Capitalist Views and Religion

We examine how religious affiliation and strength of religious beliefs are associated with support for free-market capitalism. A new dataset created with an innovative online survey platform includes more detailed data than has been used in prior studies. Protestants and Catholics are on the whole found to be similar in their view of markets. Christians are found to be more pro-market than those who are not religious. Separate from affiliation, religiosity is positively correlated with support for free markets. Further, significant variation in views of free markets is seen according to education, gender, income level, and early life family structure.