Many of you may have never heard of Sylvia and John Ronsvalle or Cal and Rose Samra.
But for more than three decades each has followed a calling: Sylvia and John’s research holds up moral imperatives on issues such as child hunger; Rose and Cal promote shared joy with religious humor across traditions.
Who is more likely to be nice this holiday season? New research sheds light on the relation between religion and blood donation, how one’s image of God influences an individual’s sense of moral obligation and likelihood to volunteer and whether being new to a congregation can lower or heighten stress levels for clergy.
Americans like to think of themselves as a generous people. But the truth appears much different. Forty-five percent of Americans, including nearly four in 10 who said a generous self-identity was important to them, actually gave no money to charity in the past year, the Science of Generosity survey found. What we end up with is a nation where a relatively few people give freely and abundantly, while most of us give little or nothing, researchers report in a new book.
Even as the economy improves from the depths of the recession, several U.S. religious groups are not keeping up financially, according to two new studies. Giving as a percentage of income continues to fall for many Protestant groups, while the Catholic Church faces several financial challenges from changing demographics to church embezzlement and the fallout from the clergy sex abuse scandal.
In a culture that prizes rugged individualism, many Americans find it is more acceptable to give than to receive. Yet the blessings appear to multiply when one is able to do both, according to new research. People who both meet the needs of others and are cared for in a nurturing community are much more likely to love and trust their neighbors, studies indicate.
Churchgoers like to think of themselves as generous and cheerful givers, but for many the flesh appears to be weak when it comes to living up to their own standards for charitable giving. A quarter of respondents in a new national study said they tithed 10 percent of their income to charity. But when their donations were checked against income figures, only 3 percent of the group gave more than 5 percent to charity. The findings from the Science of Generosity Survey not only suggest the need to take a closer look at self-reported figures on tithing, but indicate the internal conflicts many religious individuals face when it comes to giving.
Is there a Groupon solution for houses of worship? Congregations struggling to emerge from the recession may be leery of encouraging “free riders,” individuals who use church services without paying the costs of providing those goods. But while attracting new members with free or reduced-price services may be risky investments, allowing some free riding also is necessary for the future of the church, some scholars conclude.
