Faith influences wealth accumulation.

• Position: Religion

A national study reveals that religious affiliation plays a powerful role in how much wealth Americans accumulate, with Jewish people amassing the most and conservative Protestants the least. Mainline Protestants and Catholics fall in between and are about average with the rest of the population. Moreover, people who attend religious services regularly build more wealth than those who do not.

The effect of religion is robust, even after taking into account inheritances, levels of education, and other factors that may be associated with particular denominations, notes Lisa Keister, associate professor of sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus. "Religion is an important factor in wealth accumulation that hasn't received a lot of attention," Keistar observes. "The results suggest people draw on the methods they learn from religion to develop strategies for saving, investing, and spending, and those tools may be different in various faiths."

Overall, the median net worth of Jewish people in the survey was $150,890, more than three times the median for the entire sample ($48,200). The median net worth for conservative Protestants (which included Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Christian Scientists, among others) was $26,200. Mainstream Protestants (including Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Unitarians, and others) and Catholics were similar to each other and about the average for the entire sample.

While some may concur that the results confirm religious stereotypes, such as the contention that Jewish people are greedy and acquisitive, Keister strongly disagrees." What I'm finding is that families have a powerful influence on how people learn to save, and religion is often an important part of family life. The things children are taught in Jewish homes are very different than those that are taught in conservative Protestant homes."

It is not just religious affiliation itself that has an impact on wealth accumulation. The study found that those who regularly attended religious services tend to be more wealthy. "It seems strange--why should it matter whether you go to church in terms of building wealth?" Keister wonders. "But going to religious services may be another opportunity, especially for Jews, to be indoctrinated with beliefs that help build wealth. Also, it is a social network issue--a church or synagogue can be a good place to meet people with investment tips or money to lean for a new...