ABSTRACT
From a critical sociological perspective, “common goods” provoke people to free ride on the fairness of others and their willingness to contribute. The article explores how religions contribute to pledging people to overcome their egoistic interests. We discover three according mechanisms: generating values of benevolence, trust in (the contribution of) others, and social capital. Religions are most powerful in these regards, however, when value compliance is created mainly through traditionalism and conservatism and trust depends not only on individual religiosity but also on the relationship between society and religion as a whole. Especially, the opportunity structures of churches support the development of social capital and societal trust; in this regard religions contribute to the common good through common goods.
