**2.1 Religion and motivation**

Religion is directly or indirectly related to academic success or failure. A look at the religious history of Catholics and Protestants in the American society shows that the religious background of those two groups is actually influenced by their religious and social upbringing (Veroff, Feld, & Gurin, 1962; Guiso, Sapienza, & Zingale, 2003). This stems from the parents' demands placed on children from an early age onwards to achieve academically and reach upward social mobility. For example, Protestants perform better academically than the Catholics (Veroff et al., 1962; Hanushek, 1996)). This is mainly attributed to the way mothers deal with their children's academic performance. In Protestant homes, mothers are inclined to use symbolic punishment as disciplinary action such as restricting privileges or reprimanding; whereas in Catholic home, the mothers use physical punishment such as spanking and reward also materialistically reward for good academic standing. This kind of physical reward and punishment is not conducive to academic motivation and strive in the long run, but is only a quick fix (Veroff et al., 1962). However, it also should be noted that academic performance varies in meaning from one religious group to another. Catholics, for example may have more internalized standards for academic performances than the Protestants, but this hypothesis needs more research to stand on more solid ground (Veroff et al., 1962).

More recent studies also look at the relationship between religion and education for immigrants and non-immigrants, Hispanics versus African Americans, and Asian versus white Americans rather than Catholics versus Protestants. Studies try to analyze whether those immigrants' succeed or fail in the rooted environment of religion, or in a certain social structure. The researches show that Asians, specifically Chinese and Korean, have higher academic achievement rates than white Americans. Whether those Asians come from a prestigious background (daughters and sons of engineers, physicians, or scientists) or nonprestigious background (daughters and sons of low-skilled laborers, uneducated or poor), they are repeatedly the valedictorians of their high schools or the winners of decathlons, etc. (Zhou & Kim, 2006). They also enroll in the most prestigious universities in the United States of America such as University of California-Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Irvine (Zhou & Kim, 2006, Evan & Schwab, 1995).

Some research may attribute this high academic achievement to the fact that these immigrant groups are deeply rooted in their religious Confucian background. However,

Religious Participation and Educational Attainment: An Empirical Investigation 321

than those with high income. Catholicism presents a greater motivation at lower income level while Protestant shows less motivation. Theorists also find a positive combination exist between family size and motivation for achievement. The larger the family size, the more motivated the individual is, probably due to financial pressure. Also, the Catholic tends to

Jackson and Crockett study (1970) comes up with conclusions to strengthen the Hypothesis that other non-educational achievement motivation is related to religion. For the Catholic men, the lower the income, the more motivated he or she is. The opposite is true for the Protestant: the higher the income lever, the more motivated he or she would be. The different relation of income and motivation exist because the Catholic and Protestant children are raised in different way. The research found that Protestants have more generalized abstract strivings than the Catholic through examining theoretically and empirically different kinds of child-rearing attitudes of Protestant and Catholic home. Protestant mother are more likely to select an alternative way to encourage the children to strive for abstract goals instead of material goals. Protestant children are more responsible, and more able to deal with obstacles in their lives. They concluded that the way the children are treated or raised has a great impact on achievements. More importantly, the research reach the conclusion that the incentive and vehicles for achievement taught to young children have important bearing not only on achievement motivation among different

religions but also on the quality of individual motivations within one religion group.

In addition to achievement motivation, religion also has direct bearing on other educational results. Several studies have shown that the religious students are braver and perform better academically (Mooney 2010, Jeynes, 2005, Jeynes, 2007). The studies generally find a positive impact of the religion on student success. The religious participation and personal religiosity help to lower the rates of substance abuse, limit activities that adversely influence college careers. Students who participate in religious activities have made the choice to cut other types of social ties. For example, a student who is going to mosque every Friday or who is going to the church every Sunday is less likely to be found in a bar. Also, this kind of students is more likely to complete his duties on time. Researches (Mayer& Sharp, 1962) show that being a part of a religious group promotes conformity such as going to classes or completing assignments. Alcohol and substance abuse are one of the most important factors in destroying a person's education or career (Rakitic, 2003). As we know some religion prohibits alcohol consumption such as Islam and other religions such as Christianity insist that only a little bit of alcohol would be enough. The common thing about both of the religions is that they agree alcohol has a bad effect on students and students who chose to join religious groups are less likely to be addicted to alcohol and drugs. Besides substance abuse, depression, loneliness and anxiety are more often observed for people who are away from religion and from God. People who are depressed often prefer to skip classes, to return home and start to use alcohol. Religious groups or religious activities provide a social support outside the family to combat loneliness. Students feel more comfortable because they have access to the needed support. Religious students are also found to devote time and energy to a variety of pro-social causes (Wilson, 1978; Lundberg & Startz, 1998; McCleary & Barro, 2006). They help connect colleges with the surrounding community and

**2.2 Religion, academic achievements, and other social factors** 

emphasize more on material rewards than the Protestant.

