The Myth of Church-Goer Charity

That churchgoers do the lion’s share of the charitable work in our communities is simply untrue. They get credit for it because they do a better job of tying the good works they do to their creed. But according to a 1998 study, 82 percent of volunteerism by churchgoers falls under the rubric of “church maintenance” activities—volunteerism entirely within, and for the benefit of, the church building and immediate church community. As a result of this siphoning of volunteer energy into the care and feeding of churches themselves, most of the volunteering that happens out in the larger community—from AIDS hospices to food shelves to international aid workers to those feeding the hungry and housing the homeless and caring for the elderly—comes from the category of “unchurched” volunteers. The same pattern is apparent on the international stage. The Center for Global Development (CGD) reports that the developed countries that rank highest in terms of generosity to poor countries are those in which church attendance is lowest. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands consistently top the list, all of which have regular church attendance below 15 percent. The idea of a religious monopoly on charity and community service is clearly a myth.

Notes:

Most of their charity is within their own congregation.

Folksonomies: religion charity

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Charitable organization (0.783209): dbpedia | freebase | yago
Giving (0.781858): dbpedia
Community (0.780055): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Volunteer (0.719670): dbpedia

 Seven Secular Virtues: Humility, Empathy, Courage, Honesty, Openness, Generosity, and Gratitude
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book Chapter:  McGowan, Ph.D., Dale (2007), Seven Secular Virtues: Humility, Empathy, Courage, Honesty, Openness, Generosity, and Gratitude, Retrieved on 2012-03-28
Folksonomies: atheism humanism