Religiosity, Inequality and Volunteering Worldwide: Multi-Level Effects on Volunteering Among 120 Countries

Time: 
01.04.2014 - 17:15
Location : 
A 5,6 Raum A 231
Type of Event : 
AB A-Kolloquium
Lecturer: 
Prof. Nan Dirk de Graaf
Lecturer affiliation: 
Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Description: 

Religiosity, Inequality and Volunteering Worldwide: Multi-Level Effects on Volunteering Among 120 Countries

Nan Dirk de Graaf, Nuffield College, Oxford

http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/People/backup/NanDirk.DeGraaf/SitePages/Biography.aspx

It is a common idea that civic participation promotes social cohesion and this idea is more popular than ever, both in academic as well as in policy circles. Volunteering is one of the core constituents of the broader concept of civic participation, and is traditionally believed to teach people civic skills and values, and to foster social integration and cohesion. Research trying to answer the question why certain countries have high volunteering rates has gained popularity. I will present results from ongoing research on the impact of religion and inequality on volunteering. Since religion is an important predictor of volunteering, the secularization process might have important consequences. I therefore will first show recent results of what drives secularization. Elaborating on various analytical models I will show that conclusions based on research mainly focussing on cross-national differences may lead to inaccurate conclusions.       

In the second and biggest part of my presentation, I will show tests of individual-level and contextual-level predictors of volunteering employing national representative samples of 120 countries from the Gallup World Poll 2007-2008. Results show that religious diversity of a country is associated with a greater likelihood of volunteering. Inequality has a complex impact and Wilkinson’s relative income hypothesis is supported: income inequality is associated with a decreased likelihood of volunteering in countries that exceed Wilkinson’s income threshold, whereas the opposite is true for those living in developing countries below this threshold.  There is a curvilinear relationship between national devoutness and volunteering, which challenges the network explanation.