Trust in State Institutions and Satisfaction with Life among Christian Minorities in Pakistan

Abstract

This article examines the complex link between religious minorities' life satisfaction and their trust in state institutions. The research tries to understand how social cohesiveness affects democracy by examining the effect of faith in institutions including the government, legal system, politicians, political parties, and police on life satisfaction of the religious minorities. The study was cross-sectional in nature and 400 respondents were sampled from four districts of Punjab (100 from each district). Data was analyzed using SPSS and ordinal logistic regression analysis was carried out to predict life satisfaction from trust in state institutions and socio-demographic variables. The results showed that district (p< .05), gender (p< .05), and trust in state institutions (p< .01) significantly contributed to the model. The odds of higher satisfaction increased by 1.09 times (95% CI: 1.04 – 1.15, p< .01) with increase in trust in state institutions. The study concludes that trust in state institutions can be a significant factor affecting life satisfaction among minorities.