Trust in Others: Does Religion Matter?

Abstract

Though the recent literature offers intuitively appealing bases for, and evidence of, a linkage among religious beliefs, religious participation and economic outcomes, evidence on a relationship between religion and trust is mixed. By allowing for an attendance effect, disaggregating Protestant denominations, and using a more extensive data set, probit models of the General Social Survey (GSS), 1975 through 2000, show that black Protestants, Pentecostals, fundamentalist Protestants, and Catholics, trust others less than individuals who do not claim a preference for a particular denomination. For conservative denominations the effect of religion is through affiliation, not attendance. In contrast, liberal Protestants trust others more and this effect is reinforced by attendance. The impact of religion on moderate Protestants is only through attendance, as frequency of attendance increases trust of others while the denomination effect is insignificant.

Does Religiosity Promote or Discourage Social Trust? Evidence from Cross-Country and Cross-State Comparisons

“…And if enforcement within the group is carried out by some third-party entity, such as a group of leaders in a hierarchy or (as thought by the devout) a god, then people do not "need" to trust each other, further reinforcing a tendency for distrust. In line with this, Daniels and von der Ruhr (2008) find that fundamentalist Protestants and Catholics trust others less than do individuals who do not claim a preference for a particular denomination; see also Coreno (2002). As Seul (1999: 553) states: 8 In the most serious cases, religion is a basis for terrorism and warfare against perceived enemies.…”

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

“…Apparently, there are elements in conservative religious convictions and values that counterbalance (or in some cases even outweigh) positive elements such as caring about fellow human beings. This might be due to a stronger orientation on the in‐group, with smaller and denser social networks (Daniels and von der Ruhr ; Welch et al. ).…”

Is the importance of religion in daily life related to social trust? Cross-country and cross-state comparisons

“…Welch et al (2004) report that affiliation with Christian churches is related to lower trust, except for those who participate a lot and who report that religion is important, where a positive effect is found. Daniels and von der Ruhr (2010) differentiate between different types of Christian denominations and between attendance and affiliation. They find that affiliation with more conservative denominations entails less trust and that affiliation with more liberal denominations entails more trust; attendance is also positively related to trust for moderate and liberal Protestants.…”