In every case, at the head of any new undertaking, where in France you would find the government or in England some territorial magnate, in the United States you are sure to find an association. Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America , ed. J.P. Mayer, trans. Now there is reason for concern. This Harvard professor of political science argues that United States civilization is in danger because Americans have stopped joining groups.
Religious groups make up the most common type of voluntary association in America.
The United States has more houses of worship per capita than any other nation on Earth. Yet the decrease in interest in voluntary groups has also affected organized religion. Although there have been ups and downs in attendance, the general pattern is down. When we participate in a bowling league, or in a church or another local association, we interact with the same people week after week. In church and in other voluntary groups we learn the personal virtues and skills that are the prerequisites for democratic government.