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, $295.
With respect to volunteer effort, two-thirds of churchgoers give their time to non-profit causes while only 43 per cent of non-attendees do likewise. And churchgoers put in twice as many hours volunteering.
All this munificence is in stark contrast to complaints from anti-religion authors such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Philip Pullman, all of whom have found themselves getting substantially more ink in the wake of the Catholic Church’s sex scandals. “I’m an atheist,†Hitchens once said. “I’m not just neutral about religion, I’m hostile to it. I think it is a positively bad idea, not just a false one.†Pullman has claimed religion is “the most wonderful excuse for behaving extremely badly.†Their argument: the world would be a better place without churches.
But if religion is simply a licence for bad behaviour, how does one explain the mammoth gap between the charitable acts of those who believe and those who do not? Of more practical concern, if organized religion continues to fade from mainstream practice, how will society ever replace the massive contributions of time and money that believers currently provide?
-
Recent Comments
- Susan on NC dad shoots laptop on YouTube, daughter is doing fine
- Trinity Broadcasting Network Accused of Diverting Million$ | Sola Dei Gloria on Trinity Broadcasting Network board accused of diverting millions of dollars
- John Payzant on NC dad shoots laptop on YouTube, daughter is doing fine
- Susan on NC dad shoots laptop on YouTube, daughter is doing fine
- Roger Armbruster on PBI alumnist, North Carolina minister threatens to sue PBI abuse survivors
About
“We Canadians live in a blind spot about our identity. We have very strong feelings about who we aren’t but only weak ones about who we are. We’re passionate about what we don’t want to become but oddly passive about MoreArchives
Blogroll
- 42
- Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion
- Bourque Newswatch
- Call Me Ishmael
- Canadian Liberal Party blogs
- Christian Nightmares
- connexions
- DashHouse.com
- David Hayward
- Dennis Gruending Pulpit and Poltics
- Dr. Dawg
- Dr. John Stackhouse
- Global Voices Online
- God's Politics
- GraceWorks
- Impolitical
- Jordon Cooper
- Mark Byron
- National Newswatch
- Of Course I Could be Wrong – The Mad Priest
- Religion Dispatches
- Religion News Blog
- Religious Right Alert
- slacktivist
- SoConblogs
- Spiritual Misfit
- Talk to Action
- The Amish Jihadist
- The Blogging Tories
- The Galloping Beaver
- The Revealer
- The Writing on the Wall
- Thinking Out Loud
- Those Emergency Blues
- Topix
- Trans/Missions
- Wanderings of a Post-Modern Pilgrim
-
-
-
For blog design, Wordpress themes or blog help, see cre8d design.
I think I know two or three people who will start whining on this one.
It’s not how much one gives, or who can out do the other. It’s about unity. When we work together, there is a common goal. Whatever we do or give, just do our best. Because, even the atheists can’t live in a world without hope.
Now who would that be Sean?
. . .”Spirituality and altruism share an obvious and welcome concern for humanity and its future. Do atheists?” . . . .
——-
That sentence from the article makes a drastic and dramatic assumption–that spirituality and
altruism are the exclusive domains of the faithful.
Even the most primitive of societies have their own understandings
of humanity–even if those societites have no known faith. It is
life experience that teaches and informs us, not just religion and
faith. I’ll not say any more because I don’t like getting preachy.
I much prefer people read and inwardly discern.
——
I notice the article is not signed. Moreover it comes from a magazine
that’s been in steady decline for the last several years.
Another assumption might be is that people stick to certain faith groups or charities when giving.
Or perhaps atheist’s giving is spontaneous, anonymous, non-receipted and therefore unacknowledged. Perhaps giving freely without expecting something in return is such an everyday norm for those who do not ascribe to any faith group, that we don’t actually keep a tally as to how much we’ve actually given.
The numerous non-faith charities and aid groups such as the Red Cross, and Amnesty International might be mentioned here. There is a long list of such organizations who work internationally.
