This perfectly encapsulates a theory put forth in an essay by economist Laurence Iannaccone. His essay was the subject of an article in Slate a while back.
His argument was that strict requirements by some churches get adherents a better product due to the filtering out of the uninitiated. Just like artificially higher housing costs may keep a neighborhood desirable by keeping out lower income people.
(I’m not making any judgments, it’s just an analogy.)
The markets for intangible goods can really lend insight into the human psyche. It’s an aspect of economics that has the potential to enlighten psychology.