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Compulsory schooling laws and formation of beliefs: Education, religion and superstition

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  • Mocan, Naci
  • Pogorelova, Luiza

Abstract

We exploit information on compulsory schooling reforms in 14 European countries, implemented mostly in the 1960s and 70s, to identify the impact of education on religious adherence and religious practices. Using micro data from the European Social Survey, conducted in various years between 2002 and 2013, we find consistently negative effects of schooling on religiosity, social religious acts (attending religious services), as well as solitary religious acts (the frequency of praying). We also use data from European Values Survey to apply the same empirical design to analyze the impact of schooling on superstitious beliefs. We find that more education, due to increased mandatory years of schooling, reduces individuals’ propensity to believe in the power of lucky charms and the tendency to take into account horoscopes in daily life.

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  • Mocan, Naci & Pogorelova, Luiza, 2017. "Compulsory schooling laws and formation of beliefs: Education, religion and superstition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 509-539.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:142:y:2017:i:c:p:509-539
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2017.07.005
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    2. Hornung, Erik & Schwerdt, Guido & Strazzeri, Maurizio, 2023. "Religious practice and student performance: Evidence from Ramadan fasting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 100-119.
    3. Masuda, Kazuya & Yudhistira, Muhammad Halley, 2020. "Does education secularize the Islamic population? The effect of years of schooling on religiosity, voting, and pluralism in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Albarrán, Pedro & Hidalgo-Hidalgo, Marisa & Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Iñigo, 2020. "Education and adult health: Is there a causal effect?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    5. Canaan, Serena & Deeb, Antoine & Mouganie, Pierre, 2022. "Does Religious Diversity Improve Trust and Performance? Evidence from Lebanon," IZA Discussion Papers 15206, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Samuel Bazzi & Masyhur Hilmy & Benjamin Marx, 2020. "Religion, Education, and the State," NBER Working Papers 27073, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Thao Bui, 2023. "Compulsory education reform and child mortality in Peru," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(9), pages 1941-1963, September.
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    9. Huichao Du & Yun Xiao & Liqiu Zhao, 2021. "Education and gender role attitudes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 475-513, April.
    10. Akyol, Pelin & Mocan, Naci, 2020. "Education and Consanguineous Marriage," IZA Discussion Papers 13985, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Everding, Jakob, 2019. "Heterogeneous spillover effects of children's education on parental mental health," hche Research Papers 18, University of Hamburg, Hamburg Center for Health Economics (hche).
    12. Rivera-Garrido, Noelia, 2022. "Can education reduce traditional gender role attitudes?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Ooi, Chai-Aun & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2022. "Muslim CEOs, risk-taking and firm performance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Samuel Bazzi & Masyhur Hilmy & Benjamin Marx, 2020. "Islam and the State: Religious Education in the Age of Mass Schooling," Working Papers hal-03389196, HAL.
    15. Sakai Yoko & Masuda Kazuya, 2020. "Secondary education and international labor mobility: evidence from the natural experiment in the Philippines," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, January.
    16. Deole, Sumit S. & Zeydanli, Tugba, 2021. "Does education predict gender role attitudes?: Evidence from European datasets," GLO Discussion Paper Series 793, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    17. Dursun, Bahadır & Cesur, Resul & Mocan, Naci, 2018. "The Impact of Education on Health Outcomes and Behaviors in a Middle-Income, Low-Education Country," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 94-114.
    18. Samuel Bazzi & Masyhur Hilmy & Benjamin Marx, 2020. "Islam and the State: Religious Education in the Age of Mass Schooling∗," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-349, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    19. Kuenzi, Michelle, 2018. "Education, religious trust, and ethnicity: The case of Senegal," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 254-263.

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