Frick, B. and Moser, K. and Simmons, R. (2021) Between Heaven and Hell:Spillover Effects of Exogenous Shocks on Exits from the Catholic and Protestant Churches in Germany. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. ISSN 0021-8294
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
For decades, the annual numbers of exits of members from the Catholic Church and Protestant Church have been increasing. Closer inspection of diocese-level data shows that the time-series pattern of exits is nonlinear with a series of intermediate peaks. This paper uses an event study approach to model the impacts of various scandals on church exit rates. We find that sexual abuse and financial scandals located in the Catholic Church contribute to increased exit rates not just in that Church but also, by way of spillover effects, to higher exit rates of Protestant Church members.