Entry:

Zanutto, E. and Gelman, A., “Large-scale Social Survey, Analysis of,” in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Neil J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes (eds.), New York: Elsevier, 2001.

Abstract:

Adding new members to a congregation leads to benefits but also imposes costs on current members. The optimal size is determined by considering both the marginal benefits and costs of adding on additional members. Catholics are the most sensitive to congregation size, and also have the largest optimal size.