Charming point that several European countries with the lowest accounting of believers also have some of the highest standards of living along with the lowest crime rates on earth. Canada and the USA with huge numbers of believers have some of the world’s highest crime rates and our standards of living pale in comparison.
The last sentence of this article is interesting: “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?”
Perhaps we will find, as the European example, that our standard of living will actually improve when the churches are less well attended.
Forgive me (as good Christians are oft to do), but perhaps less churches will mean less tax exempt properties to burden the taxpayer, less tithes and offerings wasted on the likes of Benny Hinn, and The Miracle Channel, along with less interference by Christians in the promotion of the sciences, education and government. Good people will continue to do good deeds regardless of whether they are Christians.
Perhaps Sean should have challenged atheists to do better, rather than insinuate that Christians are somehow superior because they appear to give more money to charity.
I believe this is called pride, and is listed as a sin God really hates.
@ AtheistByBirth
Please forgive me but I have to say, “AMEN brother”!
ABB,
You want a challenge to do better? How about a more accurate comment? However, I will congratulate you on the achievement of having at least one person wet himself with enthusiasm. And they say that atheists aren’t religious.
Regarding European countries and crime rate, they tend to be at the high end of the spectrum. Some are even worse than the USA, several are worse than Canada.
That’s your argument for less church attendance? C’mon, do better.
While you’re at it, take a look at adherance to religion and divorce rate statistics:
————————————
54%, non-frequent Evangelicals
51%, no religion (e.g., atheists & agnostics)
48%, ALL NON-CHRISTIANS
48%, non-frequent, other religions
47%, frequent Black Protestants
42%, non-frequent, mainline Protestants
41%, ALL CHRISTIANS
41%, non-frequent Catholics
39%, Jews
38%, frequent other religions
34%, frequent Evangelicals
32%, ALL FREQUENT CHRISTIANS
32%, frequent mainline Protestants
23%, frequent Catholics
————————————-
Care to cite your source for these stats Sean, and while your at it, what location were the samples taken from? (Surprising a PhD would cite stats without referencing the source.)
Anyway, wherever you got them from, your numbers hugely differ from the George Barna study done in the States.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
Read it. All of it.
@ Sean
No problem!
Less church attendance is related to better economic and social conditions – read and learn.
http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html
Just for curiosity – here is one which suggests strong belief in both God and the Devil, such as espoused by Evangelicals, is correlated with high homicide rates:
http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2006/2006-7.html
And just to stop those pesky wet enthusiastic issues, here’s a study which demonstrates prayer is pointless.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html?_r=2
@ Marina,
I’m sorry. You’re right about my laziness in citing the source.
Try:
http://www.edivorcepapers.com/divorce-statistics/christian-divorce-statistics.html
These stats are from the US only. Interesting that the no-religion group (agnostics and atheists) come in at 51%. Guess you can blame the agnostics.
Regarding pride, I don’t find these numbers anything to gloat over. God’s desire for divorce rate is 0%. The fact that they are still so high amongst his followers shows a significant lack of commitment.
Church is a state – We, the human being’ with our mind! (or lack of its discernment!) are what the church is today. We create. Therefore our creation/s are less than perfect just as we. To disown church is like disowning a member state ‘ male/female’. Church is going in some cases ‘all over the place’ in its desire for new life and truth’
Be careful where you seek ‘ The human mind has a huge capacity to deceive itself and others’. Some of the church is goiing to more and more bizarre variations of the themes of the biblical, while others are going to the JOY of its hymns for new life ie; pop and rock !!! The overall message is getting lost as a result.
The giver in church ie; the human being both gives and takes; Charity is somewhere in both but not enough to cover our overall lack of charity
@Sean
Can you provide a more relevant site that perhaps cites sources? The site you provided is quite amateur and without quoting a source for the stats, is completely lacking in any credibility.
I am also looking forward to your rebuttal of what was provided by AtheistByBirth.