The contribution of religion to volunteer work.

The issue of religion's contribution to volunteerism has lately received a lot of scrutiny. Volunteerism is the name given to that set of activities in which people engage, usually without pay, on behalf of others in need, such as assisting the elderly, providing staff assistance for neighborhood groups, or coaching Little League. Disillusionment with big government and continued distrust of the market to meet social needs has drawn attention to the contribution that might be made by voluntary labor. This, in turn, generates scholarly interest in the social roots of volunteerism. What induces people to give their time to those organizations that can neither impel commitment nor buy loyalty?

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that those who volunteer tend to have more "human capital" such as income, occupational standing, property, and education (Hodgkinson and Weitzman 1992:59; Pearce 1993:65). Human capital not only increases people's "stake" in the community but also provides the resources that volunteering often demands. However, self-interest is by no means the only reason people volunteer. People give because they consider it their duty to do so. Volunteering "helps individuals remain true to their conception of self and allows the expression of deeply held values . . ." (Clary and Snyder 1991:125). An important source of values of benevolence in Western cultures is religion: Most religions "encourage altruistic values and behavior" (Fischer and Schaffer 1993:60). It therefore comes as no surprise that "[t]hroughout much of our history, religion and giving have been closely linked . . ." (Wuthnow 1990:3). Hence the current interest in the contribution religion might be making to creating a "thousand points of light."

Not all religious bodies emphasize volunteering to the same degree. Wuthnow (1991:322) finds that "By a margin of 35 percent to 26 percent, Protestants were more likely than Catholics to be currently involved in charitable and other social service activities." Jews, especially those belong...

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