Childhood religious conservatism and adult attainment among black and white women

The resurgence of conservative religious groups over the past several decades raises interesting questions about its effects on women's life chances. Conservative religious institutions promote a traditional understanding of gender within families. Women's beliefs about appropriate family roles, in turn, influence their preparation for market work and the timing and extent of their labor force participation. Using retrospective data from the National Survey of Households and Families, this paper examines the effect of childhood religious affiliation on American women's acquisition and use of marketable skills, focusing on women's educational investments, family formation behavior, labor force participation and wage attainment. Results show that childhood religious conservatism is associated with diminished human capital acquisition and earlier family formation for White women with more muted results for Black women.