Linking Morality, Altruism, and Social Solidarity Using Identity Theory

Solidarity in Europe: a comparative account of citizens’ attitudes and practices

“…Finally, previous research has insisted on the role of normative orientations and collective identities that might condition levels of (European) solidarity (Luttmer, 2001;Komter, 2005;Stets and McCaffree, 2014). On the one hand, this might apply to religion and religiosity (Stegmueller et al, 2012;Lichterman, 2015), assuming that religious citizens might be more inclined to act in support of the needy, both in charitable and political terms, and thus also in support of fellow Europeans.…”

Solidarity in Europe: A Comparative Assessment and Discussion

“…Solidarity might thus be intricately tied to feelings of satisfaction and belongingness with regards to the EU. In conceptual terms, we assume that solidarity as a relation of (mutual) support is tied to (imagined) groups, which means that feelings of identity and belongingness should promote the individual's readiness to engage in solidarity with members of these groups (Hunt and Benford 2004;Stets and McCaffree 2014). At the same time, levels of satisfaction with the EU might condition the readiness to help other European and/or European governments, as well.…”

“…The group of people with a universalist or cosmopolitan sense of solidarity are largely in the minority. For most people, solidarity is more strongly tied to specific groups or entities (Markovsky and Lawler 1994;Hunt and Benford 2004;Stets and McCaffree 2014), and very often solidarity is closely tied to the notion of citizenship (Miller 2000;Keating 2009). This is particularly evident when solidarity touches social rights and obligations, as, for instance, with regard to policies of redistribution at the national or European level.…”

Solidarity in Europe

“…In particular, we try to assess whether relevant factors investigated at the national level, for example, levels of political participation, political preferences, and ideological orientations (e.g., Amat and Wibbels 2009;Likki and Staerklé 2014;Giugni and Grasso 2017), also differentiate citizens with regard to solidarity. Finally, we wanted to identify the role of ideational and cognitive factors, too, assuming that the collective identities and the attachment to groups and communities might condition levels of solidarity (Luttmer 2001;Komter 2005) as much as religion and religiosity (Stegmueller et al 2012;, moral norms, and visions of a desirable social order (Stets and McCaffree 2014).…”