Religion continues to influence Europe's economy, education, and social values despite secularization, according to a study.

(ZENIT News / Rome, 25.10.2026).- While European churches may be losing regular churchgoers, religion continues to shape the continent in less visible and potentially more far-reaching ways than Sunday attendance. From educational choices and family size to migration policies and economic behavior, religious traditions remain rooted in the social norms that shape public life, according to a review of economic research published by the Rockwool Foundation in Berlin.

The study, titled "Religion and Economic Growth: What We Know and Why It Matters," gathers evidence from different periods and regions to examine how faith influences prosperity. Its authors include Sascha Becker, professor of economics at the University of Warwick; Jared Rubin of Chapman University; and Ludger Woessmann of the University of Munich. Their central argument challenges the assumption that religion has become economically irrelevant in increasingly secularized societies.

"Anyone who considers religion a marginal factor overlooks a fundamental part of the structure of our societies," Becker told Religion News Service, arguing that faith continues to shape the social norms and institutions through which policies are developed.

Education offers one of the clearest examples. Religious institutions played a crucial historical role in spreading literacy, especially through the need to read biblical texts. Their influence has not disappeared. Across Europe, religious schools and deeply rooted educational traditions continue to shape parents' decisions and the formation of human capital.

In England, roughly one third of state schools have a religious character. Most are associated with the Church of England (Anglican), while a considerable number belong to the Catholic Church, and smaller groups are linked to Jewish and Muslim communities.

Becker cautions that one should not assume religious schools automatically deliver better educational outcomes, since family selection and peer-group influence complicate comparisons. Yet their appeal extends beyond committed believers. Some non-religious parents choose them because they associate them with discipline, a clear moral framework and high expectations.

For policymakers, the challenge lies not in whether they should support religious doctrine, but in how to understand its relationship with secular education. Measures aimed at improving literacy, scientific skills, social integration or women's participation in the labor market may meet resistance if religious communities perceive them as a threat to their identity. The distinction between education that complements religious formation and education that displaces it can have practical consequences.

Religion also remains relevant in debates about migration and social cohesion, although its influence is neither uniform nor always positive. In Britain, movements have emerged that invoke Christianity as part of national identity amid opposition to immigration. Many Christian leaders, however, have been reluctant to endorse such campaigns, particularly when their political message conflicts with the Gospel's call to welcome the stranger.

Religious organizations often play a different role on the ground. Catholic charities and groups such as the Jesuit Refugee Service help migrants learn languages, access public services and integrate into unfamiliar communities.

According to Becker, understanding these networks can help governments avoid both unrealistic assumptions about multiculturalism and policies that demand simple assimilation. Religious identity may influence integration, but it does not determine a single political response.

Spain illustrates the importance of looking beyond theology. Becker attributes the country's relatively welcoming attitude toward migrants, in part, to labor shortages, while acknowledging the contribution of Catholic institutions and charities to their reception and support. Economic needs, social attitudes and religious commitments may reinforce one another, but they should not be confused.

This debate has taken on renewed relevance following the recent visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain and the Canary Islands, where he met with migrants and with organizations dedicated to rescuing and assisting people arriving by sea from Africa. The Pope challenged political leaders to recognize the human reality underlying migration, asking whether Christians had recognized Christ in those who arrive exhausted by hunger, fear and violence. He also urged governments to share responsibility for migrants, protect them from criminal trafficking networks, and help address the conditions that force people to leave their countries of origin.

The broadest lesson is that religious principles can shape public action even when governments make decisions for practical reasons rather than explicitly theological ones. The reverse is also true: religion can contribute to serious social harm when it is interpreted in ways that deny fundamental rights. Researchers cite the case of Afghanistan, where restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women's participation in the labor market have helped limit economic activity. In other words, religious influence cannot be assessed simply by measuring its presence; the content and consequences of its teachings matter.

Faith communities are also increasingly engaged in environmental questions, promoting simpler lifestyles, more sustainable development, and limits on consumption. Becker suggests that such commitments could have significant economic implications, raising questions about whether prosperity must depend on ever-greater consumption, or whether religious traditions could help foster a different, more ecological model of growth.

He is less convinced, however, that churches exert a decisive ethical influence over today's political and economic elites. The United States, where church attendance remains relatively high, is also a strongly capitalist country, which illustrates the tension between religious moral teaching and economic practice. The Catholic Church has long criticized aspects of economic systems that subordinate human dignity to profit, but the existence of such teaching does not guarantee that it governs the behavior of those who hold power.

Europe itself offers an example of how religious ideas can survive once their theological origins have faded from public view. Catholic social doctrine helped shape concepts such as solidarity and subsidiarity, which influenced the intellectual foundations of European integration. Subsidiarity, in particular, holds that higher authorities should support families, local communities, and smaller institutions rather than unnecessarily replacing their responsibilities. Within the European Union, it now functions as a secular legal principle that guides decisions about which level of government should act.

The transformation is significant: a concept rooted in a religious understanding of society has acquired a broader meaning within a pluralistic political order. Its religious origin remains part of Europe's intellectual history, even where its contemporary application no longer depends on religious belief.

The Rockwool Foundation report does not suggest that religion invariably produces prosperity, better schools, or more cohesive societies. Rather, it urges policymakers to recognize that religious convictions continue to influence decisions about education, work, family life, migration, and consumption. Secularization may weaken formal religious participation without erasing the values and institutions shaped over centuries.

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