"Church-going volunteers are part of society's "powerful, invisible safety net," according to research published in the Australian Journal on Volunteering.
The National Church Life Survey has analysed data from 1991 to 2006, and has found that church attendees are more likely to be volunteers than the general community.
NCLS Research director Dr Ruth Powell said, "This is because of widely-known Christian messages about helping others in need, because church attenders are reminded of those messages and because most churches provide structured opportunities for volunteering, such as congregation-based activities in welfare and social justice. In fact, the middle-aged well-educated female churchgoer is very likely to be one of Australia's many volunteer heroes."
Furthermore, volunteering in a church congregation does not take the place of community volunteering, the research found, with church-goers contributing not only to their own groups, but also to communities generally.
Dr Powell said the significant contribution of church-goers to Australia's volunteer workforce meant church leaders should pay close attention to references to volunteering in the Productivity Commission's February 2010 report on the not-for-profit sector.
"The implications of the Productivity Commission's comments about recruiting, managing, training and retaining volunteers will be important for those who depend on volunteers within churches and those who rely on volunteers for mission in the wider community," she said.
Information about the voluntary activities of church attenders across Australia was collected as part of NCLS Research's National Church Life Surveys in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006. An analysis of that data was published in 2009 in the Australian Journal on Volunteering. Authors were Associate Professor Rosemary Leonard from Social Justice and Social Change Research, Associate Professor Richard Ollerton, School of Computing and Mathematics from the University of Western Sydney and Dr John Bellamy on behalf of NCLS Research.