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Fascinating bit of economic detective work from David Leonhardt:

“The economic differences among the country’s various religions are strikingly large, much larger than the differences among states and even larger than those among racial groups.

The most affluent of the major religions — including secularism — is Reform Judaism. Hindus were second, at 65 percent, and Conservative Jews were third, at 57 percent. The most affluent of the major religions — including secularism — is Reform Judaism . . .

Many factors are behind the discrepancies among religions, but one stands out. The relationship between education and income is so strong that you can almost draw a line through the points on this graph. Social science rarely produces results this clean.”