Philanthropy and religion

[jimtron]

From an interesting NYT story on giving:

Interestingly, neither Gates nor Buffett seems motivated by the possibility of being rewarded in heaven for his good deeds on earth. Gates told a Time interviewer, “There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning” than going to church.Put them together with Andrew Carnegie, famous for his freethinking, and three of the four greatest American philanthropists have been atheists or agnostics. (The exception is John D. Rockefeller.) In a country in which 96 percent of the population say they believe in a supreme being, that’s a striking fact. It means that in one sense, Gates and Buffett are probably less self-interested in their charity than someone like Mother Teresa, who as a pious Roman Catholic believed in reward and punishment in the afterlife. (bold added)

 

[Godmode]

If you think about it, why would a xian be a philathropist?? AFter all good deeds can not get you into heaven. God works in mysterious ways. God has it's reasons. It's not really a very pleasant religion when you look into it.

 

[Halden]

Despite the good work done by these three Atheists/Agnostics, I believe that the Atheist/Agnostic falls behind the general religious public in Philanthropy. I think part of this is because many Charitable organizations are religiously affiliated and therefore even godless money gets funnelled through the hands of believers.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Despite the good work done by these three Atheists/Agnostics, I believe that the Atheist/Agnostic falls behind the general religious public in Philanthropy. I think part of this is because many Charitable organizations are religiously affiliated and therefore even godless money gets funnelled through the hands of believers.

I believe that it true, that a theist and an atheist of the same income the theist is more likely to give more to charitable organizations. Of course if you exclude churches(why isn't the others club counted as charitable anyway) I am not sure if that effects it much.