Turning Away From Community Organizations

We used to be more involved in our communities. In the 1990s, most Americans attended some form of religious service, and large numbers got involved in community-based clubs like Rotary and enrolled their kids in team-building programs like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. But over the course of the past thirty years, something’s changed. Now fewer than half of Americans go to a church, temple, or mosque, and many of us no longer talk to our neighbors. Our commitment to our communities has lagged, and the number of Rotary members and kids enrolled in scouting programs dwindles every year.

It’s likely that some of the engagement we once found in these forums has moved online. But Facebook is no substitute for face-to-face conversations or the deep connections we form working alongside others for the betterment of the community. Studies of our interactions show that real-world interactions with others increase empathy and tolerance generally. Researchers in the U.K. found that residential segregation led to decreased tolerance of minority residents, while residential integration led to improved relationships between groups. The inevitable question is: What degree of tolerance will we lose when we stop engaging with and integrating into our communities?

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Decline in Community-Based Activities in the U.S.

Sources: Analysis of data from Gallup, Senate.gov, U.S. Census via AllCountries, AP News, Baraboo News Republic, and Word on the Street.