Simpson, Jason J., authorBernasek, Alexandra, advisorZahran, Sammy, committee memberDickinson, Greg, committee member2007-01-032007-01-032012http://hdl.handle.net/10217/75118The aim of this paper is to investigate and illustrate the religious free-rider problem within church congregations while investigating religious consumption signaling patterns and the ability, or lack thereof, to form religious capital. From an institutional perspective, this paper will address stigma-screening processes via three economic models in an effort to understand and evaluate the overall effectiveness of institutional responses towards free-riding members. In addition, this paper will explore incentives behind perverse consumption signaling as a method of communicating membership, as well as the overall impact of restricting religious capital accumulation for both members and free-riders alike.born digitalmasters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.consumption signalingreligious free-riderreligious capitalText