Religion and trust in Canada

Research on social capital during the past two decades has shown that willingness to trust is linked to a host of individual and social outcomes, such as health, education, democracy, and robust economies. In this thesis I examine the ways in which religion may affect attitudes of trust, employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Specifically, three aspects of religion have been examined: denominational affiliation, spiritual belief, and the nature of the social interactions of the members of a faith community. Contextual factors relating a particular tradition to the broader society have also been included in the analysis. My findings suggest that although there is scant evidence to the effect of theology on trust, a much stronger influence on trust comes from the nature of social interactions (in the form of community‐building) and contextual factors (i.e., having a history of discrimination or being a resident of Quebec).

Authors

• Fairweather, Natasha A.D.
• University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science

• Trust -- Religious aspects
• Trust -- Social aspects
• Trust -- Canada
• Dissertations, Academic

Identifier

hdl:10133/1294

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/1294