Houses of Worship Are Unique in Civil Society

Jessica Grose at NYT:

I asked every sociologist I interviewed whether communities created around secular activities outside of houses of worship could give the same level of wraparound support that churches, temples and mosques are able to offer. Nearly across the board, the answer was no.

Phil Zuckerman, a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, put it this way: “I can go play soccer on a Sunday morning and hang out with people from different races and different class backgrounds, and we can bond. But I’m not doing that with my grandparents and my grandchildren.” A soccer team can’t provide spiritual solace in the face of death, it probably doesn’t have a weekly charitable call and there’s no sense of connection to a heritage that goes back generations. You can get bits and pieces of these disparate qualities elsewhere, he said, but there’s no “one-stop shop” — at least not right now.

Jeffrey M Jones at Gallup:

U.S. church attendance has shown a small but noticeable decline compared with what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. In the four years before the pandemic, 2016 through 2019, an average of 34% of U.S. adults said they had attended church, synagogue, mosque or temple in the past seven days. From 2020 to the present, the average has been 30%, including a 31% reading in a May 1-24 survey.

The recent church attendance levels are about 10 percentage points lower than what Gallup measured in 2012 and most prior years.

David French at NYT:

Evangelicals are a particularly illustrative case. About half of self-identified evangelicals now attend church monthly or less often. They have religious zeal, but they lack religious community. So they find their band of brothers and sisters in the Trump movement. Even among actual churchgoing evangelicals, political alignment is often so important that it’s hard to feel a true sense of belonging unless you’re ideologically united with the people in the pews around you.

United 93

 A decade ago, former President George W. Bush dedicated the United 93 National Memorial at Shanksville, Pennsylvania:

From the text:

For 10 years, our troops have risked and given their lives to prevent our enemies from attacking America again. They've kept us safe; they have made us proud; and they have upheld the spirit of service shown by the passengers on Flight 93.

Many years ago in 1863, another President came to dedicate a memorial site in this state. He told his audience that:

In a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. For the brave souls who struggled there, it consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.

He added, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

So it is with Flight 93.

For as long as this memorial stands, we will remember what the men and women aboard the plane did here. We'll pay tribute to the courage they showed, the sacrifice they made, and the lives they spared.

The United States will never forget.

May God bless you all.

Social Capital, Civil Society

Ryan Streeter at National Affairs:

The 1998 report of the Council on Civil Society sounds as if it could have been written yesterday:

As we become an increasingly fragmented and polarized society, too many of our fellow citizens are being left behind, not participating in the benefits of economic growth and free society. And as our social morality deteriorates, life becomes harsher and less civil for everyone, social problems multiply, and we lose the confidence that we as Americans are united by shared values. These two closely related conditions endanger the very possibility of continuing self-governance.

The report decries the erosion of social morality and civic life in an increasingly divided country. Signed by intellectual leaders on the left and right (such as James Q. Wilson, Robert George, and William Galston), it forcefully posits the importance of self-governance, moral realism, and civil society to democratic life. Yet at the same time, the council's call to ground political decision-making in this understanding of the centrality of the civic sphere sounds utterly anachronistic. And the fact that its signatories also included politicians of both parties (like then-senators Joe Lieberman and Dan Coats) places it plainly in another era altogether.

Something strange has happened in the intervening two decades: Academics have learned a lot more about the importance of civil society and social capital, yet politicians have come to talk about it a lot less. In the 1990s, policy reforms rooted in an awareness of the power of local civil society proliferated, and academic research on social capital was only beginning in earnest and struggling to catch up. In retrospect, it seems the council was lamenting the attenuation of civic bonds at a time when interest in them among policymakers was at its peak.

Demographic Difference on Civic Participation

Aleksandra Sandstrom and Becka A. Alper at Pew:

Nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) participate in some type of community group or organization, including about one-in-ten (11%) who say they participate in four or more community groups, according to a new analysis of data from a December 2017 Pew Research Center survey.

