Volunteer activities and their religious character : focusing on “Altruism”

Abstract

In the wake of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that occurred in January 1995, many studies and practical reports have been published that take an academic look at the various activities of volunteers. However, an area that has not been widely discussed is the internal human mental structure of religiosity and altruism as a driving force behind religious or denominational organizational behavior and support activities. The purpose of this study is to examine the religious character of volunteer activities based on the reality of these relationships. For this purpose, this paper explores the relationship between volunteerism and religion in the context of two cases in Japan. The first is the relationship between citizen volunteers and religion, as seen in the historical support for foreigners, and the second is the relationship between university student volunteers and religion, as seen in the contemporary support for earthquake victims. The results suggest that not only the doctrines of the founding religion but also the simple religious beliefs of folk religions are influential in motivating volunteer activities. Simple religious beliefs are connected to altruism, which is also seen as psychological altruism. As religiosity and altruism may enable continuous participation in volunteer activities and serve as a foundation for accepting the diversity and complexity of reality and creating new values to overcome problems, they should also be considered in volunteer education.