Does Religion Breed Trust? A Cross‐National Study of the Effects of Religious Involvement, Religious Faith, and Religious Context on Social Trust

Abstract

Many previous studies have linked religiosity to social trust. Yet much of this relation remains insufficiently understood, which is partly due to the fact that religiosity is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. In this paper we identify several of those dimensions, including the integration in religious communities, the importance of God in people's lives, and the religious context. These dimensions give rise to different mechanisms that produce both trust-enhancing and trust-reducing effects. Data from the European Values Survey (2008) were used to test the resulting hypotheses, using multilevel logistic regression models. We conclude that the micro effects are ambivalent: integration in religious communities furthers trust, whereas religious socialization and the importance of God lower trust. On the macro level, we find a strong effect of Protestantism, which is in line with previous studies, but which remains puzzling since the individual-level difference between Protestants and the other religious traditions was found to be very small. In addition, and contrasting other studies, we found that religious diversity increases social trust.

Religious Engagement, Civic Skills, and Political Participation in Latin America

“…Indeed, some have claimed that churches can use politics to compete for adherents in the religious marketplace (Audette and Weaver ). On the other hand, churches may choose to direct these skills toward salvific practices—presumably, the primary goal of churches—and less on political or community action (Dingemans and Van Ingren ; Hempel and Bartkowski ; Hempel, Matthews, and Bartkowski ). If true, it suggests, unlike evidence form the U.S. context, that increased participation in church activities may be responsible for decreased participation due to an increased focus on theological or spiritual development.…”

What Does It Mean to Be Single in Indonesia? Religiosity, Social Stigma, and Marital Status Among Never-Married Indonesian Adults

“…Compared with only relying on social relationships, religiosity may look as a more promising way of coping because a religious community often facilitates more trust, acceptance, and emotional support than a nonreligious one. Dingemans and Ingen (2015) showed that frequency of religious attendance is positively correlated with the degree of social trust. This suggests that the relationships developed in religious groups may provide an environment of trust, security, and support.…”

Singleness, religiosity, and the implications for counselors: The Indonesian case

“…Such motives could increase more sympathetic reaction from their communities (Slonim, Gur-Yaish, & Katz, 2015). Generally, although they may be negatively judged by general society, the religious community offers more trusting and accepting atmospheres (Dingemans & Ingen, 2015), in which they could engage without being undervalued.…”