Religion and Public Administration: American Exceptionalism or Global Norm?

ABSTRACT

Public servants in the United States are more religious than their non-public service counterparts. The objective of this article is to determine whether this distinction holds cross-nationally. Using ISSP data from 37 nations, this research shows that the United States is not unique; government workers in most countries examined more frequently attended religious services than workers in the other sectors. The implications of this finding are examined. Religion is associated with several work-related attitudes and behaviors. Including public service motivation. Potential adverse effects include discrimination and increased conflict.

KEYWORDS:

• Religiosity
• employment sector differences
• cross-national

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).