Understanding the New Age of Helping Others: A Contemporary Perspective and Future Outlook

The U.S. social welfare landscape has shifted dramatically amid rising economic, political, and social instability, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These disruptions raise important questions about how individuals contribute to societal welfare through personal, professional, and civic action. Religion, professional identity, and political ideology intersect in complex ways to shape generosity, innovation, and social care. This three-paper dissertation investigates how religiosity and political ideology influence generosity, and how social workers engage in social entrepreneurship to meet societal needs. Paper 1 uses nationally representative survey data and logistic regression to examine volunteering and donating behaviors among religious and non-religious individuals before and during the pandemic, accounting for in-group generosity. Paper 2 analyzes nationally representative data with regression models to explore how religiosity, political ideology, and their interaction influence volunteering and donating behavior across the pandemic periods. Paper 3 draws from a national source of U.S. social workers to assess how personality traits, training, and organizational support relate to engagement in social entrepreneurship, using logistic and bivariate analyses. Religious individuals were less likely to stop volunteering and more likely to sustain generosity during the pandemic, underscoring the enduring role of public religiosity. Non-religious individuals were more likely to start volunteering, but overall, generosity levels changed little despite the crisis. Religiosity consistently predicted greater generosity, while political ideology only modestly influenced donation patterns. Their interaction was largely insignificant, suggesting generosity among the religious transcends ideological divides. Social workers engaged in social entrepreneurship reported higher risk-taking and prior training metrics, suggesting these are key facilitators of innovation in their work. Religiosity, professional training, and risk tolerance play significant roles in fostering generosity and innovation in social welfare. These findings highlight opportunities for faith-based organizations, social work education, and policymakers to promote prosocial behaviors and social innovation through education, professional development, and inclusive public policy. Doing so can help build more resilient and sustainable systems of care, especially critical amid ongoing societal challenges.