Religion and Demographic Processes

In recent years, the PRC has become the recognized center of research for the study of religious influences on health and mortality, family life, and other demographic outcomes. Several faculty members are well-known for their work on religion, health, and mortality and have active federally funded research programs in this ascendant area. The addition of Mark Regnerus to the faculty strengthens the area even further, with his work focusing on religion and adolescent development and well-being. Another recent addition to the PRC faculty, John Traphagan, has related interests and funded projects, several of which focus on religion and aging in Japan. Other faculty members continue to pursue an active agenda in the area of religion and family life.

Area Projects

Extending the Project on Religion and Economic Change

Principal Investigator: Robert D. Woodberry
Funded by: John Templeton Foundation

Social science ignores the importance of missions and religious groups in cross-national research. Our research shows the profound effect missions had on democracy, economic development, education, printing, newspapers, and colonial reform. In fact statistically, Protestant missions removes the standard variables academics use to research these topics and theoretically challenges work by Habermas and Weber. Economists are just recognizing the importance of religion for economic outcomes, but typically do not know enough about religion to model these influences well. Our research demonstrates mechanisms and provides user-friendly data that can facilitate their research.

Our research also has important policy implications. First, recently some economists question the effectiveness of foreign aid. Our research shows that some forms of aid have powerfully shaped societies. Second, the World Bank, IMF, and U.S. government have begun discussing cooperation with faith-based organizations. Our research shows the importance of these organizations. Third, our research shows the powerful economic, political, educational, and medical consequences of restricting religious liberty. This gives advocates non-religious arguments for promoting change.

The data we produce are also important. They allow us to analyze religion, medicine, and education around the world decades earlier than others and measure long-term development trends. By adding data for Latin America and spatial adjusting additional data years, this grant gives us worldwide data for the first time and allows measurement of both the cumulative impact of Protestant and Catholic missions and of religious competition.
Project website

Stimulating Research and Discovery in the Study of Religion: An Initiative by the Association of Religion

Principal Investigator: Robert D. Woodberry
Additional Investigators: Roger Finke, PI of parent project, Pennsylvania State University
Funded by: John Templeton Foundation

Robert Woodberry will be responsible for identifying new data sources that are not currently on Stimulating Research and Discovery in the Study of Religion: An Initiative by the Association of Religion Data Archives, contacting the people who control the data, negotiating with them about whether they will allow the data to be stored on the ARDA, and arranging for translation if necessary. Much of his work will center on collecting sources from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.