The Effect Of Religious Belief On Interpersonal Trust

Economist Kenneth Arrow once said, nothing is more valuable than trust and it is an important lubricant of social system, which recognizes the significance of trust from a macro level. From the microscopic point of view, interpersonal trust is an indispensable element of social events. What influences interpersonal trust? This study attempts to find an answer in culture. Religious culture has evolved through thousands of years and established a sound ideology and system still now. According to regression analysis of related data in the "2010 Chinese General Social Survey", the study found that religious belief has a significant impact on interpersonal trust of Chinese people.Overall, religious belief has a negative effect on interpersonal trust, and those with religious belief are less trustable than non-religious people. Among different religions, Buddhists, Christians/Catholics and folk religion believers have lower interpersonal trust than non-religious people, while Islam believers have higher interpersonal trust than non-religious people, which demonstrates Islamic belief has a positive influence on interpersonal trust. In addition to Christianity/Catholicism, there exists differences in the influence of other religions on interpersonal trust. To be specific, the influence of Buddhism on interpersonal trust varies in the aspect of region, years of schooling, social activities and class rank. Islam differs in age, geography and social activities in terms of influence of on interpersonal trust and folk religion varies in age and geography.Since religion believers have a common feature of association, the present study suggests that people have higher interpersonal trust in inside group than in outside group. With the rapid development of politics, economy, and culture, religion will inevitably be influenced by secularization. In this context, friendness and goodness characterized with believers gradually fades, which also diminishes the positive impact of religion on interpersonal trust. However, due to its strict regulation and concentrated location in the Midwest, the Islam is less affected by secularization and keeps its sacredness, which have a positive impact on interpersonal trust.