Toileting helps me think - that’s why I’ve got heaps of magazines at the toilet side. Magazines that I’d even surprised myself. One of them I’m proud to admit to have in the pile was The Economist, December 20th 2005 edition!

If you’re about to ask, "Why the hell does this dude keep an obsolete version of such mags next to a toilet-bowl? (It’s not even a Playboy!)", I might have to get back to you on that. I’m not even a big fan of The Economist. The texts are way too small. We don’t see articles with over two pages, FRONT and BACK, in magazines like Sweet 18s or Girls Unlimited. Seriously, who wants to know the details of 135,000 Algerian kids who has the chicken pox? Do you? - I’m sorry for you.

On the brighter side of things, there was this article in The Economist that attempted to study further into Jonathan Gruber’s big question: Is Religion Good For You? His paper went on to imply that people who doubles their church attendance raises their income by a far cry of 10%.

How far from the truth is that?

In response to Gruber’s question, I haven’t been making heaps of money by going to church. As a matter of fact, I lose a fair bit more due to bus fares and worse, when all I’ve got is a $20 in my pocket for the collection box. I’ve fought off the temptation of putting in a $20 note and take back out $15. Really, has anyone of you done it before? (I’ll leave the Comments section open for you, collection-box-thieves!). I’ve wondered to myself the reason behind the collection boxes - I’ve concluded that they are a way of profitting off the people who are guilty for their sins and yet not brave enough to face the priest in a Confession Room. Thus logically, the more guilty one is, the more one would contribute to the collection box. On the other hand, I’d be contributing an advanced $20, knowing I wouldn’t be coming to church for another couple of months. It’s strange that we would rather spend $200 on a second-hand iPod than $20 for our soul in the after-life.

I’ve got a theory: the amount of money we contribute to the church determines the quality standard of our room in Heaven. For $20, you’d get a small corner right by the Gates of Heaven.

So, the main question is… how can religion help make you richer?

"Mr Gruber offers several possibilities. One plausible idea is that going to church yields “social capital”, a web of relationships that fosters trust. Economists think such ties can be valuable, because they make business dealings smoother and transactions cheaper. Churchgoing may simply be an efficient way of creating them.

Another possibility is that a church’s members enjoy mutual emotional and (maybe) financial insurance. That allows them to recover more quickly from setbacks, such as the loss of a job, than they would without the support of fellow parishioners. Or perhaps religion and wealth are linked through education. Mr Gruber’s results suggest that higher church attendance leads to more years at school and less chance of dropping out of college. A vibrant church might also boost the number of religious schools, which in turn could raise academic achievement.

Finally, religious faith itself might be the channel through which churchgoers become richer. Perhaps, Mr Gruber muses, the faithful may be “less stressed out” about life’s daily travails and thus better equipped for success." Wealth From Worship, "The Economist", Ed. December 20th 2005

So, who’s going to church this weekend?