This paper examines the concept of moral community within a rural context. The theory of moral community is discussed in relation to research in the social justice and community psychology literatures, and is related to participation in voluntary community organizations. A total of 388 women, located across six rural shires in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia, participated in the study. Results suggest that individuals participating within different community organizations or groups differ in their intensity of moral community feelings, and that sporting groups have much lower feelings of moral community than most other community organizations. The results of the study are then discussed in relation to the literature on group structure and climate. The layperson's perception of community life in rural towns is rarely negative. Individuals perceive rural communities as able to provide a supportive social milieu unavailable in the "big city." As Rowles (1990) outlines, "it is a setting where one is known and knows others, where friendliness is the norm and where relationships are interpersonal and egalitarian rather than instrumental and hierarchical" (p. 106).
Social intimacy and feelings of cohesion, therefore, are the key features of the sense of neighborliness often associated with life in small rural towns. Rural and small town environments are perceived as places where social involvement can achieve a sense of identity and belonging that is more difficult to obtain in highly populated urban settings, and where mutual concern and caring among residents is paramount.
However, despite the positive aspects of rural living, community life in rural areas can be quite restrictive in terms of the exclusiveness of affiliations and sharing. Small communities, while characterized as being able to offer security, satisfaction of needs, stable social relationships and a context for meaningful affiliations, also possess mechanisms that exclude, rule out, and reject (Rivlin, 1987). Sometimes formal, but most often informal, these mechanisms can make life difficult for those targeted.
Very little is still understood about the nature of these affiliations in different communities. However, some studies in this area have found that individual and group life histories, and the person/place relationships that have transpired, will contribute to an individual's life-style, both long-and short-term (Rivlin, 1982). An appreciation of diverse images of rural life and associated attachments may therefore be invaluable in understanding the stresses and tensions that pervade relationships between individuals and among different social groups (Rowles, 1990).