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Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education

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  • Arold, Benjamin W.

    (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)

  • Woessmann, Ludger

    (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)

  • Zierow, Larissa

    (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)

Abstract

We study whether compulsory religious education in schools affects students’ religiosity as adults. We exploit the staggered termination of compulsory religious education across German states in models with state and cohort fixed effects. Using three different datasets, we find that abolishing compulsory religious education significantly reduced religiosity of affected students in adulthood. It also reduced the religious actions of personal prayer, church-going, and church membership. Beyond religious attitudes, the reform led to more equalized gender roles, fewer marriages and children, and higher labor-market participation and earnings. The reform did not affect ethical and political values or non-religious school outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Arold, Benjamin W. & Woessmann, Ludger & Zierow, Larissa, 2022. "Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 309, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    • Handle: RePEc:rco:dpaper:309
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    1. Samuel Bazzi & Masyhur Hilmy & Benjamin Marx, 2020. "Religion, Education, and Development," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03873758, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    religious education; religiosity; school reforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

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