Confucian may not be the only construct that leads to the success of this ethnic group though it places a big value on academic achievement and education. Other studies attribute the success of Asian ethnic groups to the structural construct that favors students from urban middle-class backgrounds (Zhou & Kim, 2006).

Moreover in thinking of the conditions that generate motivations, considerable research proves that the requirement that parents have of their children, the values that the parents stress, and the attitude that the parents want to apply all could enhance and improve the children's motivations. In addition, it is shown that the religious background that families have could inhabit a strong achievement motivation for the individual members (Corten & Dronkers, 2006). The religious practices are not only the main generator for individual achievement motivations but also for the generator for group motivations as well. The achievement behavior of religious groups has attracted many theorists and thinkers to analyze the relationship between the religion and the achievements. For example the comparative high achievements of the Jews in most countries and the comparative low achievements of the Catholic is the best example to show that different values of religion could create a difference in motivation. Some theorist such as Weber conducted a comprehensive study about how the behaviors of Protestantism keep up with the behaviors required for a competitive society and how the behavior of Catholic falls behind. At the beginning of the study he compared the education requirements for Catholic and the education requirements for the Protestant, and he found that the requirements were basically the same for both groups. Weber moved on to compare the religious values to see whether the different attitudes towards religion affect life styles. Weber found that the different religious values could have a great impact on the life styles of people and on their academic achievements.

Many other researches (Deary, Strand, Smith, & Fernandes, 2007) attempt to show that religion has a great impact on academic achievement by comparing and explaining the achievement differences of various religious groups. They found similar results: Protestant college graduate are more likely to go to a science field than Catholic college graduates. Taking into consideration that the science study requires more work and more motivations, Protestant college graduates entered more competitive job fields. On the other hand, a huge number of Catholic graduates have been found in less competitive jobs. Smith (2007) points out that there are more Jews in the professional and managerial occupation than Italians. This difference is attributed to the religious backgrounds that differentiate one group from another.

Similarly, a national survey was taken to measure the achievement motivations of people coming from different religious denominations (Godfrey & Morris, 2008). The three main religious groups in the survey are: Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish. The survey shows that the overall achievement of the Jewish is higher among all the religious groups. The Catholic and the Protestant achievements are almost equal but earlier independence was found in the Protestant children. The results of the survey show that different religious values explain the difference in motivation.

Besides studying religion, motivation, economists also study the relationships among religion and other social factors (the age, place of residence, income, and family size (Jackson, Fox, & Crockett, 1970). The results show that there is a positive relation between income and achievements. The achievement motivation for those with low income is higher

Confucian may not be the only construct that leads to the success of this ethnic group though it places a big value on academic achievement and education. Other studies attribute the success of Asian ethnic groups to the structural construct that favors students from

Moreover in thinking of the conditions that generate motivations, considerable research proves that the requirement that parents have of their children, the values that the parents stress, and the attitude that the parents want to apply all could enhance and improve the children's motivations. In addition, it is shown that the religious background that families have could inhabit a strong achievement motivation for the individual members (Corten & Dronkers, 2006). The religious practices are not only the main generator for individual achievement motivations but also for the generator for group motivations as well. The achievement behavior of religious groups has attracted many theorists and thinkers to analyze the relationship between the religion and the achievements. For example the comparative high achievements of the Jews in most countries and the comparative low achievements of the Catholic is the best example to show that different values of religion could create a difference in motivation. Some theorist such as Weber conducted a comprehensive study about how the behaviors of Protestantism keep up with the behaviors required for a competitive society and how the behavior of Catholic falls behind. At the beginning of the study he compared the education requirements for Catholic and the education requirements for the Protestant, and he found that the requirements were basically the same for both groups. Weber moved on to compare the religious values to see whether the different attitudes towards religion affect life styles. Weber found that the different religious values could have a great impact on the life styles of people and on their

Many other researches (Deary, Strand, Smith, & Fernandes, 2007) attempt to show that religion has a great impact on academic achievement by comparing and explaining the achievement differences of various religious groups. They found similar results: Protestant college graduate are more likely to go to a science field than Catholic college graduates. Taking into consideration that the science study requires more work and more motivations, Protestant college graduates entered more competitive job fields. On the other hand, a huge number of Catholic graduates have been found in less competitive jobs. Smith (2007) points out that there are more Jews in the professional and managerial occupation than Italians. This difference is

