Does religious affiliation influence trust?
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 28 August 2018
Issue publication date: 22 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate and explore how religious affiliation may influence general and local trust in contemporary society.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs data from the 2010 and 2014 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The association between religious affiliation and trust was estimated using an ordered logistic regression and conventional ordinary least squares model.
Findings
The paper presents evidence of a statistically significant association between religious affiliation and trust that are consistent with theory.
Social implications
This finding is important for a heterogeneous population like Australia as it seeks to build social cohesion in the face of threats to internal and external security.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by providing – to the best of the authors’ knowledge – the first results on the association between religious affiliation and trust for Australia.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to either DSS or the Melbourne Institute.
Citation
Kortt, M.A. and Drew, J. (2019), "Does religious affiliation influence trust?", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 39 No. 1/2, pp. 38-51. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-05-2018-0073
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited