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| | {{cquote|The differences in charity between secular and religious people are dramatic. Religious people are 25 percentage points more likely than secularists to donate money (91 percent to 66 percent) and 23 points more likely to volunteer time (67 percent to 44 percent). And, consistent with the findings of other writers, these data show that practicing a religion is more important than the actual religion itself in predicting charitable behavior. For example, among those who attend worship services regularly, 92 percent of Protestants give charitably, compared with 91 percent of Catholics, 91 percent of Jews, and 89 percent from other religions.<ref>Brooks, Arthur C., [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/Religious faith and charitable giving] ''Policy Review'', Oct-Dec 2003, p.2.</ref>}} | | {{cquote|The differences in charity between secular and religious people are dramatic. Religious people are 25 percentage points more likely than secularists to donate money (91 percent to 66 percent) and 23 points more likely to volunteer time (67 percent to 44 percent). And, consistent with the findings of other writers, these data show that practicing a religion is more important than the actual religion itself in predicting charitable behavior. For example, among those who attend worship services regularly, 92 percent of Protestants give charitably, compared with 91 percent of Catholics, 91 percent of Jews, and 89 percent from other religions.<ref>Brooks, Arthur C., [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/Religious faith and charitable giving] ''Policy Review'', Oct-Dec 2003, p.2.</ref>}} |
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| − | ABC News reported the following: | + | ABC News reported: |
| | {{cquote|...the single biggest predictor of whether someone will be charitable is their religious participation. | | {{cquote|...the single biggest predictor of whether someone will be charitable is their religious participation. |
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| | "Actually, the truth is that they're giving to more than their churches," he says. "The religious Americans are more likely to give to every kind of cause and charity, including explicitly non-religious charities."<ref>Stossel, John and Kendall, Kristina [http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2 Who Gives and Who Doesn't?] ABC News, November 28, 2006</ref>}} | | "Actually, the truth is that they're giving to more than their churches," he says. "The religious Americans are more likely to give to every kind of cause and charity, including explicitly non-religious charities."<ref>Stossel, John and Kendall, Kristina [http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2 Who Gives and Who Doesn't?] ABC News, November 28, 2006</ref>}} |
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| | + | A comprehensive study by [[Harvard University]] professor Robert Putnam found that religious people are more charitable than their irreligious counterparts.<ref>[http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx Religious people make better citizens, study says] by Pew Research Forum, May 13, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm Religious people are 'better neighbors'] by ''USA Today'', 11/14/2010</ref> The study revealed that forty percent of worship service attending Americans volunteer regularly to help the poor and elderly as opposed to 15% of Americans who never attend services.<ref>[http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx Religious people make better citizens, study says] by Pew Research Forum, May 13, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm Religious people are 'better neighbors'] by ''USA Today'', 11/14/2010</ref> Moreover, religious individuals are more likely than non-religious individuals to volunteer for school and youth programs (36% vs. 15%), a neighborhood or civic group (26% vs. 13%), and for health care (21% vs. 13%).<ref>[http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx Religious people make better citizens, study says] by Pew Research Forum, May 13, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm Religious people are 'better neighbors'] by ''USA Today'', 11/14/2010</ref> |
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| | Given that atheistic [[evolution|evolutionary]] thinking has engendered [[social darwinism]] and given that [[Atheism and morality|the proponents of atheism have no rational basis for morality in their ideology]], the immoral views that atheists often hold and the low per capita giving of American atheists is not surprising. | | Given that atheistic [[evolution|evolutionary]] thinking has engendered [[social darwinism]] and given that [[Atheism and morality|the proponents of atheism have no rational basis for morality in their ideology]], the immoral views that atheists often hold and the low per capita giving of American atheists is not surprising. |