Poll: Gen Y looks outside selves

WASHINGTON, April 11 (UPI) -- A large minority of Generation Y members volunteer despite the age bracket's generalization as staunch individualists, a poll released Monday indicated.

Generation Y is composed of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 who are the children of Baby Boomers.

Members of the generation are known for a focus on individualism, but a poll released Monday by Reboot, a national network of young professional Jews, found a large percentage of respondents said they volunteered in religious or other areas.

Participation rates increased among 18- to 25-year-olds who described themselves as religious, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim. The findings held true among all tested racial groups, including Muslims, Jews, Asians, African-American or Hispanic.

Nearly four of five of the most religious respondents participated in volunteer activities, vs. half that percentage among the least religious.

The study also found, however, most respondents fell under the "unsure" category regarding their religiosity.

The poll was conducted for Reboot by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. The findings were based on nationwide telephone surveys conducted Aug. 7-Nov. 18 with 1,385 Americans ages 18-25. There was no reported error margin.