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Religion and Volunteering

Religion and Volunteering. Marc A. Musick The University of Texas at Austin. World Values Survey, 1999-2001. Adults aged 18+ in 60 countries Response rates range from 25% to 95% Several countries used here Canada Germany Spain United States. Unpaid Voluntary Work - Service.

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Religion and Volunteering

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  1. Religion and Volunteering Marc A. Musick The University of Texas at Austin

  2. World Values Survey, 1999-2001 • Adults aged 18+ in 60 countries • Response rates range from 25% to 95% • Several countries used here • Canada • Germany • Spain • United States

  3. Unpaid Voluntary Work - Service • Social welfare service for elderly and others • Education, arts, music, or cultural activities • Youth work • Sports or recreation • Voluntary organizations concerned with health

  4. Unpaid Voluntary Work - Activism • Labor unions • Political parties or groups • Local community action • Third world development or human rights • Conservation, environment, animal rights • Professional associations • Women’s groups • Peace movement

  5. Canada

  6. Germany

  7. Spain

  8. United States

  9. Explanations • Values • Opportunity structures • Role modeling

  10. Values • Religious traditions teach values consistent with helping others • Regular attendance reinforces values • Religious messages • Fellowship with fellow believers

  11. Friend, if you want to experience a new level of God’s joy, if you want Him to pour out His blessing and favor in your life, then you’re going to have to get your mind off yourself. You must learn to be a giver and not a taker…We were not made to function as self-involved people, thinking only of ourselves. No, God created us to be givers. Joel Osteen Your Best Life Now

  12. True happiness is found in unselfish love, a love which increases in proportion as it is shared… Infinite sharing is the law of God’s inner life. He has made the sharing of ourselves the law of our own being, so that it is in loving others that we best love ourselves. In disinterested activity we best fulfill our own capacities to act and to be. Thomas Merton No Man is an Island

  13. To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness. Confucius The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

  14. Volunteering and Compassion

  15. Opportunity Structures • Various volunteering opportunities available in the church • Exposure to fellow congregants provides other opportunities to volunteer

  16. Religious Volunteering Tasks

  17. Asked to Volunteer

  18. Role Modeling • People look to others for examples of behavior • Referents are people who are generally respected or upheld in the community • Churches often serve as a source of referents

  19. Important to Others

  20. Conclusions • Adults who attend services more often • More likely to volunteer in the US • More likely to volunteer outside of the US • Effects are weaker for secular volunteering forms • Exact mechanism is unclear and is likely a combination of factors

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