Islamic Religious Practices as Basis of Social Capital: A Case of District Multan

Religiosity is the most important element in the determination of social behavior of an individual. Social capital and religious capital have strong underpinnings which determines overall social cohesion. The present study is an attempt to find nexus between observance of the Islamic religious practices in congregations and their impact on the creation of social capital as a positive externality. The study takes three forms of social capital to assess the impact of religious practices in different dimensions i.e. family social capital, trust and social support. The study took sample of 200 households from the field survey of district Multan. The major findings of the study confirm the hypothesis that religious congregational practices may provide bases for social cohesion and creation of social capital. All the models strengthened the premises that society with strong religious capital is prone to strong social capital. Islam is the religion of practices not only of faiths so it forms society with strong social ties among its members. The study suggests some policy implications as well.