Comments on: Charity Myths

By: Jon d

Jon d — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:46:10 +0000

But if don’t like anglicans you could always donate to NSPCC (congregationalist), Barnado’s (evangelical), NCH (methodist). You could buy some traid craft coffee (evangelical) or give your auntie a world-vision goat for xmas (more evangelicals)

By: Jon d

Jon d — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:34:10 +0000

How do you know the tin shakers are secular? The charities in question were founded and built by religious people. Oxfam by quakers, Amnesty by a Catholic and save the child(ren?) By a bone fide anglican saint. Sensibly they all act in a non sectarian way

By: Oniad

Oniad — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:06:30 +0000

“They also do great work in Africa for AIDS patients.”

-JP shouldn’t they be doing this great work in light of the fact that their ban on condom use has contributed to the problem?

I would suggest thats not charity but rather compensation.

By: Monty

Monty — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:05:27 +0000

Surely the survey was done the wrong way round.

They should have contacted a cross section of voluntary societies, and asked them to pass on questionaires to their local supporters. The charities know who we are. Then all the questionaires need to ask about is religious observance.

By: G

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:40:52 +0000

Furthermore, I wouldn’t count many of the activities that get one listed on the Citizenship survey as remotely beneficial and many are actually harmful.

I’m confident this because I know doezens of people who got “millenium volunteer” awards for hanging around Fair Trade/Environment/Amnesty Int societies, The Youth Parliament or some other piece of horsecrap. One even got an all expenses paid trip to Brussels to learn about how the EU works, for which he was creidted for 30 hours of volunteering.
Anyway, all genuine charity is anonymous.

By: G

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:33:44 +0000

The data is irrelevant to your case because no-one is claiming people with an Anglican or any other religious “affiliation” are more likely to do volunteer work. The claim is that churchgoers are and if you want to disprove this I suggest finding another stat.

By: John.P.

John.P. — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:35:07 +0000

I’m fed up of the religous claiming that their supposed excess of charity makes them superior. Now I have more ammo to metaphorically shoot them down.

Shoot me down Morgoth! I’m the Red Baron!

By: John.P.

John.P. — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:34:00 +0000

The catholic church is often praised for it’s history of charity, but that after they have sucked the lower classes with hefty taxes (tithes is hefty on a small biz when you cant deduct expenses)

Excuse me, but tithes are entirely voluntary.

sometimes I,ll throw a fiver into the collection plate, and at other times, depending on the quality and intelligence of the sermon, I,ll put sweet fuck all.

The Catholic Church is involved in charitable works in a very big way. For instance, they pay for and staff the only functioning hopsital in all of Somalia…..a nation of over 20 million people.

They also do great work in Africa for AIDS patients.

By: M o r g o t h

M o r g o t h — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:17:25 +0000

Thank you Brett. I’m fed up of the religous claiming that their supposed excess of charity makes them superior. Now I have more ammo to metaphorically shoot them down.

By: lasse

lasse — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:08:03 +0000

Don’t know I religious people is more charitable than others, I doubt that. If now these lefties praise the religious people why is it that the least religious countries in the world (where fewer and fewer people believe there is omniscient supernatural being) is the top notch in UN HDI, the healthiest, as indicated by life expectancy, adult literacy, per capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, income equality, homicide rate, and infant mortality. Are also the most charitable both in terms of the percentage of their wealth they devote to social welfare programs and the percentage they give in aid to the developing world.

The exception might be US of A, but US is unique among wealthy democracies in its level of religious adherence; it is also uniquely beleaguered by high rates of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, and infant mortality. The pattern is likewise within US: Southern and Midwestern states, characterized by the highest levels of religious literalism, are especially plagued by the above indicators of societal dysfunction, while the comparatively secular states of the Northeast conform to European norms. violent crime, burglary, theft murder, abortion teenage pregnancies is higher in the red religious states.

The catholic church is often praised for it’s history of charity, but that after they have sucked the lower classes with hefty taxes (tithes is hefty on a small biz when you cant deduct expenses) and was also known as the most harsh in master in the serf system and a ardent defender of this system when it broke up.