Religious Orientation and Motivations in a Sample of Italian Catholic Volunteers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.25269Keywords:
volunteers, management of volunteer organizations, motivation, religious orientation, gender difference, CatholicAbstract
The aim of the research was to study motivations to volunteer, and their relationship with religious orientation in a sample of volunteers working in a Catholic organization. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 190 volunteers working in a Catholic organization based in a large city in northern Italy and devoted to ending poverty and situations of marginalization through the promotion of social justice. Of these, 160 (90 females, 70 males) agreed to participate. The main result was that all motivations, except Career, increased with the intrinsic religious orientation. The Social and Career functions increased with the extrinsic-social religious orientation. The Protective and Enhancement functions increased with all religious orientations. The result concerning gender differences showed that the creation of a social network through volunteering and the opportunities to create and maintain a positive relationship with others are more important to women than men. Managers could benefit from these findings to improve the recruitment and retaining of volunteers and to think strategically about the mission and the cultural/religious belief of the organization. The impact of two and a half years of Covid-19 policies, however, remains unclear.
Downloads
References
Acquadro Maran, Daniela, and Giorgio Soro 2010 The Influence of Organizational Culture in Women Participation and Inclusion in Voluntary Organizations in Italy. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 21(4): 481–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-010-9143-7
Agresti, Alan 2010 Analysis of Ordinal Categorical Data. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Alexander, Richard D. 1987 The Biology of Moral Systems. Hawthorne, NY: De Gruyter.
Allport, Gordon W. 1966 The Religious Context of Prejudice. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 5: 447–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1384172
Allport, Gordon W., and J. Michael Ross 1967 Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 5(4): 432–43. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0021212
Andreoni, James, and Lisa Vesterlund 2001 Which is the Fair Sex? Gender Differences in Altruism. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 116(1): 293–312. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301556419
Angermann, Annette, and Birgit Sittermann 2011 Volunteering in the Member States of the European Union: Evaluation and Summary of Current Studies. Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Sozialarbeit und Soziapädagogik. Online: https://beobachtungsstelle-gesellschaftspolitik.de/f/7f0e6b84f6.pdf (accessed June 5, 2022).
Ascoli, Ugo, and Ram A. Cnaan 1997 Volunteering for Human Service Provisions: Lessons from Italy and the U.S.A. Social Indicators Research 40(3): 299–327. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006876528133
Bardosh, Kevin, Alex de Figueiredo, Rachel Gur-Arie et al. 2022 The Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 Vaccine Policy: Why Mandates, Passports and Restrictions May Cause More Harm than Good. BMJ Global Health 7: e008684. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008684
Batson, Charles Daniel 2011 Altruism in Humans. New York: Oxford University Press.
Brewczynski, Jaceck, and Douglas A. MacDonald 2006 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Allport and Ross Religious Orientation Scale with a Polish Sample. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 16(1): 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327582ijpr1601_6
Butt, Matti Ullah, Yu Hou, Kamran Ahmed Soomro and Daniela Acquadro Maran 2017 The ABCE Model of Volunteer Motivation. Journal of Social Service Research 43(5): 593–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2017.1355867
Carey, Lindsay B., Timothy J. Hodgson, Lillian Krikheli, Rachel Y. Soh, Annie-Rose Armour, Taranjeet K. Singh and Cassandra G. Impiombato 2016 Moral Injury, Spiritual Care and the Role of Chaplains: An Exploratory Scoping Review of Literature and Resources. Journal of Religion and Health 55: 1218–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0231-x
Caritas Italiana 2021 Oltre l’ostacolo. Rapporto 2021 su povertà ed esclusione sociale in Italia. Online: https://sovvenire.chiesacattolica.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/10/25/Rapporto_Caritas_poverta_2021_oltre_ostacolo.pdf (accessed June 17, 2022).
Cipriani, Roberto 2021 L’incerta fede. Un’indagine quali-quantitativa in Italia. Milan: FrancoAngeli.
