Trusting, Happy, Religious, and Giving: Explaining Volunteering in the Context of Nordic Exceptionalism

Abstract

Using data from the European Values Study, this article examines the mechanisms through which social capital facilitates volunteering in Nordic countries. Three specific mechanisms are examined as drivers of volunteering: Generalized trust, subjective well-being, and religious activity. We find that trust bridges social capital and that people volunteer more as their level of generalized and institutional trust increases. Our results also indicate that individuals with higher levels of well-being and those who attend religious services regularly are more likely to volunteer.

Key Words:

• Social capital
• volunteering
• trust
• civic engagement
• European Values Study

Disclosure statement

The data used for this report was provided by the European Values Survey ("EVS 2011"), the most comprehensive research project on human values in Europe. The EVS is a large-scale, cross-national, and longitudinal survey research program on how Europeans think about family, work, religion, politics and society. Any interpretation of the data is the view of [Cleopatra Grizzle and Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf] and does not reflect the views of the EVS. For more information on the EVS, visit http://www.gesis.org/en/services/data-analysis/survey-data/european-values-study/.

Notes

1. The EVS was most recently conducted in 2008. While these data are not current, they nonetheless capture the relationships between generalized trust, well-being, religious activity, and volunteering. There is no reason to expect this relationship to have changed since 2008. Our final data set contained 15,866 individuals over these five countries and four survey waves.