Christian faith motivates teens to volunteer
A report by Evangelical Alliance has found that young people are more likely to be volunteers if they are active Christians.
The report surveyed over 700 14-18 year olds for their study called 'Young People Matter.' It found that almost 40% of the voluntary work carried out by young people takes place through churches or religious organisations. Even 10% of those who declared themselves non-religious still volunteer through a religious organisation.
Contrary to the bad press that teens often receive, EA reported that 45% of young people volunteer once a month and 80% regularly donate money to charity. Furthermore, teenagers are contributing a staggering £300m each year to the economy.
Prince Charles, author of the forward to the report writes:
"What is striking, as the report highlights, is the way in which personal faith and religious organisations encourage young people to volunteer."
Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said:
"These results demonstrate what I have seen and known for years; that young people, contrary to the stereotypes, make a massive positive difference in our communities.
Far too often they are branded as hoodies or gang members when the real statistics tell a very different story."
Click here to download a PDF of the full report.