Clary, Gil E., and Mark Snyder 1991 A Functional Analysis of Altruism and Prosocial Behavior: The Case of Volunteerism. In Prosocial Behavior: Review of Personality and Social Psychology, edited by Margaret S. Clark, 119–48. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
The Motivations to Volunteer: Theoretical and Practical Considerations. Current Directions in Psychological Science 8(5): 156–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00037
Clary, Gil E., Robert D. Ridge, Arthur A. Stukas, Mark Snyder, John Copeland, Julie Haugen and Peter Miene 1998 Understanding and Assessing the Motivations of Volunteers: A Functional Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74(6): 1516–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516
Cnaan, Ram A., and Robin S. Goldberg-Glen 1991 Measuring Motivation to Volunteer in Human Services. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 27(3): 269–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886391273003
Cnaan, Ram A., Ami Kasternakis and Robert J. Wineburg 1993 Religious People, Religious Congregations, and Volunteerism in Human Services: Is There a Link? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 22(1): 33–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/089976409302200104
Dawkins, Richard 1976 The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Denhardt, Robert B., Janet V. Denhardt, Maria P. Aristigueta and Kelly C. Rawlings 2020 Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. 5th ed. London: Sage.
De Waal, Frans B. M. 1996 Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Einolf, Cristopher J. 2011 Gender Differences in the Correlates of Volunteering and Charitable Giving. Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 40(6): 1092–1112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764010385949
Enjolras, Bernard, Lester M. Salamon, Karl Henrik Sivesind and Annette Zimmer 2018 The Third Sector as a Renewable Resource for Europe: Concepts, Impacts, Challenges and Opportunities. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71473-8
Ewing, Randall L., Michele A. Govekar, Paul Govekar and Meenakshi Rishi 2002 Economics, Market Segmentation and Recruiting: Targeting Your Promotion to Volunteers’ Needs. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing 10(1): 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1300/J054v10n01_05
Farrow, Katherine, Gilles Grolleau and Lisette Ibanez 2017 Social Norms and Pro-environmental Behavior: A Review of the Evidence. Ecological Economics 140: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.04.017
Finkelstien, Marcie A. 2009 Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivational Orientations and the Volunteer Process. Personality and Individual Differences 46(5-6): 653–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.010
Fitch, Thomas R. 1987 Characteristics and Motivations of College Students Volunteering for Community Service. Journal of College Student Personnel 28(5): 424–31.
Frisch, Michael B., and Meg Gerrard 1981 Natural Helping Systems: A Survey of Red Cross Volunteers. American Journal of Community Psychology 9: 567–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00896477
Garland, Diana R., Dennis R. Myers and Terry A. Wolfer 2009 Protestant Christian Volunteers in Community Social Service Programs: What Motivates, Challenges, and Sustains their Service. Administration in Social Work 33(1): 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/03643100802508627
Garner, Johny T., and Lindsey T. Garner 2011 Volunteering an Opinion: Organizational Voice and Volunteer Retention in Nonprofit Organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 40(5): 813–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764010366181
Gil-Lacruz, Ana Isabel, Carmen Marcuello and Mª Isabel Saz-Gil 2019 Gender Differences in European Volunteer Rates. Journal of Gender Studies 28(2): 127–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2018.1441016
Gorsuch, Richard L., and Susan E. McPherson 1989 Intrinsic/Extrinsic Measurement: I/E-revised and Single-item Scales. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 28(3): 348–54. http://doi.org/10.2307/1386745
Guidi, Riccardo, Ksenija Fonovi and Tania Cappadozzi (eds) 2016 Volontari e attività volontarie in Italia. Antecedenti, impatti, esplorazioni. Bologna: il Mulino.
