Are good citizens religious? Exploring the link between organizational citizenship behaviours and religious beliefs

Several influential studies have found religion to be an important determinant of human behavior and organizational behaviors. Research(e.g. Ntalianis & Raja 2002) along this line has suggested a direct association between religious affiliations and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Yet, no study has tested this relationship directly. This study was designed to empirically examine this relationship. It thus investigated the possible influence of religious beliefs on citizenship behaviours. Ghanaian industrial workers affiliated with three main religious groups, Christianity, Islam, and Traditional African Religion, were asked to rate their participation in organizational citizenship activities, and their responses were compared. Ttest, ANOVA and MANOVA were employed in the analyses. Mean scores for all three groups were rather high, indicating active participation by all three religious groups. Preliminary analyses showed Christian workers to have relatively active participation in OCBs. Further analyses, however, ascribed this difference to the effect of higher education and the concomitant socioeconomic factors prevalent among the workers affiliated with Christianity. The general observation was that religious beliefs tend to influence workers to act in accordance with the ethical teachings of their religions