Religion is the overwhelmingly dominant factor in predicting generosity

Some stats from the book Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks:

1. Religion is the overwhelmingly dominant factor in predicting generosity —religious liberals and religious conservatives are identical.
   1. “Religious” is defined by Brooks as individuals who attend worship service at least once a week (30% of the population) and;
   2. “Secular” is defined by Brooks as people either don’t believe in a deity, or attend a place of worship one or less times per year.
2. Religious people are 25% more likely to donate money than secular people
3. Religious people are 23% more likely to volunteer, and even within the population of people who volunteer, religious people devote twice as much time.
4. Conservative people give more money. Possibly a correlation as religious people are conservative.
5. Political Affiliation (e.g. Democrat vs Republican) itself isn’t the predictor.

I believe it is worth pointing out that the definitions of “Religious” and “Secular” are polarized on opposite ends of the spectrum. There are many who perhaps attend a religious service once a month who would not fit either category as defined by Brooks.

All data from Who Really Cares – Compassionate Conservatism on Amazon.