Calvin College Starts New Study on Religious and Civic Life
Calvin College will embark on a new study on religion and civic life with the grant given by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
Calvin College will embark on a new study on religion and civic life with the grant given by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
The $100,000 grant, announced by the college yesterday, is directed to Calvin’s Paul Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics, where the new project will be launched.
Professor Corwin Smidt, the director of Henry Institute, plans to conduct an in-depth study on the role religion plays in forming civic responsibility in American life.
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The topic is an interesting one, Smidt said, especially because of the role of religion in the recent U.S. presidential election.
"Clearly in light of the media and public response in the wake of exit polls conducted on Election Day, the American public, the mass media, scholars, as well as policy analysts and policy-makers need to develop a better and deeper understanding of the role of religion and moral values within American public life," said Smidt, who often sees a close connection between religious connections and civic ties.
"Roughly speaking almost half of all personal philanthropy is religious in character, and half of all volunteering occurs in a religious context,” explained Smidt. “In addition people are more likely to give money and time, even to secular efforts, if they are church members, and they are also significantly more likely to vote if they are church members."
The new study entails, civic “responsibility,” which he distinguishes from civic “involvement.”
“A study of civic responsibility broadens the analysis to assess both attitudinal, value-rooted commitments and behavioral responses - as well as the interplay between the two," he said.
“Since civic responsibility entails moral as well as behavioral dimensions, one might well anticipate that religion would be even more strongly related to civic responsibility than it is to civic engagement. But, since no such study has been conducted to this point, it is unclear whether this is the case empirically," he added.
Though prior research has shown religious factors do serve as important variables, it still remains unclear as to what specific aspect of religion most directly relates to civic engagement.
"Is it religious beliefs, religious commitment, religious networks or some combination of such factors," ponders Smidt. "Are certain religious traditions or certain types of people within a religious tradition more likely to manifest high levels of civic engagement and responsibility? No effort has yet been made to ascertain what is proposed here."
As the project director, Smidt will engage in the study with his research team of proficient research professors, all of which have recently published major scholarly works on religion and public life.
