Explaining the cross-national variation in the relationship between religious organization membership and civic organization participation

• Main Authors: Lu, Yun, Jung, Jong Hyun, Bauldry, Shawn
• Other Authors: School of Social Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Sociology; Religion; Social Capital
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/143220
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

We examine the relationship between belonging to religious organizations and participating in nonreligious civic organizations through use of a large international sample of individuals. Moreover, we assess how this relationship is contingent upon social context, that is Protestant percentage, economic condition, and democratic level of a nation. Using data from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey (2010-2014), our multilevel analyses reveal that religious organization members are more likely than non-members to participate in civic organizations cross-nationally. In addition, societal context is found to moderate this association. Specifically, the differences between religious organization members and non-members in this regard are larger in societies characterized by a smaller Protestant population, poorer economic condition, and nondemocratic institutions. We discuss our findings in light of theories on religion, social capital, and social context.