...
 Generally, adults who are better educated and wealthier are more likely to be involved in some community or other group. A majority of college graduates are active in at least one community group, while only half of those with a high school education say the same (70% vs. 48%). And two-thirds of those who have a household income of at least $75,000 say they are active in at least one community group, compared with 47% of those with a household income of $30,000 or less.

There also are some differences along age and racial/ethnic lines. Notably, adults who have reached retirement age are more likely to be involved – two-thirds of Americans ages 65 and older say they participate in at least one community organization, compared with 55% of younger adults. And blacks (62%) and whites (59%) are more likely than Hispanics (49%) to say they are active in at least one community group.

Among religious groups, about six-in-ten Protestants (61%) say they participate in at least one group, with 12% saying they are active in four or more organizations. And about seven-in-ten Jews (72%) say they participate in at least one community group or organization, including a quarter (24%) who participate in four or more. By comparison, fewer Catholics (53%) and religiously unaffiliated adults (51%) say they participate in one or more community groups

The Working Class, Religion, and Community Service

David Brooks at NYT:

Washington think tanks are undergoing a fundamental evolution. A lot of them, like the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution, were built to advise parties that no longer exist. They were built for a style of public debate — based on social science evidence and congressional hearings that are more than just show trials — that no longer exists. Many people at these places have discovered that they have more in common with one another than they do with the extremists on their own sides.

So suddenly there is a flurry of working together across ideological lines. Next week, for example, the group Opportunity America, with Brookings and A.E.I., will release a bipartisan agenda called “Work, Skills, Community: Restoring Opportunity for the Working Class.”

Written by a wide array of scholars, the report starts with the truth that the working class has been mostly ignored by the rest of society. Government has welfare programs to serve the poor and they have programs like 529 savings accounts to subsidize the rich. But there’s very little for families making, say, $50,000 a year.

From the report:

The role of faith in working-class families is well-documented. As Robert Jones, the CEO of the polling firm PPRI, has explained it, “Churches have served, for most of the nation’s life, as pipelines to all kinds of civic engagement—and not just because they hand out voter-registration cards or have them in the lobby. We actually see a link between all kinds of civic activity and church activity.”Yet, participation in this once-central institution has declined greatly, with weekly church attendance falling from 40 percent in the 1970s to 28 percent in the 2000s among those with a high school degree or some college (figure 19).

Mirroring this decline in churchgoing, the working class is also participating less actively in other civic institutions (figure 20). According to a PPRI survey, white working-class Americans, which they define as people without a college degree who are paid by the hour or the job, have lower rates of participation in sports teams, book clubs and neighborhood associations than their more-educated peers (30 percent to 49 percent).52 Our definition of working class includes people from all races without bachelor’s degrees, and among them too, rates of civic engagement—participation in service, school or community associations, or recreational or religious organizations—are all distressingly low and more like rates for low-income than high-income adults. According to data from the Civic Engagement Supplement to the Current Population Survey, no more than 15 percent of working-class men and women participate annually in any of these activities.

National Service

Gallup:

Almost half (49%) of Americans favor requiring young men and women to give a year of service to the nation. But a majority (57%) of the group most likely to be affected -- those under the age of 30 -- oppose the idea.

The idea of mandatory national service has been floated numerous times by think tanks and opinion writers over the past decade and a half, but it has never become a major issue in national politics. U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel unsuccessfully pushed a version of the idea in every legislative session from 2003 to 2015; at one point, it even reached the House floor, where it was defeated by a vote of 402-2.

Though the idea has never garnered much attention as a national policy proposal, there is support for the concept among segments of the public. A majority of Republicans, including independents who lean Republican, favor it (57%), as do men (57%) and those 65 or older (66%).

Citizenship and Civic Engagement

At The Atlantic, Eric Liu offers a thought experiment about citizenship:

As it stands now, those of us who are lucky enough to be citizens by birth don't have to do much. Very little is asked of us. But let's imagine what the content of our citizenship might look like ifeveryone had to earn it.

