Does being religious make you more generous?

I give to charity, largely aid to things like disaster relief, community development abroad.

We are a rich country with a benign climate (usually) Good agriculture and still some natural resources. No long droughts, or life threatening floods .
I feel I am lucky others are not.

I don't see it as a religious duty I just feel I want to share my good fortune in that I do have enough to live on, adequate housing, an education, health care etc.
I am fortunate enough to have enough money left over at the end of the month to be able to help the lives of those without our advantages.

Is that just plain compassion to others in difficulties? I don't know. I don't see it as gaining "Brownie points" in heaven.

Accept that christmas isn't a christian festival. Christians can and do celebrate it in a religious way, but non-christians celebrate it in a non-christian way. Wanting non-religious people to accept* religious beliefs/traditions/ways of looking at the world into their lives, is an attempt to impose those beliefs on them. Of course they resist, just as you resist their non-religious outlook.

*accepting that you hold beliefs that they don't hold is not the same as accepting your interpretations of ancient traditions such as christmas which, of course, existed under other names before christianity.

I have a DD who is non religious and is bringing her sons up the same. So far I have bought presents for them at Christmas and Easter but am now questioning doing so in future. I may instead donate to a charity and forward this information to them as a family at Christian festivals. Or do I just ignore the Christian festivals, as I do with other religions, and buy extra for birthdays instead? As a Christian I find it hard to buy for non believers when they so ardently put down my beliefs.

What does anyone think?

I remember many years ago my parents being asked to 'tithe' one tenth of their income to the church (C of E), instead of putting something in the collection plate each week. Because it was obvious who had 'tithed' and who had not and disapproving looks were given by certain members of the congregation to those who had not, my father refused to go any more. My parents could not afford to donate one tenth of their income and no-one should be expected to do so.

A small charity I do some work for asked for help with transportation costs from several larger charities, including Christian Aid. All refused any help whatsoever.

That saying: 'You don't need God to be good.' is true. I give whatever I can to causes I believe in. I used to go to church, but it eventually all seemed pointless, as I realised I'd been regarding all the sacred beliefs as simply myths for such a long time.

But I never changed my attitude to other people, and to giving to charity. I'm still the same person who once went to church. So I reckon religion or no religion makes little difference in these matters.

Mind you, I've never met an atheist I didn't like.

I think people are generous or not generous, be they religious or not. Also being generous is not just about money. It is often harder to give your time.

Well yes GrannyTwice, that is what I was trying to say. We used to have to pay tithes to the church here too until the late 1700s or so. I think quite a few Mormons who are suffering from the current economy are starting to refuse to pay their tithes. It isn't going down too well.

Eleothan - that's right, that's what we do. And we use cheques from a company which records our annual donations and sends them to HMRC and claims back any tax paid.
It all sounds very materialistic, but we were taught, and I believe it's true, that generosity is a trait which can be learned by giving small amounts on a regular basis. Even if you're mean by nature .

Churches register with the Charities Commission - so if you give to your local church, it is charitable giving!!!

www.secularism.org.uk/blog/2014/06/bbc-poll-shows-that-religious-people-give-more-to-charity-than-non-religious-maybe

Another interpretation.....

Religion itself is a charity, isn't it. Churches are supported by their followers until they have enough money to invest in property and businesses. There are quite a few religions that live off that 10%.

I believe that followers of the Jewish religion are expected to "tithe" something like ten per cent of their income to charity and I think this applies to some other religions. This does seem to "skew" the issue slightly as if something is done because it is expected and because not to do so reflects a lack of commitment to one's religion, it's not quite the same as being generous, though worthy nonetheless.

Whoever receives the charity does not care whether the donor is religious or not. Usually they just want to eat or have clean water.

The charities I give to are not "pre-approved" by the church I attend. They are charities which I have chosen to give to.

The church I go to does actively support certain charities, but that support is with "no strings attached", one charity supported is a counselling service and another is a homeless charity both of which are strictly non religious.

We give to religious and non religious organisations, and I must admit that when giving to something to do with health I see it as a bit like an insurance policy.
As Mamie says, in France there don't seem to be as many charities as the UK. We had a surplus of eggs for several months and I offered them to a charity to feed the poor, but they couldn't accept them .
Another point - I think donating your time to help people that need it is an alternative if you're short of cash.

Sorry, janerowena, it's just that I'm a bit sceptical about some Big Issue sellers. I've heard that some only do it so they can class themselves as self-employed and claim certain benefits.

We have one or two in the town where I work and they're more likely to be found in the local pubs at the end of the day rather than saving to buy their own business! I agree that the principle is a good one, though.

Giving money to charity is not necessarily a good measure of generosity. It is a measure of sorts, but not necessarily a good one, so I think the article is based on a dubious premise.

No, I agree. I have met some very mean church-goers in every sense of the word. On the other hand I have a religious friend who anonymously buys all sorts of rubbish and contributes to all sorts of things, thinking we don't realise it's her. She is definitely the most charitable person I know, but I think it's just her nature.

Sorry, janer, I was commenting on my own comment, not yours. Crossed posts.

Badly put.

Being religious makes a person more religious than someone who isn't religious, and that's all.

Yes, I did. The idea is to give them a job. They buy the paper for less money than they sell it for. I read an article about the founder, he said it was to get them to have a small business of their own, to have a reason to get up in the morning. So I suppose by buying it, a percentage of what I pay goes towards them being employed. The paper is quite good, too.

I think the only thing more that being religious makes a person, is more religious (than someone who isn't religious).

janerowena, you do realise that any money give to the Big Issue seller goes directly into his/her pocket, don't you? They buy the magazines and sell them on - their takings are their profits, not the charity's.

I'm amazed, I always did that when my children were younger but was told that nothing religious was allowed into the countries - maybe they cater for different areas of the world.

I do agree that the channeling of charitable giving via religious organisations is something that I find troublesome. A gift should be without strings and given from the heart and for purely altruistic reasons.

A friend of mine always tries me to get me to fill a shoe box with goodies for children in the third world at Christmas, and I used to do it, until I discovered that a bible is inserted into each box. I do think that this is wrong, especially when the parcels go to children in a country with its own different religious traditions.