Is There a Bidirectional Causal Relationship Between Religiosity and Volunteering?

Son, Joonmo; Wilson, John F.

doi:10.1111/jssr.12742

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In our study, among people who regularly attended religious services in the baseline wave (≥ 1x/week), only 45% engaged in volunteering in the outcome wave, with fewer than 20% volunteering ≥ 100 h/year. In prior work, there is reciprocity between religiosity and volunteering, but the association of religious volunteering on religiosity is stronger than the other way around 56 . Further, religious service attendance and secular volunteering are reciprocally related, but the reciprocal relation between them is weaker than that of religious volunteering and religious service attendance 56 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…In prior work, there is reciprocity between religiosity and volunteering, but the association of religious volunteering on religiosity is stronger than the other way around 56 . Further, religious service attendance and secular volunteering are reciprocally related, but the reciprocal relation between them is weaker than that of religious volunteering and religious service attendance 56 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…since different modes of volunteering may differentially influence well-being on an individual level and have different societal implications 66 . Indeed, associations between some predictors (e.g., religious service attendance) and volunteering may differ based on the type of volunteering (e.g., religious or secular) being done 56 . Fourth, our volunteering measure contained broad categories of the number of hours spent volunteering and future studies should investigate more nuanced volunteering categories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Identifying pathways to increased volunteering in older US adults

Nakamura

Lee

Chen

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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While growing evidence documents strong associations between volunteering and improved health and well-being outcomes, less is known about the health and well-being factors that lead to increased volunteering. Using data from 13,771 participants in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)—a diverse, longitudinal, and national sample of older adults in the United States—we evaluated a large range of candidate predictors of volunteering. Specifically, using generalized linear regression models with a lagged exposure-wide approach, we evaluated if changes in 61 predictors spanning physical health, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being (over a 4-year follow-up between t0; 2006/2008 and t1; 2010/2012) were associated with volunteer activity four years later (t2; 2014/2016). After adjusting for a rich set of covariates, certain changes in some health behaviors (e.g., physical activity ≥ 1x/week), physical health conditions (e.g., physical functioning limitations, cognitive impairment), and psychosocial factors (e.g., purpose in life, constraints, contact with friends, etc.) were associated with increased volunteering four years later. However, there was little evidence that other factors were associated with subsequent volunteering. Changes in several indicators of physical health, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being may predict increased volunteering, and these factors may be novel targets for interventions and policies aiming to increase volunteering in older adults.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying pathways to increased volunteering in older US adults

Nakamura

Lee

Chen

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…This applies to activities organized by religious and secular groups, but the evidence regarding the latter is more mixed (see Beyerlein and Hipp 2006;Campbell and Yonish 2003;Smidt 2008;Wuthnow 2012). Although most studies are cross-sectional, a growing body of longitudinal evidence indicates that religiosity and volunteering are also positively linked within individuals over time (Aksoy and Wiertz 2024;Kim and Jang 2017;Son and Wilson 2021). Hence, it is no surprise that many studies show that young adults who are religious volunteer more than their non-religious counterparts (Caputo 2009;Gibson 2008;Sundeen and Raskoff 2000;Trusty and Watts 1999;Youniss, McLellan, and Yates 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Civic Lessons That Last? Religiosity and Volunteering on the Way to Adulthood

Lim,

Wiertz

2024

Am Sociol Rev

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Recent religious declines in the United States are for a large part driven by the growing number of Americans who were raised religiously but left religion in the transition to adulthood. Nonetheless, their views and behaviors may still be influenced by their religious upbringing. We explore such legacy effects by examining how changing religiosity during the transition to adulthood influences volunteering among young adults. Analyzing panel data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, we estimate two types of effects: effects of cumulative religious trajectories in youth, and effects of religiosity in youth that are not mediated by religiosity in adulthood. We find that histories of religious involvement shape volunteering in adulthood, but the precise nature of such effects varies across dimensions of religiosity and types of volunteering. Religious service attendance in youth promotes volunteering in adulthood mostly indirectly, through influencing religiosity in adulthood, and exclusively for activities organized by religious groups. By contrast, religious identification in youth promotes volunteering in adulthood also through other channels, and its effects on secular volunteering may persist even when people are not religious in adulthood. We discuss the implications of these findings in light of ongoing declines in religiosity in the United States.

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“…Schnable (2015:89) adds to the debate by demonstrating that “values, norms, and exposure to need predict giving and the forms of aid religious Americans prefer.” She concludes that altruistic values to help can be cultivated by religion. Extending Schnable's work, Son and Wilson (2021) argue that frequent exposure to altruism, caring, and social responsibilities in religious services may not only promote volunteering within the congregation, but also volunteering in activities outside of congregation to help people who are poor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Christianity, Helping People in Poverty, and Embodied Relationships

Parsell,

Stambe

2023

Scientific Study of Religion

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This article demonstrates that people animated by Christianity draw on faith to help people in poverty through building relationships. Contrasting with the literature that presents relationships as a means to change people, including through evangelizing, we find that relationships are conceived as an end in and of themselves. Drawing on an Australian ethnographic study with pastors and volunteers in church‐based community centers and people living in poverty, we illustrate how the realities of poverty subvert relationships. People in poverty prioritize their material needs. The challenges developing relationships notwithstanding, the article argues that elements of relationships found in this research represent an opportunity to advance knowledge of what it means to draw on faith to help people in poverty. Relationships can be a vehicle to change oppressive systems, but the capacity to do so must be assessed in the contexts of religion's position in dominant political and power structures.

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Is There a Bidirectional Causal Relationship Between Religiosity and Volunteering?

Cited by 5 publications

References 57 publications

Identifying pathways to increased volunteering in older US adults

Identifying pathways to increased volunteering in older US adults

Civic Lessons That Last? Religiosity and Volunteering on the Way to Adulthood

Christianity, Helping People in Poverty, and Embodied Relationships

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