Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Being Prepared And Staying Connected: Scouting’S Influence On Social Capital And Community Involvement, Edward C. Polson, Young-Il Kim, Sung Joon Jang, Byron R. Johnson, Buster Smith

Faculty Publications - Department of World Languages, Sociology & Cultural Studies

Objectives

In recent years, scholars have become concerned about the effects that declining levels of social capital are having on community life in the United States. Data suggest that Americans are less likely to interact with neighbors and less likely to participate in community groups than they were in the past. Nevertheless, researchers have found that participation in some types of organizations has a positive impact on social capital and civic involvement. Each year, millions of American youth participate in programs designed to promote positive youth development. Here, we examine the effect that participation in one of the largest youth …

Bonding Alone: Familism, Religion, And Secular Civic Participation, Young-Il Kim, W. Bradford Wilcox

Faculty Publications - Department of World Languages, Sociology & Cultural Studies

This study examines the influence of familism, religion, and their interaction on participation in secular voluntary associations. We develop an insularity theory to explain how familism and religion encourage Americans to avoid secular civic participation. Using data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, this study finds that familism reduces participation in secular organizations. Moreover, religion moderates the effect of familism: specifically, religious involvement tends to increase the negative effect of familism on secular civic participation. Although religious involvement in and of itself fosters secular civic participation, strong familism tends to dampen positive impacts of …