Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new study concludes that active Mormons donate more time toward volunteerism than the average American.
The survey, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice, questioned 2,664 church-attending members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the U.S. The study's authors concluded that active Latter-day Saints "volunteer and donate significantly more than the average American and are even more generous in time and money than the upper quintile of religious people in America."
The study, titled "Called to Serve: The Prosocial Behavior of Active Latter-day Saints," shows that the average American volunteers about 48 hours per year to charitable causes. An active Latter-day Saint volunteers 427.9 hours annually.
The Mormon Newsroom points out much of the volunteerism is religious in nature, such as time spent teaching scripture classes or preparing the chapel for Sunday worship. Church members also dedicated 151.9 hours annually to serving in things like Boy Scouts of America or the Church's worldwide welfare and humanitarian aid programs.
Additionally, individual members provided 34 hours annually to other causes unrelated to the church.
The survey also showed 88.8 percent of respondents pay tithing, or 10 percent of their annual income to the church, and an average of $1,821 to other social and community causes.
The study's authors wrote, "Overall we found that (Latter-day Saints) are the most prosocial members of American society. Regardless of where they live, they are very generous with their time and money."
The Mormon Newsroom released an infographic showing contributions. It also quoted church President Thomas S. Monson as saying in a recent address, "To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves."
