RELIGION AND TRUST IN CANADA NATASHA A.D. FAIRWEATHER Bachelor of Arts, University of Lethbridge, 2007 A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Lethbridge in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology University of Lethbridge LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA © Natasha A.D. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada Abstract 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: religious 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]. iii Acknowledgements This thesis represents a great deal of hard work and heartache, both my own and others'. I am deeply indebted to so many, and I would like to take a moment to express my thanks. To my supervisor, Dr. Abdie Kazemipur: Thank you for your encouragement to enter graduate school, and your support throughout. I am grateful for your wisdom in stepping up when I needed guidance, stepping back when I needed to work things out alone, and providing thoughtful and considered feedback at all stages. I appreciate your professionalism, your humour, and your good example. Thank you for teaching me how to be a researcher and an academic. To my committee members, Dr. Trudy Govier, Dr. Tomas Perks, and Dr. William Ramp: When engrossed in research, it can be easy to lose yourself in tunnel-vision - your comments and suggestions helped me look at my research questions through different perspectives and consider new angles. To my external examiner, Dr. Donald Swenson: Your detailed feedback on an earlier draft of my thesis was invaluable; acting on your advice gave me a much stronger product. I am thankful for your time and generosity. To my colleagues, Aditya Chikkara, Maede Ejaredar, James Falconer, Michael Granzow, Nicole Hembroff, Tamara Larter, Christina Marcotte, and Carlin Nicholson: iv To paraphrase one of my interview respondents: it helps immeasurably just knowing others are fighting the same grind. To my participants: I appreciate the time and care you gave to me. I learned so much from, and thoroughly enjoyed, every interview. To my family and friends: You all know much more about religion, trust, and social capital than you ever thought possible. Thank you for lending me your (willing?) ears and for your support in many other ways. To my wife, Annabree Fairweather: Thank you, for everything. Finally, I would like to thank the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada (SSHRC] and the University of Lethbridge for financial and institutional support. v Table of Contents Approval/Signature Page ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents vi List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 7 A: Introduction 7 B: Elements of Trust 9 B-l: Vulnerability 9 B-2: Relationship 12 B-3: Predictability 14 C: Types of Trust 17 C-l: Strategic Trust 18 C-2: Particularized Trust 19 C-3: Generalized Trust 20 D: Social Capital 24 D-l: Pierre Bourdieu 25 D-2: James Coleman 27 D-3: Robert Putnam 28 E: Religion 31 E-l: Religious Affiliation 31 E-2: Social Interaction 33 F: Summary 34 Chapter Three: Conceptual Framework 37 A: Introduction 37 B: Trust and Social Capital 39 B-l: International Trends 39 B-2: Causes 42 B-3: Measurement 46 C: Religion 49 C-l: Religious Membership 50 C-2: Spirituality 51 C-3: Social Interaction 52 D: Context 54 E: Summary 56 Chapter Four: Methods 58 A: Introduction 58 B: Mixed-Methods Research Design 58 C: Quantitative Methods 60 D: Qualitative Methods 64 E: Limitations 65 vi Chapter Five: Quantitative Findings 68 A: Introduction 68 B-l: Religion and Various Measures of Trust 69 B-2: Explaining Religion's Effect on Generalized Trust 73 B-3: The Quebec Effect 81 Chapter Six: Qualitative Findings 93 A: Introduction 93 B-l: Standard Measures of Generalized Trust 94 B-2: Alternative Measures of Generalized Trust 100 B-3: Effects of Religion on Trust 103 B-4: Effects of Religion on Social Capital 107 C: Summary 112 Chapter Seven: Discussion 117 A: Introduction 117 B: Religious Membership 117 C: Spirituality 120 D: Social Interaction 121 E: Contextual Factors 124 Chapter Eight: Conclusion 128 References 132 Appendices 138 Appendix A: Recruitment Poster 138 Appendix B: Consent Form 139 Appendix C: Interview Guide 140 Appendix D: SPSS Output for Logistic Regressions 144 Appendix D-l Model One 144 Appendix D-2 Model Two 147 Appendix D-3 Model Three 151 vii List of Tables Chapter 2 Table 2.1 The Prisoner's Dilemma p. 11 Chapter 5 Table 5.1 Logistic Regression Examining Effect of Religion on Attitudes of Generalized Trust p. 76 viii List of Figures Chapter 3 Figure 3.1 Religious Affiliation and Generalized Trust p. 38 Figure 3.2 Conceptual Framework p. 50 Figure 3.3 Generalized Trust by Rating of the Importance of Religion p. 52 Figure 3.4 Generalized Trust by Frequency of Religious Participation with Others p. 53 Figure 3.5 Generalized Trust by Frequency of Religious Practice on Own... p. 53 Figure 3.6 Generalized Trust by Language of Interview p. 55 Figure 3.7 Generalized Trust by Whether Respondent has Experienced Discrimination in Canada p. 56 Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 Religious Affiliation and Trust in Family p. 70 Figure 5.2 Religious Affiliation and Trust in Co-workers/Co-students p. 70 Figure 5.3 Religious Affiliation and Trust in Neighbours p. 71 Figure 5.4 Religious Affiliation and Generalized Trust p. 72 Figure 5.5 Religious Affiliation Exp(B) from Logistic Regression, Models One and Two p. 78 Figure 5.6 Generalized Trust by Province, Roman Catholic p. 83 Figure 5.7 Generalized Trust by Religious Affiliation and Region p. 83 Figure 5.8 Generalized Trust by Religious Affiliation and Importance of Religion: Non-Quebec p. 85 Figure 5.9 Generalized Trust by Religious Affiliation and Importance of Religion: Quebec p. 86 Figure 5.10 Generalized Trust by Religious Affiliation and Frequency of Religious Attendance: Non-Quebec p. 87 Figure 5.11 Generalized Trust by Religious Affiliation and Frequency of Religious Attendance: Quebec p. 87 ix Chapter One: Introduction Until recently, religion did not appeal to sociologists as an important subject for scientific inquiry. Beaman (2009) attributes that lack of interest to the wide acceptance among scholars of the popular wisdom that we live in a secular society, as well as to the influence of Marxism. Change started to come in the early 1980s, as both the influence of religion and the interest in studying it began to rise. Casanova (1994) attributes this shift to the impacts of four developments: the Islamic revolution in Iran, the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the role of Catholic church in the Nicaraguan revolution and in the rest of Latin America, and the public emergence of Protestant fundamentalism in the United States. As a result of this comeback, it has become difficult and inadvisable to ignore the presence of religion in almost all major issues in various corners of the world.