Religious People Are More Generous and Voluteer More

Are religious people more involved in their communities and more generous than their non-religious neighbors? Every year when I read philanthropy reports I have asked myself that question. By using IRS data there have been reports for decades indicating that religious people have higher charitable deductions (about three times higher) than those who do not attend a house of worship There have been similar surveys regarding volunteer activity. For years I have wondered if giving and volunteer activity directly related to the person’s house of worship was subtracted if religious people are more engaged in philanthropic giving and volunteering?

Faith Matters has helped to us to understand the nature of difference. Their work shows that when direct religious activity is taken into account, religious people are more generous and more engaged in volunteer activities than their secular counterparts. Except for arts and cultural groups, religious people give at a higher rate and volunteer more hours even to secular organizations than their non-religious neighbors. What is clear that the difference is evidenced most clearly with services to the poor and elderly.

Eighty percent of Americans claim that they have contributed to a nonprofit in the prior year. When religion is take into account 94% of those who claim to be religious make such contributions compared to 70% of secular citizens.

What is not defined in the studies is whether faith itself creates the difference or if it is in some way tied to a collective cultural expectation and a vehicle for providing information and linking members with opportunities. While data indicates that those who attend a service almost every week are more generous than the occasional attendee, care must be given to view it as evidence that belief in Jesus Christ is what creates the difference. Care must be taken as those who attend a church service only two or three times a year, those who are not normally viewed as being committed believers, are more philanthropic and engaged in volunteering than their secular neighbors and are not that far behind their highly religious friends. Additionally those who are part of non-Christian faith communities also show a higher level of generosity and volunteering. Hence, one may tentatively conclude that there is a sociological dynamic within faith-based communities, not faith itself, are helping to create the differences.

While data from similar indicates that religious people are more generous and volunteer at a greater rate than non-religious people, the same data also indicates that non-religious people are significantly more tolerant on a host of civic issues from religious diversity to social issues to education than their religious neighbors. For the most part, the difference in this area is not surprising.