Individual Religiosity and Career Choice: Does Cultural Religiosity Moderate the Relationship?

Abstract

Although research on the influence of religion on entrepreneurial entry has progressed substantially, the conceptual and empirical approaches are still far from being conclusive. To advance, we utilize the big our religious dimensions to examine how internal (believing and behaving) and external (bonding and belonging) religiosity may affect the propensity of individuals to be self-employed rather than paid employees. Together, we test if the country’s level of religiosity moderates the relationship. Drawing on the recent World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017–2021), we analyzed data from a sample of 39,606 working adults in 49 countries. In general, we found that the self-employed consistently exhibit stronger religiosity of behaving, bonding, and belonging than paid workers. However, the moderating effects suggest that religiosity at the country level prevails over individual religiosity—consistent with the idea that social environment is a more dominant factor even in individual decision making.