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Volunteering Among Church Attendees in Australia

Individual and Collective Dimensions

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Religion and Volunteering

Part of the book series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies ((NCSS))

Abstract

This chapter examines the relationship between involvement in churches and individual volunteering activity in the wider community in Australia. The findings confirm the importance of the degree of a person’s church involvement, demographics and theological orientation in predicting individual volunteering by church attendees in the wider community. Church attendees’ stated reasons for volunteering formed a pattern which did not vary across four domains of volunteering beyond the congregation, with altruistic and religious reasons being the most common reasons for volunteering activity. However, a distinction emerges in the findings between individual volunteering activity and collective involvement by the congregation in the wider community. The sense of collective efficacy among church attendees was strongly associated with the extent of congregational bridging to the wider community, but did not predict individual volunteering activity. The role of collective efficacy raises questions about the focus of congregations and the need for vision and goal setting as key ingredients in congregational life. The research sheds light on the relationship between bonding and bridging capital, and shows that the relationship is not a simple one. Bonding and bridging are quite strongly related where it is congregational rather than individual bridging activity that is in view.

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Acknowledgments

The research which is the focus of this chapter was funded through an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects grant. The research was conducted jointly by the University of Western Sydney and NCLS Research, a research group sponsored by Anglicare Diocese of Sydney, Uniting Mission & Education (Synod of NSW & the ACT), the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Australian Catholic University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Policy & Research Unit, Anglicare Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    John Bellamy

  2. Australian Catholic University, Strathfield, Australia

    John Bellamy

  3. School of Social Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, Australia

    Assoc. Prof. Rosemary Leonard

  4. Ecosystem Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Acton ACT, Australia

    Assoc. Prof. Rosemary Leonard

Authors
  1. John Bellamy
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  2. Assoc. Prof. Rosemary Leonard
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Correspondence to John Bellamy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Lesley Hustinx

  2. Institute for Civil Society Studies, Ersta Sköndal University College, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johan von Essen

  3. Universitair Centrum Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium

    Jacques Haers

  4. Universitair Centrum Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium

    Sara Mels

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Bellamy, J., Leonard, R. (2015). Volunteering Among Church Attendees in Australia. In: Hustinx, L., von Essen, J., Haers, J., Mels, S. (eds) Religion and Volunteering. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04585-6_7

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