Bonding or Bridging? Volunteering Among the Members of Six Thriving Evangelical Congregations in the Netherlands

Abstract

The rise of conservative religion in the West threatens the enduring positive contribution of religion to civil society, if conservative churches, as often assumed, indeed generate more bonding than bridging social capital. Against this background, this study explores the civic engagement of evangelicals in the Netherlands. Two research questions are addressed: (1) To what extent are Dutch evangelicals more involved in religious than nonreligious volunteering as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the religious and non-religious volunteering of Dutch evangelicals as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? Results show that these orthodox Christians are more involved in religious than in non-religious volunteering. Their religious volunteering is determined by their church attendance, Bible reading and social embeddedness in their congregation, while their non-religious volunteering is impeded by their mono-religious orientation and social embeddedness in their congregation and by the volunteering of their parents.

Religion and the Transmission of COVID-19 in The Netherlands

“…Moreover, when it comes to volunteering, there is also a difference between Orthodox Protestants, Pentecostals, and Evangelicals on the one hand and mainline Protestants and Catholics on the other. Mainline Protestants and Catholics not only primarily volunteer for religious organizations, e.g., their own religious community, but they are also actively involved in secular organizations (Musick and Wilson 2008;Vermeer and Scheepers 2019). Mainline Protestants and Catholics in this respect display a stronger, so-called spillover effect.…”

Over the rainbow: Sexual minorities' bonding and bridging social capital and civic engagement

“…The differences in the networks held together by bonding social capital (dense, homogeneous networks) and bridging social capital (weaker, heterogeneous networks) lead to unique social and economic outcomes (Paltuny & Svendsen, Patulny & Svendsen, 2007). Empirical research on such groups as religious congregations and immigrant groups also suggests distinct implications of bonding and bridging social capital (Lee & Moon, 2011; Vermeer & Scheepers, 2019).…”

Religie en de verspreiding van COVID-19 in Nederland

“…Dit nog grotendeels katholieke volksfeest vond één week voor de uitbraak van de eerste golf plaats in de zuidelijke provincies en heeft hier zeer waarschijnlijk als een dense gathering gewerkt. Daarnaast suggereerden we ook, dat katholieken weliswaar minder vaak religieuze diensten bezoeken, maar anders dan meer orthodoxe protestanten in Nederland vaker betrokken zijn bij allerlei seculiere vrijwilligersorganisaties (Bekkers & Schuyt 2008;Vermeer & Scheepers 2019). Het label 'katholiek' duidt zo niet enkel de religieuze identiteit van een persoon aan, maar kan ook slaan op de mate waarin een persoon actief is in de samenleving en deel uitmaakt van hechte sociale netwerken.…”