Similarly, a national survey was taken to measure the achievement motivations of people coming from different religious denominations (Godfrey & Morris, 2008). The three main religious groups in the survey are: Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish. The survey shows that the overall achievement of the Jewish is higher among all the religious groups. The Catholic and the Protestant achievements are almost equal but earlier independence was found in the Protestant children. The results of the survey show that different religious values explain the

Besides studying religion, motivation, economists also study the relationships among religion and other social factors (the age, place of residence, income, and family size (Jackson, Fox, & Crockett, 1970). The results show that there is a positive relation between income and achievements. The achievement motivation for those with low income is higher

attributed to the religious backgrounds that differentiate one group from another.

urban middle-class backgrounds (Zhou & Kim, 2006).

academic achievements.

difference in motivation.

than those with high income. Catholicism presents a greater motivation at lower income level while Protestant shows less motivation. Theorists also find a positive combination exist between family size and motivation for achievement. The larger the family size, the more motivated the individual is, probably due to financial pressure. Also, the Catholic tends to emphasize more on material rewards than the Protestant.

Jackson and Crockett study (1970) comes up with conclusions to strengthen the Hypothesis that other non-educational achievement motivation is related to religion. For the Catholic men, the lower the income, the more motivated he or she is. The opposite is true for the Protestant: the higher the income lever, the more motivated he or she would be. The different relation of income and motivation exist because the Catholic and Protestant children are raised in different way. The research found that Protestants have more generalized abstract strivings than the Catholic through examining theoretically and empirically different kinds of child-rearing attitudes of Protestant and Catholic home. Protestant mother are more likely to select an alternative way to encourage the children to strive for abstract goals instead of material goals. Protestant children are more responsible, and more able to deal with obstacles in their lives. They concluded that the way the children are treated or raised has a great impact on achievements. More importantly, the research reach the conclusion that the incentive and vehicles for achievement taught to young children have important bearing not only on achievement motivation among different religions but also on the quality of individual motivations within one religion group.

### **2.2 Religion, academic achievements, and other social factors**

In addition to achievement motivation, religion also has direct bearing on other educational results. Several studies have shown that the religious students are braver and perform better academically (Mooney 2010, Jeynes, 2005, Jeynes, 2007). The studies generally find a positive impact of the religion on student success. The religious participation and personal religiosity help to lower the rates of substance abuse, limit activities that adversely influence college careers. Students who participate in religious activities have made the choice to cut other types of social ties. For example, a student who is going to mosque every Friday or who is going to the church every Sunday is less likely to be found in a bar. Also, this kind of students is more likely to complete his duties on time. Researches (Mayer& Sharp, 1962) show that being a part of a religious group promotes conformity such as going to classes or completing assignments. Alcohol and substance abuse are one of the most important factors in destroying a person's education or career (Rakitic, 2003). As we know some religion prohibits alcohol consumption such as Islam and other religions such as Christianity insist that only a little bit of alcohol would be enough. The common thing about both of the religions is that they agree alcohol has a bad effect on students and students who chose to join religious groups are less likely to be addicted to alcohol and drugs. Besides substance abuse, depression, loneliness and anxiety are more often observed for people who are away from religion and from God. People who are depressed often prefer to skip classes, to return home and start to use alcohol. Religious groups or religious activities provide a social support outside the family to combat loneliness. Students feel more comfortable because they have access to the needed support. Religious students are also found to devote time and energy to a variety of pro-social causes (Wilson, 1978; Lundberg & Startz, 1998; McCleary & Barro, 2006). They help connect colleges with the surrounding community and

Religious Participation and Educational Attainment: An Empirical Investigation 323

In short, religiosity has a great influence on educational achievements. Loury(2004), Regnerus(2003), and Jeynes (2003) argue that attending churches or other religious services provides students with the right guidance that then will improve their academic achievements. The religiosity increases the level of satisfaction and the grades of students

Religion has a big influence not only on education achievement but also on personal achievements. Some research (Hazan & Berdugo, 2002; Landes, 2000; Lipford & Tollison, 2003) shows that there is a relationship between religious preference and worldly success. The survey asks the question about what is your religion, whether it is Protestant, Jewish, or Catholic. In case the answer is Protestant, another question was raised as what domination you belong to. After analyzing people from different religions, Jews show the highest level of the success while the Catholics has the lowest level of success. The reason partly is explained as that Jewish people have the highest level of religious activities. The people who are more religious tend to have more appreciation for the time, less parties and more concentration. Through religious activities, the Jewish people will also be able to meet new

