Religion and Foreign Aid Provision: A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Market Nations

Abstract

The importance of ideology to the formulation of a state's economic redistribution policies has been challenged in several empirical and theoretical works. Other studies have emphasized the centrality of ideological factors, but in most research ideology is narrowly operationalized as either public opinion about government spending or in terms of political party and labor strength. This paper examines the significance of national religious salience, measured by three variables, and denominational heterogeneity for foreign aid provision. The findings indicate that religiosity is negatively associated with foreign aid level in advanced market countries, with several control variables taken into account. Aid commitments are particularly low in Protestant nations which are characterized by high denominational diversity. Three outliers—Norway, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—do not fit the general pattern. Religion also predicts rightist party strength, which has been the focus of several previous studies of welfare policy. Domestic welfare provision and foreign aid policy are moderately to strongly related.

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