Studying the Relationship between Social Capital and National Identity; Case of study: Shiraz University Students

The study aims at investigating the relationship between Social Capital and National Identity. Based on Giddens’ theory on identity and Woolcock and Narayan’s theory of social capital, the researchers, through a survey study, have investigated the relationship between social capital and national identity of 360 students of Shiraz University. Independent variables include Demographic variables, Socio-Economic variables, Social Trust, Participation, Social Interactions, Religious Orientation and Self-esteem. The Dependent variable of the study is National Identity. The findings show that the relationship between factors like birth location, resident location, social trust, participation, social interactions, religious orientation and national identity is significant. But there is not a significant relationship between age, sex, marital status, parent’s education, family income, social status, self-esteem and national identity. Also there is a significant relationship between social capital and national identity. The Analysis of multiple regression analysis showed that 4 variables (religious orientation, social capital, birth location and age) predict 32 percent of changes in dependent variable (national identity). Path analysis shows that religious orientation has more influence on national identity compared to other variables.