Moral Destabilisation or Revivification: The Trend of Religion-Based Social Capital Following 9/11

Although different aspects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been widely studied, few researchers have attempted to understand both its religious and social aspects. In this context, considering the declining trend of social capital in the United States, whether 9/11 has become a window of opportunity for civic renewal and whether such renewal has been short-lived or long-lived become highly important to examine. To address these questions, this study examines whether the level of social capital in the American society changed from 2000 to 2006 and whether religious traditions had different effects on their members’ social capital levels following 9/11.