Social Work Faculty Publications

Faith-Outcomes for Older Adult Volunteers in Religious Congregations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2013

Journal Title

Social Work & Christianity

ISSN

0737-5778

Volume

40

Issue

4

First Page

384

Last Page

403

Abstract

A research study surveyed 539 older volunteers from congregations who were actively involved in community service, as well as 430 older congregational attenders who were not involved in volunteer service, to understand the relationship between volunteering and faith development in later life. Findings show that older adult volunteers report higher levels of faith maturity, faith practices, life satisfaction, and motivation to serve than their non-volunteering counterparts. Accounting for barriers to volunteering such as health, transportation, caregiving, and work responsibilities did not significantly affect the faith and volunteer relationship. These findings have important implications for how religious educators and congregational social workers can nurture the life of faith of older volunteers through meaningful community ministry experiences.

Keywords

Congregation, older persons, religious faith, social work, volunteers

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