Does being religious make you more generous?

Fascinating link about US charities that will not accept donations from atheists!

Music is all-encompassing too in all its variations, is what I meant. So there you have it: non-religious moral philosophy and music are all we need to make us generous.

and then there is music. See ffinn's "Stand by me" link.

DH volunteers for a large national charity and we also donate to others on a regular basis. I try to do my bit for a very small charity. However, I still feel an element of guilt if I see someone collecting in the street and I usually donate a small sum. Some posters have mentioned charity collectors approaching people in the street - I thought they were not allowed to do that, nor even to 'jingle' their tin (sorry, jingl!). They have to stand and hope that you will approach them and donate. Catching your eye with a smile is usually a good tactic on their part, I find.

Not sure about door to door envelopes, I have done it in the past (I was phoned by a charity I had no links with and asked if I would do it and got caught on the hop). The thing is, you are usually asked to do your own area so people know you and don't like to say no, so a bit of moral blackmail there even if it is unintentional on the part of the collector.

No, I don't object to that, but non-religious moral philosophy does the same thing and is all encompassing, whereas religon isn't.

There are lots of good people about, thank goodness, whatever their beliefs. I would just suggest that the main world religions invite us to improve - ourselves, our community, our world, to be compassionate and to respect the humanity of others. You can't object to that, surely?

vegas, prejudice like that does make one want to be more circumspect with one's donations (of money or time or effort), doesn't it?

Why, lily? Why would being better at being religious make people better, on average, than not being religious?

My argument is that although any particular religious person (of whatever religious faith) might make someone a better person in one or more ways than any particular non-religious person, the reverse also applies equally, and therefore, on average, over a large enough random sample, there will be no evidence to suggest that being religious makes people better, on average, than non-religious people, and vice versa.

I'm not saying here that not being religious is an advantage either in making people good or not good. I'm saying it doesn't make a scrap of difference because goodness comes from all parts of life, not just religious parts.

Whoops! www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10885180/Religion-makes-people-more-generous.html

thatbags here's the link again - it does seem to be working. It wasn't a piece of serious in depth research, it was done for the BBC and did include people who don't profess a faith. Of course, I can't agree with your statement about religion. I would just suggest that being better at religion also implies being better at a number of things.

Apparently bags, according to the Washington Post, not everyone wants contributions from atheists even when they try to make them!

www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/in-season-of-giving-atheist-groups-charity-rebuffed/2013/12/19/45ddbef6-68f2-11e3-997b-9213b17dac97_story.html

For my part, I'm going to be a bit more careful who I give to in the future. I haven't always investigated as thoroughly as I should have what happens to my contributions.

I wasn't going to say the next bit, but I will. If they weren't mentioned, then the article is bullshit. It's bullshit anyway. Religion does not make people better at anything except being religious and anyone who believes otherwise is deluded.

IMO

Which is not the same thing as saying all religion and all effects of religion are bad. That is not what I have said.

Just clicked on the OP link and got an error message instead of an article. Hey ho. I was just wondering where agnostics and atheists came in the generosity pecking order. Perhaps they were not mentioned.

The article I posted the link to in the OP referred to research carried out with people of a number of faiths. That's what I was asking Gransnetters about. I wasn't trying to propagandise on behalf of one religion. Christian Aid is called Christian Aid because it was started by Christians. Oxfam was started in Oxford but it doesn't only work with people from Oxford. Christian Aid works all over the world with people of any or no faith. It is not an evangelising organisation. There are charities whose main purpose is religious or missionary and usually their publicity makes it clear. There are charities whose main purpose is to help other charities, as well.

lilygran let me say I'm not trying to be difficult here, but I've gathered that you are a Christian from some of your earlier posts. Am I right in this assumption? So many charities seem to have a religious basis eg Christian aid. Does this mean they target Christians in the aid they offer? I give to various charities, not chosen for a religious bias, but more to do with my personal interests. Having said that, I have sponsored a girl in Tanzania for the last 6 years through World Vision, because I like the way they use contributions, even though I am not a Christian, although I am aware that the girl I sponsor and her family are. What I am really wondering about is how inclusive are religious charities or do they favour those of their own religious persuasion? Honestly not having a go at anyone, but just wondering.

I really can't see where that came from, vegas!

I did read it ana and I am not making assumptions - this is why I phrased my observation as a question. However, from my knowledge of the OP's posting history, I thought it was a fair enough question to ask.

Perhaps you should have read the link in the OP before making that assumption, vegasmags.

"Sikhs and Jews emerged as the most likely to share their worldly goods with a good cause, just ahead of Christians, Hindus and Muslims."

(a quote)

I don't believe for a moment that being religious makes you more generous, and I suspect that the OP referred to the Christian religion - am I right in this?

Personally, I give to charities that I can relate to - MSF because a friend of my daughter's worked for them and I know the work they do - Guide dogs for the blind because I taught a blind student and so on.

Anyone who comes knocking at my door with a begging bowl gets short shrift, I'm afraid.

PS They already had the goods they wished to send to the refugee camps, the small charity just asked for a minimal sum towards the transportation costs (and Christian Aid were probably sending in transport as well, but could not find the money or the room to help).

Rubylady a lot of charities make it a rule not to support other charities. There are charities that do, and there are some who mainly support other, smaller charities. The fact that Christian Aid didn't agree to support your charity doesn't mean they are uncharitable.

I think it was me who said that, Lilygran, not Rubylady. I wasn't saying that Christian Aid were not uncharitable, and I would not have supported them in their Syrian Appeal if I thought they were. It was just that the small charity I support asked for their help in supplying much-needed goods to the refugee camps and they were refused. I do think that Christian Aid might have found the small sum needed, as both charities were aiming for the same thing, ie the alleviation of cold, lack of medicine and lack of school equipment for the children in the refugee camps. Is it Christian to work together towards helping people in need? I would have thought so.

DOES BEING RELIGEOUS MAKE YOU MORE GENEROUS.

No it doesn't. Neither in generosity of spirit, giving or being considerate of other peoples feelings.

There is good and bad in everybody and only an egotistical narcissist 'knows' he/she is better, more generous than anybody else.

Generosity comes in many forms. There are people who do good deeds because they are perhaps a 'nicer' person than some but being religious is not requisite for being a doer/helper/fund raiser/carer etc.

If you confront people on their own doorstep, in my experience, a lot of them give you an earful! Point I'm making. But perhaps I have a high threshold for people on the doorstep. I shouldn't have raised the subject, DH has just given a fistful of cash to a man who occasionally calls round and offers to do odd jobs. This time he had a story to tell.....

I hope that post does not send any muggers round to push open my door and grab the coins stashed near it. For any potential muggers - I live in a flat in Lower Slaughter and my front door is the blue one with three locks, a chain and a CCTV camera.

Don't come looking for me anywhere else.

I keep a few pound coins handy near the front door, so that I don't have to go indoors for my purse, then find it is a choice between a twentypound note or thirty two pence and a shirt button.