Relationship Between Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior Among Seventh-day Adventist Full-Time Pastors in the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Problem This investigation intended to examine the relationship between the financial literacy components of full-time pastors and their financial behavior components. Many pastors struggle with their finances and often retire unprepared due to having inaccurate or incomplete knowledge of relevant financial information and planning strategies. Method This study adopted a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational approach to investigate the financial and demographic characteristics of pastors. The questionnaire completed by participants was the financial literacy questionnaire developed by Stella et al. (2020), which helped measure general financial literacy among full-time pastors, and the Financial Management Behavior Scale (FMBS) developed by Xiao (2008) which measures financial behavior and includes any human behavior relevant to money management. Results The researcher used a canonical correlation analysis to examine the relationships among the independent variables of financial literacy (financial knowledge, financial attitude, and financial skills) and the dependent variables, i.e., the components of financial behavior (cash management, credit management, savings and investment behaviors, and insurance behavior). The relationship between the two sets of variables was statistically significant. The common variance between the first pair of variates of the first function was 14.1% (r = .376). Consequently, only the first function was interpreted. The first dependent variable, financial knowledge, was associated with lower scores in cash management (r = -.77), lower scores in savings and investment (r = -.78), and lower scores in insurance (r = -.62). The first predictor variate was associated with lower scores in financial knowledge (r = -.750), lower scores in financial skills (r = -.65) and lower scores in financial attitude (r = -.70). Taken together, the resulting lower scores in financial literacy were associated with lower scores in financial behavior. Stated differently, the more financially literate pastors were, the more likely they were to exhibit responsible financial behaviors. -- Analyzing data from 587 participants, the most common income bracket was $60,000 to $74,999 annually. The predominant savings range was $1 to under $1,500. Demographically, the largest age group within the cohort was 41 to 56 years old, identifying as Generation X. The sample was overwhelmingly comprised of married males. Additionally, many pastors reported receiving their pastoral education through seminary. These insights provided a detailed overview of full-time pastoral financial situations and demographic profiles, highlighting specific areas where support and educational programs could be effectively tailored to meet their unique needs. Conclusions According to Ying & Jamal (2023), a robust understanding of financial concepts, risks, and skills enhances one's capability to make sound investment choices. Results of the present study indicated that financial literacy was associated with financial behavior. This association implies that increased financial knowledge could lead to better financial behaviors.
Financial Literacy, Pastors, Seventh-day Adventist, Financial Behavior, North American Division, Finance and Financial Management
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