The Influence of Religiosity on Income and Prosperity: The Indonesian Context

Purpose of Study: Based on the Syari'ah of Islam, prosperity should equalize material and spiritual aspects. It aims to create benefits for people in their life and hereafter. Prosperity is attained when people meet the purpose of syari’ah (i.e., maqashid Syariah). Maqashid Syariah involves the maintenance of religion, soul, mind, posterity, and wealth. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of Islamic religiosity on income and prosperity. Methodology: The explanatory method was employed to know the effect among variables. Islamic prosperity was classified into an endogenous variable, while religiosity, income, and social factor were classified into the exogenous variable. The primary data analysis was collected through the interview by delivering a questionnaire to the respondents. The respondents of this study were the 85 lecturers and academic relatives of Universitas Negeri Surabaya that selected by the Structured Equation Model (SEM) sample selection method while PLS employs the analysis of data in SEM. Main Findings: The result found that Islamic religiosity brought impacts on Islamic income and prosperity. Islamic religiosity also brought direct impacts on Islamic prosperity. Nevertheless, Islamic income was not a mediating variable between religiosity and Islamic prosperity. Applications of this study: The finding of the study might assist financial planners and government/policymakers in identifying the drivers of people’s prosperity and how to create the product, service of the platform that meets the Muslim needs as the majority of the population in Indonesia. Novelty/originality: While other studies focused on the impact of Islamic religiosity on the specific financial asset, such as Islamic bank accounts or insurance, the present study explores the impact of Islamic religiosity dimension on the increase in income and prosperity in a broader perspective.