Service. Under current law, undocumented Americans and nonresident noncitizens can earn citizenship if they enter the armed services - sometimes immediately upon completion of basic training. If service can justify citizenship, then perhaps citizenship should require service, whether military or civilian. National service as a prerequisite to citizenship would make the status more meaningful, and the country more cohesive.

Knowledge. One of the prime reasons for the Voting Rights Act of 1964 was the sordid history of Jim Crow literacy tests used by whites at the ballot box to screen out and intimidate black voters. (Even worse, those tests often required would-be voters to read aloud from the Constitution.) As shameful and discriminatory as those tests were, just imagine now if there were a sincere and universal requirement of civic knowledge in order to vote. Think how few non-immigrants would pass.

Today, public understanding of our past and our system of government is pitifully low: As Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has archly observed, far more Americans can name a judge on American Idol than a justice of the Supreme Court. Only a third can name all three branches of government. One simple remedy would be to update the citizenship test now given to naturalizing immigrants - and administer it to everyone. That would boost knowledge in a hurry.

Net Contribution. In the United Kingdom and a few other countries today, there is a point system for immigrants who want to become citizens, and points are awarded on basis of contribution to society. Why not institute a point system here -- for everyone? Do you give more than five percent of your adjusted gross income to charity? Points. Haven't done volunteer work in the community in a decade? Demerits. Indeed, we could have a scale of progressive contribution: The more wealth you have, the more you should be expected to contribute to the commonwealth - not through taxes only but also through time and deeds.

Periodic Renewal. As those who would end birthright citizenship might note, a date of birth is an arbitrary point at which to assume that someone is worthy of lifetime tenure as a citizen. But then, by this logic, so is the date that a person first earns citizenship. So to keep citizens from coasting, we should change the default setting and make the status revocable and renewable every ten years only by merit. If you don't qualify -- well, it's time to self-deport.

Religion, Civic Life, and Social Media

A new report from the Pew Research Center involves religion and community service, a key linkage that we discuss in our chapter on civic culture.

Some 40% of Americans are active in a church, religious, or spiritual organization. Compared with those who are not involved with such organizations, religiously active Americans are more trusting of others, are more optimistic about their impact on their community, think more highly of their community, are more involved in more organizations of all kinds, and devote more time to the groups to which they are active.

 A survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project asked people about their membership in 28 different kinds of organizations and clubs. Religious and spiritual organizations topped the list and those who were active in such groups were more active in all kinds of groups. The average number of groups that religiously active Americans are active in is 5.61, and those who are not involved with religious groups participate in 2.11 groups.

Those who are active in religious groups spend an average of 7.5 of hours per week in group activities compared with 5.4 hours for those not active in a religious group.

When it comes to their technology profile, Americans who are members of religious groups are just as likely as others to use the internet, have broadband at home, use cell phones, use text messaging, and use social networking sites and Twitter.

Read the full report for detailed findings on the levels of community involvement among religious Americans and how they use the different technologies such as the internet, text messaging and social networking sites.

Giffords Serves the Troops

Our chapter on civic culture discusses community service. Thanksgiving has become a day of volunteering for many Americans, and the most striking example this year came in Tuscson, as AP reports:

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.

Giffords arrived in the dining hall at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base at midday Thursday wearing a ball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front. She was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, who also donned an apron.

Giffords used only her left hand as she served, a sign that physical damage remains from the injuries she suffered when she was shot in January.

Kelly supported her from her left side as she worked the turkey station on the serving line. He served ham.

Giffords has been undergoing intensive rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston as she recovers from a gunshot wound to the head. She was among 19 people shot Jan. 8 as she met with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket. Six people died.

Campus Champions of Change

Our chapter on civic culture considers the role of community service. President Obama has a new initiative to recognize college students who improve their campus communities:

The White House Office of Public Engagement and mtvU are proud to announce the first ever Campus Champions of Change Challenge. The Challenge invites college and university students from across the country to demonstrate how their student led project is improving their campus community and helping America win the future.

