Organized Labor’s Civic Niche

Abstract

I compare the effects of labor union member density and religious adherent density on apolitical and political types of civic engagement. Results indicate that religious and union activists are involved in civic affairs, but only unions elevate prosocial behavior among persons that are not in a church or union. For political forms of civic engagement, union contexts positively correlate with a wide range of prosocial acts, whereas religious contexts showed no effect, or were negatively correlated with signing a petition, participating in demonstrations, protests, boycotts or marches, and involvement in local action for social or political reform. The effect of religious organizations on apolitical civic engagement is largely confined to adherents, and in the community, religious institutions reduce political activism and cultivate conservative identity. In contrast, labor organizations are institutions that elevate civic behavior in the nonunion community, especially political types of engagement, and cultivate liberal identity.