Religious Affiliation and Homeownership: Contemporary Patterns of Ownership, Value, and Status

Abstract

Religious affiliation is closely linked to socioeconomic status (SES), with a large body of research documenting persistent differences in education, income, and wealth across major religious groups. Homeownership—a critical measure of SES—provides financial security, accumulated advantage, and intergenerational mobility but has received little attention in the literature on religion and inequality. This study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine homeownership patterns across major U.S. religious-ethnic groups: White Catholics, White Mainline Protestants, White Conservative Protestants, White religious nones, Latino Catholics, Latino Protestants, Black Mainline Protestants, and Black Conservative Protestants. I study homeownership, home equity, and high- and low-status homeownership to assess how religious affiliation maps onto this important SES domain. Results show clear and consistent differences across groups, reflecting both established hierarchies and unique, contemporary patterns. These findings show that homeownership is critical for understanding the relationship between religion and social and economic well-being.