Home and away: volunteering among ultra-Orthodox men in Israel

Abstract

PurposeReligious minority groups often enjoy strong support systems and high levels of trust, providing for volunteering within the community, but under what conditions are members of these groups likely to volunteer outside their community? Or, would they prefer the security, intimacy and commitment to their own communities. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachTo answer this question, the authors examine the motivations of ultra-Orthodox young men who volunteered for National Civil Service in Israel, and compare the choices of volunteer frameworks: separatist-religious volunteering within the community compared to volunteering in secular institutions outside the community.FindingsThe authors associate the interest and motivations with different types of social capital, “bonding” and “bridging.”Research limitations/implicationsResearch based on one case study.Practical implicationsGuidelines for encouraging volunteering among closed groups.Social implicationsUnderstanding of motivations and concerns among religious groups.Originality/valueAn original study of a relatively new phenomenon.