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Daily Spiritual Experiences and Prosocial Behavior

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  • Christopher Einolf

Abstract

This paper examines how the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) relates to range of prosocial behaviors, using a large, nationally representative U.S. data set. It finds that daily spiritual experiences are a statistically and substantively significant predictor of volunteering, charitable giving, and helping individuals one knows personally. Daily spiritual experiences better predict helping to distant others than to friends and family, indicating that they may motivate helping by fostering an extensive definition of one’s moral community. The relationship between the DSES and helping is not moderated by sympathy and is robust to the inclusion of most religiosity measures. However, the relationship becomes non-significant for most helping behaviors when measures of meditation, prayer, and mindfulness are included in a regression equation. The DSES is particularly effective in predicting helping behaviors among people who do not belong to a religious congregation, indicating that it may measure spiritual motivations for helping among people who are not conventionally religious. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Einolf, 2013. "Daily Spiritual Experiences and Prosocial Behavior," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 71-87, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:110:y:2013:i:1:p:71-87
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-011-9917-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. S. Mahendra Dev, 2008. "India," Chapters, in: Anis Chowdhury & Wahiduddin Mahmud (ed.), Handbook on the South Asian Economies, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Rick Sawatzky & Pamela Ratner & Lyren Chiu, 2005. "A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Spirituality and Quality of Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 153-188, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Shibly Shahrier & Koji Kotani & Makoto Kakinaka, 2017. "Religiosity may not be a panacea: Importance of prosociality to maintain humanitarian donations," Working Papers SDES-2017-23, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Nov 2017.
    2. Lindsey McDougle & Femida Handy & Sara Konrath & Marlene Walk, 2014. "Health Outcomes and Volunteering: The Moderating Role of Religiosity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 337-351, June.
    3. Lilian Otaye-Ebede & Samah Shaffakat & Scott Foster, 2020. "A Multilevel Model Examining the Relationships Between Workplace Spirituality, Ethical Climate and Outcomes: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 611-626, October.
    4. Paul Froese & Rory Jones, 2021. "The Sociology of Prayer: Dimensions and Mechanisms," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.

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