Religion and the Civic Core in the Netherlands

Religion and the Civic Core

in the Netherlands René Bekkers

Center for Philanthropic Studies

VU University Amsterdam

December 8, 2011 1UCSIA Workshop Volunteering, Religion, and

Social Capital

• Religious people do more of the total giving and volunteering in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Flanders.

December 8, 2011UCSIA Workshop Volunteering, Religion, and

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Religion in the Netherlands

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Giving in the Netherlands

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• Civic participation tends to be concentrated among a small group that does most of the giving and volunteering.

• Reed & Selbee (2001, NVSQ) call this group the ‘civic core’.

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• You can think of giving and volunteering as a natural phenomenon with a certain level of concentration.

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Like firebugs.

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• Firebugs tend to cling together.• In my own front garden I find them

especially on dry and sunny places.• Churches are like the sunny rocks in

my garden – a fertile environment for donors and volunteers.

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This is not what the bugs do.

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They concentrate -

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Into a core.

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So, why?

• Why is religious affiliation and activity associated with giving and volunteering?

• What is it in religion that makes people care about society as a whole?

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Popular dichotomies

• Conviction and community (Wuthnow, 1991)

• Intrinsic religious motivation (Cnaan et al., 1993) vs. associational ties (Jackson et al, 1995)

• Norms and networks (Ruiter & De Graaf, 2006)

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Volunteering and Giving

• Volunteering and charitable giving are two types of contributions to society

• They are both indicators of social capital, governed by similar principles

• With Pamala Wiepking I recently summarized the literature on charitable giving in a review article for Voluntary Sector Review (November 2011 issue).

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• In this formulation, religion is viewed as an external force that influences people.

• From religious communities, people ‘get’ their networks and convictions.

• Religious beliefs and prosocial values may vary from person to person.

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So, why?

• What is it in religion that makes people care about society as a whole?

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So, why?

• What is it in people that makes them care about religion and society as a whole?

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A stone in the pond…

• Going back to the firebugs, I wonder why bugs like sunny rocks.

• Why do donors and volunteers love going to church?

• Church attendance involves exposure to requests for contributions.

• For those who dislike contributing and/or being asked to do so, the church is not a fun place to be.

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Endogeneity

• Religion is increasingly a matter of choice.

• People with personalities and value systems that conflict with the church in which they were ‘born’ will leave.

• Social influence in religious communities is also to some extent the influence group members allow.

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Back on track: so what?

• This talk is mainly about how the concentration of giving and volunteering among religious groups in the Netherlands has changed over time.

• This is important because religion disappears from Dutch society.

• Will giving and volunteering decline along with secularization?

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Not…

• …if those who are ‘left behind’ in churches become more active citizens. this would lead to a higher level of concentration of giving and volunteering among the religious.

• …if another factor gains importance, such as education – but I am saving that for another occasion.

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The data

• All the ‘Giving in the Netherlands’ survey data that we have gathered biennially since 1997. Total n=9,696.

• The data are treated as separate cross-sections and then pooled into one file.

• Amounts are adjusted for inflation.

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Total giving by religion

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Religious giving

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Secular giving by religion

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Top quintile, 2009

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Doing their share?

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Growing inequality in secular giving over time

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Volunteer hours top quintile

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Increasing concentration

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Proportion of volunteers by total giving quintile

Amounts donated by non-volunteers

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Amounts donated by volunteers

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Household giving: no-yes

Catholic 1.403*** 1.438***

Protestant 1.757*** 1.751***

Survey wave 1.116***

Catholic * wave 1.038***

Protestant * wave 0.985

Secondary education 1.166*** 1.191***

Tertiary education 1.618*** 1.673***

Secondary * wave 0.915***

Tertiary * wave 0.916***

Church attendance (4 categories) 1.180*** 1.182***

Attendance * wave 0.997

n 9,696 9,696

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Odds ratios in logistic egression of household giving, also including age (model 1) and age * wave (model 2),

Amount donated in €

Catholic -109*** -111***

Protestant 216*** 215***

Survey wave 14***

Catholic * wave 7***

Protestant * wave 3

Secondary education 51*** 71***

Tertiary education 160*** 185***

Secondary * wave -17***

Tertiary * wave -21***

Church attendance (4 categories) 125*** 124***

Attendance * wave 2***

n 7,857 7,857

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Volunteering: no-yes

Catholic 1.142** 1.146**

Protestant 1.723*** 1.709***

Survey wave 1.045***

Catholic * wave 0.999

Protestant * wave 1.025

Secondary education 1.190*** 1.245***

Tertiary education 1.613*** 1.695***

Secondary * wave 0.958***

Tertiary * wave 0.963***

Church attendance (4 categories) 1.333*** 1.326***

Attendance * wave 1.017***

n 9,030 9,030

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Amount donated in € (logs, donors only)

Catholic -.063 -.097 -.098

Protestant .841*** .744*** .688***

Survey wave .111*** .106*** .085***

Secondary education .707*** .585*** .554***

Tertiary education 1.393*** 1.278*** 1.237***

Volunteering .389*** .235*** .159

Volunteering * wave .067*** .059*** .046***

Social responsibility .384*** .357***

Altruistic values .628*** .582***

Asked to volunteer .108* .058

Number of solicitations .214*** .161***

Requests * wave .015*

n 5,983 5,983 5,983

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Odds ratios in OLS regressions of log of total amount donated, also including age , age * wave, education * wave, religion * wave

Secular amount donated in € (logs, donors only)

Catholic -.063 -.259*** -.296***

Protestant .283*** .098 -.064

Survey wave -.026*** .114*** .085***

Secondary education -.025 .585*** .522***

Tertiary education .554*** 1.278*** 1.304***

Volunteering .375*** .132

Volunteering * wave .054** .031

Social responsibility .357***

Altruistic values .643***

Asked to volunteer .057

Number of solicitations .165***

Requests * wave .018**

n 5,983 5,983 5,983

Social Capital40

Odds ratios in OLS regressions of log of total amount donated, also including age , age * wave, education * wave, religion * wave

Additional results

• Concentration of giving among the elderly is due to their stronger religiosity.

• No significant changes in relationships with hours volunteered among volunteers.

• No changes in relationships of prosocial values with giving.

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Additional results

• Similar denominational differences in helping behavior as in volunteering.

• Helping is positively related to volunteering, both secular and religious.

• The relationship between secular volunteering and church attendance has become stronger over time.

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Conclusions

• The civic core is increasingly religious.

• The civic core is becoming less highly educated.

• The civic core becomes increasingly concentrated: volunteering and giving increasingly go together.

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Concentrating from

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To this core.

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A grim future?

• How can we create new forms of cohesion in society that bring people together?

• Creating opportunities to contribute time and money in groups with positive norms: sunny rocks

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Something else

Contact

• ‘Giving in the Netherlands’, Center for Philanthropic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, VU University Amsterdam: www.geveninnederland.nl

• René Bekkers, r.bekkers@vu.nl• Blog: renebekkers.wordpress.com• Twitter: @renebekkers

December 8, 2011 48UCSIA Workshop Volunteering, Religion, and

Social Capital

Religion and the Civic Core in the Netherlands

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