Entrepreneurship among Christians

Recent research shows an effect of religion on economic growth. The aim of this research is to study the impact of religion on a specific contributor to economic growth, entrepreneurship. Relatively much research is done to prove a possible effect of religion on entrepreneurship. However, less is known how religion influences the decision to become an entrepreneur. Based on a survey among Christian entrepreneurs and employees, this study investigates the effect of Christian values on the decision to become an entrepreneur. Three values are considered: vocation by the will of God, the duty to add value to the society by sustainable and social entrepreneurship and the preference to work in a Christian workplace (or a workplace with freedom for religion). The results of logistic regressions show that at least two Christian values are positively associated with the decision to become an entrepreneur. Especially the part about vocation shows strong association. A Christian entrepreneur sees his work as a vocation of God, more than a Christian employee. Besides that a Christian entrepreneur has more drive to add value to the society through his job, compared to a Christian employee. The results show that it is not possible to state that a Christian entrepreneur will prefer a Christian workplace, more than a Christian employee. The main finding is that religious values seem to be associated with the decision of Christians to become an entrepreneur.