Scientific evidence has emerged suggesting that religion has a significant influence on pet ownership. Specifically, those who practice religion are less likely to own pets and especially less likely to own a cat. These findings come from a study published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Pet ownership is wildly popular in the United States and the country surpasses all other nations in numbers of cats and dogs. The majority of Americans own at least one pet and billions of dollars a year are spent on these companions. Given that pet ownership has been connected to various positive mental health benefits like reducing anxiety and depression, researchers aimed to explore factors that might influence the likelihood of owning a pet.

The study set out to examine how religion might play a part in pet ownership. Considering that religion fulfills similar needs to pet companionship, such as bonding and community, researchers proposed a link between the two ways of life.

The study examined data from the 2018 General Social Survey, focusing on the module on pet ownership. Of an original 2,348 respondents, 699 people were questioned on the types of pets they owned. To measure religious affiliation, respondents were questioned on their religious service attendance, religious tradition, and views of the Bible.

The results showed that those who attend religious services more frequently are less likely to have pets at home. Researchers propose that religious individuals are less likely to turn to pet companionship since their needs for bonding and community are already being fulfilled by their religion. This would be in line with findings that suggest that pet ownership is especially beneficial for those who spend large amounts of time alone like the elderly or single women. Churchgoers, who likely already have strong community ties, may not receive such strong benefits from pet companionship.

It was found that 74.9 percent of the sample owned dogs and 40.3 percent owned cats. Interestingly, those with higher worship attendance were less likely to own cats. Researchers suggest that this might be explained by certain personality characteristics that influence pet preferences and might also influence religious behavior.

For example, dog ownership has been associated with the trait of extraversion, while cat ownership may be linked to introversion. Dogs are prosocial pets and people who choose dogs as pets might be the same type of people who opt for the social behavior of attending church. The opposite is true for cat ownership. The authors explain, “the type of Americans attracted to cats might also be the same Americans who find social situations in church unappealing”.

Researchers share that due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, no causality can be inferred. However, possible implications remain interesting. The authors consider the possibility that with religion declining across the states, pet ownership may rise. Future research might track these associations over time.

The study, “How Religion Predicts Pet Ownership in the United States”, was authored by Samuel L. Perry and Ryan P. Burge.