The Impact of Doctrinal And Ethical Teachings of Islam on Social Capital of Muslims of The World (With Emphasis on Generalized Trust)

Divine religions have a significant impact on formation of social norms and strengthening of social capital through the promotion of the moral virtues. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the impact of doctrines, rituals and ethical teachings of Islam on Muslims’ social capital in the 40 countries using the generalized trust index and the ordinary least squares method. Research findings show that doctrinal and ethical indexes of Islam have a significant positive effect on social capital of Muslims but outward (ritual) indexes of Islam have a significant negative effect on social capital. Also this study confirms significant positive impact of social volunteer activities and college education on social capital. The policy recommendations of this study are planning to spread the doctrinal and ethical teachings ofIslam among Muslims and establishing the groundwork for expansion of social volunteer activities as two proposed strategies to increase the social capital of Muslims.