Hale, Thomas, Noam Angrist, Rafael Goldszmidt, Beatriz Kira, Anna Petherick, Toby Phillips, Samuel Webster, Emily Cameron-Blake, Laura Hallas, Saptarshi Majumdar and Helen Tatlow 2021 A Global Panel Database of Pandemic Policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker). Nature Human Behaviour 5: 529–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01079-8
Hamilton, W. D. 1963 The Evolution of Altruistic Behavior. The American Naturalist 97(896): 354–56. https://doi.org/10.1086/497114
Howell, Ashley N., R. Nicholas Carleton, Samantha C. Horswill, Holly A. Parkerson, Justin W. Weeks and Gordon J. G. Asmundson 2019 Intolerance of Uncertainty Moderates the Relations among Religiosity and Motives for Religion, Depression, and Social Evaluation Fears. Journal of Clinical Psychology 75(1): 95–115. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22691
Ipsos 2017 I cattolici tra presenza nel sociale e nuove domande alla politica. Online: https://www.acli.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cattolici-e-politica-analisi-Ipsos-novembre-2017.pdf (accessed June 17, 2022).
ISTAT 2014 Attività gratuite a beneficio di altri. Rome: ISTAT. Online: https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/129115 (accessed July 6, 2022).
Rapporto annuale 2018: La situazione del Paese. Rome: ISTAT. Online: https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/214230 (accessed July 6, 2022).
Le statistiche dell’ISTAT sulla povertà in Italia – Anno 2021. Online: https://www.istat.it/it/files//2022/06/Report_Povert%C3%A0_2021_14-06.pdf (accessed June 17, 2022).
Johnston, Joseph J. 2013 Religion and Volunteering over the Adult Life Course. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 52(4): 733–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12065
Klein, Stefan 2010 Der Sinn des Gebens: Warum Selbstlosigkeit in der Evolution siegt und wir mit Egoismus nicht weiterkommen. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Verlag. English translation by David Dollenmayer: Survival of the Nicest: How Altruism Made Us Human and Why It Pays to Get Along. New York: The Experiment, 2014.
Kou, Xiaonan, Amir Daniel Hayat, Debra J. Mesch and Una Okonkwo Osili 2014 The Global Dynamics of Gender and Philanthropy in Membership Associations: A Study of Charitable Giving by Lions Clubs International Members. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 43(2_suppl): 18S–38S. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764013502583
Lishner, David A., and Eric L. Stocks 2008a Altruism. In International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed. W. A. Darity et al., 2nd ed., vol. 1, 87–88. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
b Altruism and Prosocial Behavior. In International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed. W. A. Darity et al., 2nd ed., vol. 1, 88–89. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
Lough, Benjamin J., and Willy Oppenheim 2017 Revisiting Reciprocity in International Volunteering. Progress in Development Studies 17(3): 197–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464993417713275
Mannino, Clelia Anna, Mark Snyder and Allen M. Omoto 2011 Why Do People Get Involved? Motivations for Volunteerism and Other Forms of Social Action. In Social Motivation, ed. D. Dunning, 127–46. New York and London: Psychology Press.
Manuti, Amelia, Rosa Scardigno and Giuseppe Mininni 2016 Me, Myself, and God: Religion as a Psychocultural Resource of Meaning in Later Life. Culture & Psychology 22(1): 3–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X14551294
Mathieu, Edouard, Hannah Ritchie, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Cameron Appel, Daniel Gavrilov, Charlie Giattino, Joe Hasell, Bobbie Macdonald, Saloni Dattani, Diana Beltekian, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). OurWorldInData.org. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus (accessed August 12, 2022).