In conclusion, religion has a big influence on motivation, education achievements, and on all other aspects of social life. Individuals who have a religious background are able to success in school, colleges and universities, and later on at work. When people are more religious, they are more likely to focus on what they need because they have a clear status of mind and are more confident. The researches all show that religion is a factor contributing to all kinds of success. Our analysis contributes to the literature by analyzing the relationship between a person's highest education and religions activities. We expand the literature by not emphasizing on different religious groups but instead focusing on various religious activities and perceptions such as "how fundamental one considers himself or herself to be", "how often he or she prays", "how often he or she attend religious activities", etc. Also the paper expands the literature by applying a simple statistical model to analyze whether factors such as a person's education, occupation, marital status, and number of children,

The study of religious activity and education is mainly empirical. However, the empirical analysis is based on a sound theoretical background of economic literature of religion. This part states about the theoretical research related with the paper. Fan (2008) argues that people's religious participation is determined by the concern for their children's human capital accumulation as well as their religious beliefs. This part of the paper introduces the economics theoretical research of religion. As pointed out in Fan's paper, in recent decades, some important contributions have been made in modeling religion and religious behaviors. Azzi and Ehrenberg (1975) analyze a model of church attendance and contributions in which individuals allocate their time and money among religious and secular commodities to maximize lifetime and afterlife utility. Iannaccone (1990, 1998) applies Stigler and Becker's (1977) idea of "consumption capital" to explain rational habit formation in religious activities. In this framework, current religious participation increases an individual's stock of "religious human capital" and thereby increases the individual's utility from future participation. Iannaccone (1992) presents a model that accounts for the continuing success of

attending colleges and universities.

people and build up more social networks.

affect his or her religious activities.

**3. Theoretical background** 

provide volunteers and partnerships with groups (Sikkink & Hernandez, 2003). The research also finds that the majority of volunteers are religious students (Vander, Hermans, Aarnoutse, 2008).

Research done recently shows that the individual religiosity increases educational attainment. Veroff (1962) explains that this positive relation between religion and academic attainment is because religion helps create a disciplined life and generates ethics. For people with a disadvantaged background, religious groups teach these people to be more disciplined, have more positive attitudes, and encourage better behaviors. Because of religious beliefs and practices, believers become more able to deal with troubles and stressful situations that might negatively affect their academic or career achievements than non-believers who may feel stressful and totally lost. Another way through which religion influences education is by creating a family like atmosphere for those who have single parents. For example some theorist (Ewing, 2000; Fan, 2003; Galor & Zeira, 1993; Galor & Tsiddon, 1996) found that religion has a great influence on the educational achievement of the poor. People in urban areas are more religious because the churches play the role like parents by providing youth with authority figures, disciplines and the ways they should act. The church's role is to help people to be more active in the society and keep them on the right way. Family life is proved to be very important for education achievements and religion is one of the factors that have a positive impact on family life. Religious families are more capable to establish healthy family relationships and have more social control.

The national longitude data conducts a survey on racial groups in the United State including whites, African Americans, Asians and Latinos to know if religious students have higher academic achievements than their peers. The results show that Jews have higher GPA comparing to the Catholics and the Protestants. According to the survey, Jewish people have the highest rate of religious attendance while Hispanics have higher rates of attendance than African Americans. The survey tests the hypotheses that the effect of religiosity on grades varies according to the race, class, and immigration but none of the tests show that the relationship between religion and education differs among groups. According to the NLSF data, after controlling for all the social factors of race, income, and gender, religiosity has a significant influence on the achievements and satisfaction of students in the colleges and universities of the United States. Students who attend religious services once per week in the last year of their high school are able to obtain higher grades than no regular attendees. Religious students study more, go to party less often and dedicate more spare time for religious activities. Also, people who party more are less focused during their study, in contrast, religious students not only are able to spend more time on study, but the quality of the time spent is better: they are more concentrated, have a higher self-esteem, and have a better sense of purpose. Sometimes religious activities have a positive effect and students do a better job on exams not only because they studied well but also because they have more confidence in their intellectual ability.

