A comparative analysis of the relationship between religious capital and religious participation in Iran

Some theorists of the rational choice approach in the sociology of religion put forward the argument that just as an increase in knowledge and skills of an individual (= human capital) increases the quality of economic goods, an individual's religious knowledge and skills (i.e., religious capital) also increases the quality of religious activities and as a result the benefits that a person receives from religious participation. Therefore, the more religious capital a person has, the more satisfaction (that is, the increase in benefits) he will get from religious activities, and one of the main results will be the increase in his religious participation. In the present study, an attempt was made to test the validity of this hypothesis.This study used the "within-national comparative method". "Unit of analysis" and "level of analysis" in the present study are "county" and "Iran" respectively, and secondary data were used to verify theoretical claims and final analysis.The findings of the research indicated a confirmation for the hypothesis of a positive relationship between religious capital and religious participation in Iranian counties- even when the indicators of development were also controlled - although the intensity of this relationship was weak.The obtained results indicated that most of the changes or major differences in religious participation at the level of Iranian counties are related to factors other than religious capital. Therefore, it can be said that to explain the religious participation at the level of Iranian counties, the theory of religious capital lacks sufficient explanatory power and it should be considered complementary to other theories.