Religion and entrepreneurship: a meta-analysis

Abstract Research on religion and entrepreneurship has come to constitute a significant field of academic interest in recent years. Whether, how, and the degree to which religion affects entrepreneurship has been analyzed intensively, yet these inquiries have yielded mixed results. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying what we know and what we do not know (as well as why we do not know it) through the use of meta-analytical regression techniques. Examining 75 empirical studies and 306 effect sizes, we confirm that there is an overall positive but small correlation between religion and entrepreneurship. Notably, however, the results show that this effect varies by religion and country as well as in terms of its impact on measured outcome or performance.