by Brian J. Grim
It’s not often that an academic report changes the conversation about religion in America, but one just did. Georgetown [University’s] Brian Grim and Melissa Grim of the Newseum Institute have unveiled their groundbreaking Faith Counts study: “The Socio-economic Contributions of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.
The links below take you to some of this new conversation about religion in America. Some stories, such as the one from UK’s The Guardian, have been shared 19,135 times (by comparison, the paper’s headline story announcing Trump’s election as U.S. president was shared 17,153 times). Other original reporting on the research has reached millions of listeners, such as WNYU’s The Takeaway).
And, more than a month after the study’s release, it still is making news, being featured in a nationwide Fox Business News report:
Below is the video featured in What’s US religion worth? $1.2 trillion, says one demographer (Religion News Service | Lauren Markoe):
National & International Media
Study: Religion contributes more to the US economy than Facebook, Google and Apple combined (Washington Post: online & print editions | Julie Zauzmer)
Could Religion’s Decline Spell Damnation for the U.S. Economy? As America loses its faith, the domestic economy could pay the price (U.S. News & World Report | Andrew Soergel, Economy Reporter)
Religion in US ‘worth more than Google and Apple combined’ Faith economy worth $1.2tn a year – more than combined revenues of 10 biggest tech firms in America, study shows (The Guardian | Harriet Sherwood)
LISTEN: Report: Faith Economy Worth $1.2 Trillion Per Year (WNYC | John Hockenberry interviews Brian Grim)
The Takeaway, hosted by John Hockenberry, is a national morning radio show broadcast with Public Radio International and WNYC, with The New York Times and WGBH Boston, that reaches more than 2 million regular listeners across 280 stations across the US. The Takeaway interview occurred as President Obama and world leaders gathered at the United Nations for the annual General Assembly. Prior to the interview, Brian Grim was a featured attendee and led a discussion on business and peacemaking at the UN Private Sector Forum, keynoted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and actor Ewan McGregor.
Listen: Religion is worth $1.2 Trillion to the US Economy – Interview with Brian Grim @ 26:50 (BBC World Service | Newshour with Tim Franks)
New Study Values Faith In America Over One Trillion Dollars (Yahoo News | PRNewswire-USNewswire)
Faith-Based Groups and Companies Drive $1.2 Trillion in Impact, Says Study (The Chronicle of Philanthropy | Heather Joslyn)
Report Shows That Religion is Big Business (Small Business Trends | Annie Pilon)
Religion in the United States is worth more than Apple, Google and Amazon COMBINED – with a revenue of $1.2trillion a year (Daily Mail, UK | Clemence Michallon)
Religion contributes more to the US economy than many giant corporations (Business Day, Stuff New Zealand | Julie Zauzmer)
WATCH: New Academic Study Reveals Religion in the U.S. Is Worth $1.2 Trillion (Al Jazeera TV | World News)
Study: Religion Has $1.2 Trillion Impact on U.S. Economy Each Year (The Blaze | Kate Scanlon)
Economic impact of religion: New report says it’s worth more than Google, Apple and Amazon combined (Deseret News | Kelsey Dallas)
Faith-based groups contribute enormously to American society and the U.S. economy (National Review | Alexandra Desanctis)
Faith Economy: The 1.2 Trillion Economies Explained (FX News Business | Neha Gupta)
Religion a Major Driver of the National Economy (Non Profit Quarterly, NPQ | Jim Schaffer)
New study shows religion is an active force in the lives of many in the U.S. (Carib Press, Beverly Hills, CA | Staff Writer)
Religion Is Worth A LOT To The Economy (Newsy | Ryan Biek, including video)
Study: Religion contributes more to the economy than many giant corporations (Post article syndicated to newspapers and media nationwide, with additional reporting by Nathan Van Dyne of the Pulitzer Prize Winning Colorado Springs Gazette)
US religion is worth $1.2T/year, more than America’s 10 biggest tech companies, combined (Boing, Boing |Cory Doctorow)
Georgetown Study: Religion Worth $1.2 Trillion in U.S. Economy, More Than Google and Apple Combined (CNS News | Lauretta Brown)
Study puts monetary value on good works done by U.S. religious organizations (Richmond Free Press | RNS)
American Religion: The 15th Largest Economy in the World (The Atheist Republic | Dean Lawrence)
Holy Rolling in It (The Humanist | Patrick Hudson)
Religion in US worth more than Google, Apple combined $1.2 trillion per year – the number that US religion makes per year, more than the 10 biggest tech companies combined (TweakTown | Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal News)
Faith by the Numbers: The Socio-economic Value of Religion in the U.S. (RealClearReligion | Latest Religion Videos)
US Religion Worth $1.2 Trillion (PBS | Religion & Ethics)
Religion in U.S. worth $1.2 trillion a year (NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | Kim Chatelain)
Study: Religion Has $1.2 Trillion Impact on U.S. Economy Each Year (Crazy Hot News | News Bundler)
Faith-based Media
How Religious Groups Make Economic Contributions to the U.S. (EWTN | Brian Patrick’s interview of Brian Grim).