Others studies are more concerned about the influence of religion on the student's social life at colleges or in universities, such as students get involved in different types of activities like sororities and fraternities. By influencing social activities, religiosity could indirectly influence students' educational achievement, satisfaction at college, and other outcomes such as interactions with professors. Research also tests the influence of religion on dealing with the effect of negative experiences such as the death of relatives or the parental divorce.

provide volunteers and partnerships with groups (Sikkink & Hernandez, 2003). The research also finds that the majority of volunteers are religious students (Vander, Hermans,

Research done recently shows that the individual religiosity increases educational attainment. Veroff (1962) explains that this positive relation between religion and academic attainment is because religion helps create a disciplined life and generates ethics. For people with a disadvantaged background, religious groups teach these people to be more disciplined, have more positive attitudes, and encourage better behaviors. Because of religious beliefs and practices, believers become more able to deal with troubles and stressful situations that might negatively affect their academic or career achievements than non-believers who may feel stressful and totally lost. Another way through which religion influences education is by creating a family like atmosphere for those who have single parents. For example some theorist (Ewing, 2000; Fan, 2003; Galor & Zeira, 1993; Galor & Tsiddon, 1996) found that religion has a great influence on the educational achievement of the poor. People in urban areas are more religious because the churches play the role like parents by providing youth with authority figures, disciplines and the ways they should act. The church's role is to help people to be more active in the society and keep them on the right way. Family life is proved to be very important for education achievements and religion is one of the factors that have a positive impact on family life. Religious families are

more capable to establish healthy family relationships and have more social control.

The national longitude data conducts a survey on racial groups in the United State including whites, African Americans, Asians and Latinos to know if religious students have higher academic achievements than their peers. The results show that Jews have higher GPA comparing to the Catholics and the Protestants. According to the survey, Jewish people have the highest rate of religious attendance while Hispanics have higher rates of attendance than African Americans. The survey tests the hypotheses that the effect of religiosity on grades varies according to the race, class, and immigration but none of the tests show that the relationship between religion and education differs among groups. According to the NLSF data, after controlling for all the social factors of race, income, and gender, religiosity has a significant influence on the achievements and satisfaction of students in the colleges and universities of the United States. Students who attend religious services once per week in the last year of their high school are able to obtain higher grades than no regular attendees. Religious students study more, go to party less often and dedicate more spare time for religious activities. Also, people who party more are less focused during their study, in contrast, religious students not only are able to spend more time on study, but the quality of the time spent is better: they are more concentrated, have a higher self-esteem, and have a better sense of purpose. Sometimes religious activities have a positive effect and students do a better job on exams not only because they studied well but also because they have more

Others studies are more concerned about the influence of religion on the student's social life at colleges or in universities, such as students get involved in different types of activities like sororities and fraternities. By influencing social activities, religiosity could indirectly influence students' educational achievement, satisfaction at college, and other outcomes such as interactions with professors. Research also tests the influence of religion on dealing with the effect of negative experiences such as the death of relatives or the parental divorce.

Aarnoutse, 2008).

confidence in their intellectual ability.

In short, religiosity has a great influence on educational achievements. Loury(2004), Regnerus(2003), and Jeynes (2003) argue that attending churches or other religious services provides students with the right guidance that then will improve their academic achievements. The religiosity increases the level of satisfaction and the grades of students attending colleges and universities.

Religion has a big influence not only on education achievement but also on personal achievements. Some research (Hazan & Berdugo, 2002; Landes, 2000; Lipford & Tollison, 2003) shows that there is a relationship between religious preference and worldly success. The survey asks the question about what is your religion, whether it is Protestant, Jewish, or Catholic. In case the answer is Protestant, another question was raised as what domination you belong to. After analyzing people from different religions, Jews show the highest level of the success while the Catholics has the lowest level of success. The reason partly is explained as that Jewish people have the highest level of religious activities. The people who are more religious tend to have more appreciation for the time, less parties and more concentration. Through religious activities, the Jewish people will also be able to meet new people and build up more social networks.

In conclusion, religion has a big influence on motivation, education achievements, and on all other aspects of social life. Individuals who have a religious background are able to success in school, colleges and universities, and later on at work. When people are more religious, they are more likely to focus on what they need because they have a clear status of mind and are more confident. The researches all show that religion is a factor contributing to all kinds of success. Our analysis contributes to the literature by analyzing the relationship between a person's highest education and religions activities. We expand the literature by not emphasizing on different religious groups but instead focusing on various religious activities and perceptions such as "how fundamental one considers himself or herself to be", "how often he or she prays", "how often he or she attend religious activities", etc. Also the paper expands the literature by applying a simple statistical model to analyze whether factors such as a person's education, occupation, marital status, and number of children, affect his or her religious activities.
