Secularisation theory contends that religiosity and trust in religious organisations tend to decline when trust in their secular counterparts increases. However, it is puzzling why religious organisations receive public trust as high as their secular counterparts in countries where religiosity is low. If religious organisations are deemed to be doomed as trust in secular counterparts rises, why do people still trust them? We argue that a high level of trust in religious organisations is associated with their importance in nation-building and national identity construction: Individuals with a strong national identity are more likely to trust religious organisations. Using both qualitative and quantitative data about public trust in the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) and Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), this study finds that the historical role of religious organisations in strengthening national cohesion and building national identity during times of instability leads ordinary citizens to place both generational and strategic trust in these religious organisations.

中文翻译：

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保卫国家：为什么教会获得与世俗同行一样高的公众信任？

世俗化理论认为，当对世俗组织的信任增加时，宗教信仰和对宗教组织的信任往往会下降。然而，令人费解的是，为什么在宗教信仰程度较低的国家，宗教组织获得的公众信任度与世俗组织一样高。如果宗教组织被认为随着对世俗组织的信任度上升而注定要灭亡，那么为什么人们仍然信任它们呢？我们认为，对宗教组织的高度信任与其在国家建设和民族认同建构中的重要性相关：具有强烈民族认同的个人更有可能信任宗教组织。这项研究利用有关亚美尼亚使徒教会（AAC）和格鲁吉亚东正教会（GOC）的公众信任的定性和定量数据，发现宗教组织在不稳定时期加强民族凝聚力和建立民族认同方面的历史作用导致普通公民对这些宗教组织给予代际和战略上的信任。