Rate My Professor Young-IL Kim

Young-IL Kim, PhD, serves as Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social Work at George Fox University’s College of Social Work. He joined the university in 2017 as an assistant professor of sociology and advanced to associate professor with tenure in 2023. Previously, Kim was a postdoctoral fellow (2011–2014) and research assistant professor (2014–2017) at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, where he remains a non-resident scholar. He earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of Virginia in 2010, MA in Sociology from Yonsei University in 2001, and BA in Sociology and Business Administration from the same institution in 1999.

Kim’s research interests encompass the sociology of family and religion, volunteering, social trust, and applied sociology. He examines the roles of family structures and voluntary associations in promoting or inhibiting generosity and social solidarity. Recent projects include studies on social trust and volunteering across 22 countries using data from the Global Flourishing Study, a collaboration with Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion. Kim has received significant funding, including $100,000 as principal investigator from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014–2016) for a randomized controlled trial of the TYRO Dads fatherhood program, and George Fox University Faculty Development Research Grants of $3,000 each in 2018, 2019, and 2021. His peer-reviewed publications appear in prestigious journals such as Scientific Reports, Family Relations, Religions, Social Science Research, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Notable works include “Childhood Predictors of Perceptions of Social Trust across 22 Countries in the Global Flourishing Study” (Scientific Reports, 2025), “A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effectiveness of the TYRO Dads Program” (Family Relations, 2023), “Religious Heterogamy, Marital Quality, and Paternal Engagement” (Religions, 2019), and “Bonding Alone: Familism, Religion, and Secular Civic Participation” (Social Science Research, 2013). His research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, and Psychology Today, highlighting his influence in the fields of civic engagement, family dynamics, and religion.