The investigation at hand puts a sociological civility concept on the landscape of third sector and civil society research to address a crucial question. In its most simplified wording: does voluntary engagement actually indicate civil attitudes? In theoretical terms the attitudinal dimension of civility is grasped as a belief in the possibility of a common good. Empirically, a broad set of survey questions related to law and rights, tolerance, helping and respecting others, and questions on how decisions should be taken, are analyzed. The author has found – across France, Germany and the United States – that the response pattern towards these questions is better explained by educational effects than by the question whether or not someone is engaged in voluntary associations. This study suggests that civil society should be researched not only as a residual category – a third sector consisting of associations which are neither state nor market – but also as a specific cultural project which has a measurable value related dimension.
