Religiousness and its Effects on the Social Capital of Family (A Case Study of Qom)

The present research seeks to investigate the effects of religiousness on the social capital of families residing in Qom. It is an applied kind of research conducted through using documentary and survey methods. The statistical population has been 160565 households living in Qom. Based on Cochran's formula, the sample size was determined to be 376 households which finally it was decided to be 400 people, who were chosen from four districts of Qom using cluster sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The Alpha of all questions of the questionnaire was 0.72 (which shows its consistency and reliability). The results showed that the social capital of 65.50 percent of families was high, of 33 percent of them it was average, and it was low for 0.5 percent of them. Independent variables, i.e. religiousness and socioeconomic status, had increasing effect on the social capital of families. The rise and fall of social capital in families was influenced by external and social factors; since social and environmental changes influenced smaller structures like families. The role of religious institutions and organizations, friends, and selected and religious exemplars are highly important in preventing the reduction of the social capital of families.