re: #149 Jeff In Ohio

the liberal perspective

Thanks for that. From the link:

A recent survey from Google similarly found that self-identified conservatives gave more to charity than did self-identified liberals. But they also found that “if donations to all religious organizations are excluded, liberals give slightly more to charity than conservatives do.” Indeed, religious congregations are far and away the largest recipients of charitable gifts: In 2006, they made up 32.8 percent of all giving. But is that charity, at least charity as Kristof and Brooks are defining it? For instance: Utah is among the most Republican states in the nation, largely because of its heavily conservative Mormon population. Mormons tithe 10 percent a week to their church. But is that charitable giving? Or is it a membership fee? How much of it goes to anti-poverty programming? How much to church administration?

The idea that church giving is just payment for listening to airy nothings implies a societal blind spot of enormous proportions. Put it this way: The next time I see the Bertrand Russell Society doing disaster relief, or the American Atheists helping refugees, will be the first time.