Morrow-Howell, Nancy, and Ada Mui 1989 Elderly Volunteers: Reasons for Initiating and Terminating Service. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 13(3-4): 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1300/J083V13N03_03
Neely, Andrea Rae, and Mark L. Lengnick-Hall 2013 The Unfolding Model of Volunteer Motivation. Academy of Management Proceedings 1: 12448. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2013.12448abstract
Nesbit, Rebecca, Robert K. Christensen and Jeffrey L. Brudney 2018 The Limits and Possibilities of Volunteering: A Framework for Explaining the Scope of Volunteer Involvement in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Public Administration Review 78(4): 502–513. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12894
Okun, Morris A., and Amy Schultz 2003 Age and Motives for Volunteering: Testing Hypotheses Derived from Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory. Psychology and Aging 18(2): 231–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.18.2.231
Omoto, Allen M., and Mark Snyder 2002 Considerations of Community: The Context and Process of Volunteerism. American Behavioral Scientist 45(5): 846–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202045005007
Patel, Leila, and Theresa Wilson 2004 Civic Service in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 33(4): 22S–39S. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764004269741
Paxton, Pamela, Nicholas E. Reith and Jennifer L. Glanville 2014 Volunteering and the Dimensions of Religiosity: A Cross-national Analysis. Review of Religious Research 56(4): 597–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-014-0169-y
Pearce, Jone L. 1993 Volunteers: The Organizational Behavior of Unpaid Workers. London and New York: Routledge.
Peres, Julio F., Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Antonia Gladys Nasello and Harold Koenig 2007 Spirituality and Resilience in Trauma Victims. Journal of Religion and Health 46(3): 343–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-006-9103-0
Phillips, Antoinette S., and Carl R. Phillips 2000 Using Skills Gained through Volunteerism in Job Searches: A Workable Strategy. Journal of Business and Psychology 14(4): 573–77. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022986113164
Pinker, Robert A. 1971 Social Theory and Social Policy. London: Heinemann.
The Idea of Welfare. London: Heinemann.
Sahlins, Marshall 2008 The Western Illusion of Human Nature. Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press.
Sanderson, Rebecca, Mike Prentice, Lukas Wolf, Netta Weinstein, Tim Kasser and Tom Crompton 2019 Strangers in a Strange Land: Relations between Perceptions of Others’ Values and Both Civic Engagement and Cultural Estrangement. Frontiers in Psychology 10: 559. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00559
Schwartz, Barry 2015 Why We Work. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Schwartz, Shalom H. 2010 Basic Values: How They Motivate and Inhibit Prosocial Behavior. In Prosocial Motives, Emotions, and Behavior: The Better Angels of Our Nature, edited by Mario Mikulincer and Phillip R. Shaver, 221–41. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/12061-012
Sigmund, Karl, and Cristof Hauert 2002 Altruism. Current Biology 12(8): R270–R272. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-9822(02)00797-2
Stukas, Arthur A., Maree Daly and Gil E. Clary 2006 Lessons from Research on Volunteering for Mobilizing Adults to Volunteer for Positive Youth Development. In Mobilizing Adults for Positive Youth Development: Strategies for Closing the Gap between Beliefs and Behaviors, edited by E. Gil Clary and Jean E. Rhodes, 65–82. New York: Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29340-X_4
Stukas, Arthur A., Mark Snyder and Gil E. Clary 2016 Understanding and Encouraging Volunteerism and Community Involvement. Journal of Social Psychology 156(3): 243–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2016.1153328
Sussman, Robert W., and Robert C. Cloninger (eds) 2011 Origins of Altruism and Cooperation. New York: Springer.
Titmuss, Richard M. 1970 The Gift Relationship. London: Allen & Unwin.
Van de Mortel, Thea F. 2008 Faking It: Social Desirability Response Bias in Self-report Research. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 25(4): 40–48.
West, Stuart A., Andy Gardner and Ashleigh S. Griffin 2006 Altruism. Current Biology 16(13): R482–R483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.06.014
Wiepking, Pamala, Christopher J. Einolf and Yongzheng Yang 2022 The Gendered Pathways into Giving and Volunteering: Similar or Different across Countries? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 52(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640211057408
Wilson, John, and Marc Musick 1999 The Effects of Volunteering on the Volunteer. Law and Contemporary Problems 62(4): 141–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/1192270
World Medical Association 2013 World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 310(20): 2191–94. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281053
