Are church goers more charitable in terms of their time and money than atheists? An opinion essay in Macleans suggests that they are if one looks at the numbers.
"Last summer, Statistics Canada released a survey on Canadians and their charitable habits. While less than one in five attend church regularly, those who do are far more likely to give to charities, and are substantially more liberal in the size of their gifts to both religious and non-religious organizations. The average annual donation from a churchgoer is $1,038. For the rest of the population, $295.
With respect to volunteer effort, 66 per cent of churchgoers give their time to non-profit causes while only 43 per cent of non-attendees do likewise. And churchgoers put in twice as many hours volunteering."
The essay continues:
"Of more practical concern, if organized religion continues to fade from mainstream practice, how will society ever replace the massive contributions of time and money that believers currently provide?"
It seems that, "Spirituality and altruism share an obvious and welcome concern for humanity and its future. Do atheists?"
Of course, there are exceptions such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, two professed agnostics (doubtful or noncommittal), who are among the world's leading givers.
Tags: philanthropy, social justice, faith