Heres how it works:

• Submit an online application detailing your student-led program at www.WhiteHouse.gov/CampusChallenge.
• The White House will select 15 finalists based on input from a panel of judges.
• The public will then have an opportunity to weigh in and vote on the top five projects they think best embody the Presidents goal to win the future.

The top five finalists will be named Campus Champions of Change, and will be invited to the White House for a culminating event. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to work with mtvU, and MTV Act to create short features about their projects that will air on mtvU and be featured on MTV.com. The winning team will also host an episode of mtvUs signature program, The Deans List.

Todays students are not just winning the future, but creating effective change in the present. As the President has said: All Across America, college and university students are helping our country out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. I hope this challenge shines a light on their efforts, and inspires Americans of all ages to get involved in their communities.

For more information and to submit your application visit: www.whitehouse.gov/campuschallenge. The deadline for applications is Friday, December 9, 2011.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/11/02/announcing-2011-campus-champions-change-challenge

A Day of Necessity and Virtue

“Great necessities call out great virtues,” wrote Abigail Adams. September 11, 2001, was a day of necessity and virtue. Hijackers seized United Airlines Flight 93 on its way from Newark to San Francisco. At first, passengers thought that the hijackers just wanted to divert the flight. But when they called family members, they learned that other planes had just flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They fought back. Amid hand-to-hand combat, Flight 93 crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania.

Americans then gave millions of dollars to help the families of those who died in the attacks. So many volunteers flocked to New York that officials had to turn most away. Others either got in touch with groups such as the Red Cross, or they started new ones. This response illustrated what Alexis deTocqueville noted: “Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of dispositions are forever forming associations.”

The passengers and crew of Flight 93 showed this tendency themselves. They did not strike out randomly. Instead they formed an association of sorts, quickly discussing how to get into the cockpit. They even took a vote. This decision to fight was an example of what Tocqueville called “self-interest properly understood.” By taking on the hijackers, they realized, they could save lives on the ground and might even save their own. Among the passengers, Don Greene was a licensed pilot of small planes, and Andrew Garcia had been an air-traffic controller for the Air National Guard. With coaching from the ground, they might have made an emergency landing.

We can see a related facet of the country’s character in the presence on Flight 93 of Garcia and former paratrooper William Cashman. Since colonial days, many Americans have fulfilled their desire to serve by joining the militia, the reserves, or the active-duty military. After September 11, as in times past, service members faced upheavals in their lives. Men and women in the National Guard took leave from their civilian jobs to tighten airport security. Meanwhile, the Pentagon activated thousands of reservists. And within weeks, United States forces were fighting in Afghanistan. Major wars have also called out sacrifices on the home front, as civilians have given time, money, and blood to support those in uniform.

Another passenger on Flight 93 was Todd Beamer, who became famous for what an operator heard him say as he put down his phone: “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” Moments earlier, he had asked her to pray with him. That evening, lawmakers gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, reportedly the target of the Flight 93 hijackers. After their leaders spoke of their resolve, they joined to sing “God Bless America.” Nine days later, President George W. Bush addressed them and concluded: “In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may He watch over the United States of America.”

Volunteering

In chapter 5, as we mentioned on Thanksgiving, we discuss the role of volunteering in American civic culture. Gallup has some new data on the topic:

During the economic downturn of late 2008 and the first half of 2009, Americans continued to volunteer their time to others. According to a recent Gallup survey, more than one-third of Americans reported volunteering recently in each month from September 2008 to July 2009.

Service through volunteering increased slightly during the early months of the recession, October and November of 2008, decreasing through December 2008 and January 2009 and stabilizing over the course of 2009. The findings extend the stable volunteering trend from 2002 through 2008 reported by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Volunteering varies by age, with Americans aged 30 to 44 consistently the most active, or tied as the most active. Seniors (aged 65 and older) and young adults (18- to 29-year-olds) tend to be the least active.