The religious and secular community involvements of Baptists and Pentecostals *

It may come as no surprise to learn that Baptists and Pentecostals are more involved in church and religious activities than average, though a question is raised: does such commitment come at the expense of worthwhile secular involvements? From an analysis of 49 involvmements and intensities of involvement, we now have a better read on the patterns of community participation by several faith communities. Though because the Pentecostal sample is relatively low, there are a number of gaps in the table of community involvements shown below.

First, regarding the religious involvements of Baptists and Pentecostals, the church attendance rates, dollars donated to religious organizations, and rates of volunteering in church or religious organizations is much higher than the Canadian averages, though the hours volunteered in church per Pentecostal volunteer is slightly lower than average. Baptists and Pentecostals are about twice as likely as the average Canadian to attend religious services at least monthly, they donate well over twice the average per donor to religious organizations, and 21% of Pentecostals and 26% of Baptists volunteer in religious organizations, compared with only 6.5% of all Canadians generally - refer to table. The Pentecostal church volunteers, though, put in over a half an hour less time per month than the Canadian average, which is 10.6 hours.

The 1991 census shows 663,630 Baptists, 2.5% of the population, including 85,303 immigrants, 2% of immigrants, and 4,240 non-permanent residents, 1.9% of non-permanent residents. Pentecostals numbered 436,435, 1.6% of the population, including 63,335 immigrants, 1.5% of immigrants, and 4,950 non-permanent residents, 2.2% of the non-permanent residents. Religion data from the 2001 census will be available in 2003.

Regarding secular community involvements, some by Baptists and Pentecostals are greater, while others are noticeably less. Baptist rates of volunteering in health organizations, education organizations, and social service organizations are above average, for example, though hours volunteered per volunteer are lower than the average in these three sectors (no data is available for Pentecostals). Rates of following the news daily, whether national, international or region, are relatively low among Pentecostals. Provision of informal help, not as part of a voluneer organization, is higher than average among Baptists and Pentecostals in the following four areas: provision of care, visiting the elderly, to help other households with housework, and helping others to solve problems. In addition, Pentecostals are more likely than average to help with shopping, and to do unpaid baby sitting, while Baptists are more likely than the average to coach or educate others on their own.

Turning to charitable donations, Baptists and Pentecostals are more inclined than average to donate to education organizations, and the Pentecostals give more than average, though Baptists give less. Both faith communities are also more likely to donate to social service organizations, though this time it is the Baptists who donate more than the Canadian average, while Pentecostals donate less. Both faith communities are more likely to give to health organizations than the average Canadian, though the donors give less money per year than average. Both Baptists and Pentecostals are more inclined than Canadians to donate food and clothing, and while Baptists are less likely to give to the homeless, and Pentecostals are more likely.

To summarize, the data certainly support the view that Pentecostals and Baptists have much stronger religious commitments than average, but present a mixed picture with regard to secular involvements: in many important respects, these faiths are more involved than average in the community, while in other respects they are less involved. One final observation is that while these two faith communities resemble each other in a number respects, there also are noteable differences in terms of secular involvements.