Protestant countries have higher employment rate

Link

Protestant countries have higher employment rates than non-Protestant ones, a new study found.

The United States, the United Kingdom and Nordic countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway, where Protestantism is the main religion, have employment rates that are as much as six percentage points higher than countries where other religions are largely practiced.

Researchers at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom say the most likely reason for this is the Protestant virtue of hard work.

"In its early days, Protestantism promoted the virtue of hard and diligent work amongst its adherents, who judged one another by conformity to this standard," said Dr. Feldmann, a lecturer in the University’s Department of Economics & International Development.

“Originally, an intense devotion to one’s work was meant to assure oneself that one was predestined for salvation," he explained. "Although the belief in predestination did not last more than a generation or two after the Reformation, the effect on work ethics continued."

The study, based on data from 80 countries, also showed that female employment rates are about 11 percent higher in Protestant countries.

Add that to the Christian countries enjoy more religious freedoms.