Explaining the cross-national variation in the relationship between religious organization membership and civic...

We examine the relationship between belonging to religious organizations and participating in nonreligious civic organizations through use of a large international sample of individuals. Moreover, we assess how this relationship is contingent upon social context, that is Protestant percentage, economic condition, and democratic level of a nation. Using data from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey (2010-2014), our multilevel analyses reveal that religious organization members are more likely than non-members to participate in civic organizations cross-nationally. In addition, societal context is found to moderate this association. Specifically, the differences between religious organization members and non-members in this regard are larger in societies characterized by a smaller Protestant population, poorer economic condition, and nondemocratic institutions. We discuss our findings in light of theories on religion, social capital, and social context.