The Price of Faith: Economic Costs and Religious Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa
How do economic costs affect religious choices, and how do religious institutions adapt to economic realities? We study the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church in Sub-Saharan Africa, which prohibits production of tobacco, coffee, and tea, creating opportunity costs for potential members in areas suitable for these crops. We construct a measure of SDA membership opportunity cost that varies over time and space based on local crop suitability and export prices. Using church administrative data and member surveys, we find that increased opportunity costs lead to lower membership growth and lower satisfaction with the church among existing members. Higher opportunity costs also cause establishment of new SDA educational and health institutions; church members to perceive less messaging about “healthy living” religious tenets; and higher church member consumption of prohibited goods. These findings provide new insights into the microeconomics of cultural change, as mediated by religious institutions. Religious organizations can show striking flexibility in balancing tradition and adaptation when faced with economic pressures.
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Copy CitationEduardo Montero, Dean Yang, and Triana Yentzen, "The Price of Faith: Economic Costs and Religious Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa," NBER Working Paper 33482 (2025), https://doi.org/10.3386/w33482.Download Citation
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