2025/12/16 by Jonas Bonke, Alexander Unser, Anna Wiebke Klie +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology #Social Capital and Networks
paper · doi:10.1163/15709256-20240035
openalex publication_date 2025/12/16 · openalex created_date 2026/01/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
Abstract It is a remaining assumption in social capital research that religious communities are beneficial to the formation of social trust because they provide and maintain particular religious beliefs that foster prosocial behaviour and universal ethics. However, this so-called belief hypothesis has been insufficiently tested so far since many studies in this field of research are drawing on large-scale datasets that allow only a limited operationalisation of the assumptions underpinning the belief hypothesis. Our study is the first one that addresses this research gap with specific instruments and data from members of Christian congregations and parishes in Germany (N=388). Using structural equation modelling ( SEM ), the study tests whether particular religious beliefs mediate the effects of individual religiosity on social trust. Our findings support the belief hypothesis and show that prosocial, contemplative, and exclusivist beliefs explain the relationship between individual religiosity and social trust.