Religion Boosts US Economy More Than Apple, Amazon, and Google Combined: Study offers best estimate yet of the ‘value of faith’ in America: $1.2 trillion (Christianity Today | Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, also on Ave Maria Radio)
Study finds that religion contributes $1.2 trillion to US economy (Crux | Christopher White)
Don’t Underestimate Religion’s Economic Gifts (National Catholic Register | The Editors)
Religion is big business in the US; adds ‘$1.2 trillion’ to the economy (Ecumenical News | Peter Kenny)
Religion in US Worth $1.2 Trillion to Economy (Newsroom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tracie Cayford Cudworth)
Religion’s economic impact (Patheos | Gene Veith)
Study puts dollar value of organized religion in the U.S. at $1.2 trillion (Catholic News Service, and in The Catholic Weekly | Rhina Guidos)
In our opinion: Religious stock on the rise (Deseret News | Editorial)
How much economic value does religion provide America? (Acton Institute | Joe Carter; also in the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Souther Baptist Convention)
Economic Value of Religion: Interview with Brian Grim (Matt Townsend Show, BYU Radio, SiriusXM radio) Nov. 2, 2016
Dr. Brian Grim is president president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and an Associate Scholar at Georgetown University. He is a leading expert on the socioeconomic impact of restrictions on religious freedom and international religious demography. Earlier this month, 17 faith leaders from around America sent a letter to President Obama rejecting the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ report on religious freedom. The Commission’s chairman questioned the societal worth of religious freedom, calling it a hypocritical code for discrimination, intolerance and racism. But, what is the monetary worth of US religion? The estimated annual worth of US religion is at $1.2 trillion and could be considered the 15th largest economy in the world. Brian Grim explains the Value of Religion in America.
Religion Contributes $1.2 Trillion to US Economy, More Than Top 10 Tech Companies Combined, Study Finds (Christian Post | Brandon Showalter)
New Study Shows Religion is Good for the Economy (Focus on the Family | Jim Daly)
Apple, Google & Facebook combined have less economic impact than religious charities, churches (ChristianExaminer | Gregory Tomlin)
Religion, the Great Economic Engine: MORE PROOF FAITH IS GOOD FOR AMERICA (BreakPoint | John Stonestreet, President, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview)
President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, Dr. Brian Grim, joins Tony to discuss his recent study on the socio-economic value of religion to American society (Washington Watch | Tony Perkins)
Study Gives Charities a Faith Lift (FRC Action | Senior Writers)
Religion in the US is worth $1.2 trillion, new study shows (Christian Today | Mark Woods)
Religion’s Economic Contribution (Point of View | Penna Dexter)
Religion Supporting US Economy by Generating More Revenue Than Apple, Google, and Amazon Combined, Says Study (Christianity Daily | Staff Reporter)
Faith in America has $1.2 trillion impact (The Wesleyan Church | Brian Grim, Melissa Grim and Kerry Troup)
A study estimates the “economic value” of religion in USA Authors of the study stated that religion is worth $1.2 trillion to the US economy. “Religion provides purpose-driven institutional and economic contributions to society.” (Evangelical Focus | Staff Reporter)
Religion is Good for Society … We Think (Dead Reckoning Radio | Jay Friesen, Hadley Heath, and Dr. Brian G. Mattso)
That Faith Counts study: Religion is bigger than Facebook, Google and Apple combined (Get Religion | Julia Duin)
New Study Claims Religious Organizations in the U.S. Make More Money Than Apple and Microsoft Combined (Church Leaders | Megan Briggs)
Covering Religion as More Than the Radical Fringe (Context | Prof. John G. Stackhouse Jr.)
‘There’s a growing belief that religion is not a positive for American society’ – How the Church impacts the US: A new report revealed exactly how faith and religion impact the United States – and you won’t believe what researchers found (Catholic Online | Kenya Sinclair)
Other National & International Media
Как “деньги веры” создают экономику США [How “Faith Money” is generated by the USA Economy] (LIFE | Екатерина Коростиченко)
Best Business: Organized religion rakes in more money than Apple and Google combined (Macedonian International News Agency)
Religion in US ‘Worth more than Google, Apple combined (The Herald, Zimbabwe)
New Study Values Faith In America Over One Trillion Dollars (Newsroom America | Staff Reporter)
Faith economy in US worth $1.2 trillion a year (The News International – Pakistan | Top Story)
Religion Contributes $1.2 Trillion Each Year to US Economy (Pakistan Christian Post | Nick Pitts)
Religion makes more money in the US than Apple, Facebook, Google combined (CIOL, India |TECH BUZZ Staff Writers)
La religión aporta más a la economía de EE.UU. que Facebook, Google y Apple juntos Investigación señala que la fe aporta un total de 1,1 billones de euros al año. (RPP, Lima, Peru)
Religieuze instellingen dragen meer bij aan economie dan Google, Apple en Facebook (CVANDAAG, Netherlands)
Religie is big business in Amerika (Nederlands Dagblad | Gerard ter Horst)
Aux Etats-Unis, la religion stimule l’économie plus que Google, Apple et Amazon réunis (Saphir News, France – Muslim News | Ben Hanan Rhouma and Samba Doucoure)
Etats-Unis: Les religions génèrent mille milliards de dollars pour l’économie (Evangeliques Point Infor, France)
Religion bleibt Milliarden-Geschäft in den USA Gesundheitsindustrie, Schulen und Kongregationen leisten Beitrag (Pressetext, Austria | Marie-Thérèse Fleischer)
Nghiên cứu mới: Tôn giáo góp phần vào kinh tế Hoa Kỳ nhiều hơn Facebook, Google và Apple cộng lại (VietCatholic News, Vietnam | Vũ Văn An)