a study in the economics of religious life

Religious life is studied by way suggested by the rational choice theory and the religiouscapital theory. The basic contentions of the theory on the nature of religious life havingto do with an exchange upon a religious market, by fi rms offering compensatorsand rewards, and consumers, is considered. In the empirical analysis, it was validatedthat the independent (religious capital) and dependent (religious rewards of two types)were empirically separate constructs. Cross-sectional analysis of survey data indicateda very strong association between religious capital and institutional and ritual experiencerewards within religious life, at a cross-cultural analysis, including BosnianMuslims, Serbian Orthodox, Slovenian Catholics and US Protestants. The associationwas confi rmed as robust at regression inspection with religious socialization. Thisextends further support for the empirical validity these novel theories of religious lifeand extensions of economic analysis into religious life