Who really helps the needy? Pew study shows us, and so does the Orlando Sentinel
Religious people donate and volunteer more than their nonreligious neighbors. This has been established for years (yes, I'll show that in a moment), but professionals in the mainstream media don’t often pick up on it.
So it's a pleasure to read a news feature in The Orlando Sentinel – which not only reports a new Pew Research Center study on the fact, but takes the reporting down to the level of real people and groups in its own circulation area.
Starting with a minister who pastors a church and serves dinner at a rescue mission, the article broadens into a trend story:
Echoing a new Pew Research Center study that found religious people are more apt to volunteer and make charitable donations than others, the Rescue Mission and other Central Florida charities say the faith community provides critical support in providing food, shelter and clothing for the needy.
In survey results released last month, 45 percent of highly religious people — those who said they pray daily and attend weekly services – reported they had volunteered in the past week. By comparison, only 28 percent of others indicated they'd volunteered over that time frame.
Sixty-five percent of the highly religious individuals said they had donated money, time or goods to the poor in the past week, compared with 41 percent of people who were defined as being less religious.
You could use the story in a journalism clinic on showing how national studies shed light on local trends. Not only does the Sentinel summarize the Pew findings, but it provides the big picture on charity in Central Florida:
The roughly 7,000 nonprofits classified as 501(c)(3) in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties raise about $4.6 billion each year in charitable donations, he said. congregations are likely responsible for harnessing an additional $1.5 billion, he estimated, extrapolating this number from the few churches and faith organizations that have publicly available tax reports.
These congregations also help direct people toward the right nonprofit resources, said Eric Geboff, executive director of the Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando.
Even among secular non-profits, 10 percent to 15 percent – such as Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando – are "grounded in faith," the Sentinel says.
This story even passes a crucial GetReligion test, specifying the church that Fulmore pastors: Church of Christ at Gotha. Many mainstream media just call clergy "pastor," as if all churches and denominations are interchangeable.
The well-sourced 700-word piece includes remarks not only from Fulmore and the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, but also from the director of the local Jewish Family Services and even the imam of area's Islamic society. I'm surprised, though, that the newspaper doesn't ask the Diocese of Orlando, which has its own charity wing.
Especially enterprising is when the Sentinel gives a few paragraphs to a secularist leader:
At the same time, the impulse that drives many religious people to volunteer might have nothing to do with belief in God, said Joseph Richardson, who belongs to a local group of secularists, the Central Florida Freethought Community. Acts of kindness often flow from a humanist perspective that atheists and theists alike can embrace, he said.
"Having this compassion and empathy for fellow human beings and understanding that they hurt and need help sometimes … that's the kind of motivation that we have for doing volunteer work," Richardson said.
I'll confess that whenever I did a story on charity as a newspaper religion writer, I didn’t think of that angle.
My only question here is, why didn’t the Sentinel ask a logical follow-up question: "Why do you think so many more religious people give and volunteer more than nonreligious?" Richardson may have left the door open to the idea that freethinkers lack the "compassion and empathy" that the religious have. He should have had a chance to explain that.
Richardson does get to voice concerns that religious people use charity to proselytize, and the Sentinel gets a denial from the imam, Muhammad Musri. That was probably adequate. If Richardson didn’t bring up overall stats, his point is more argumentative than factual.
While I admire the thoroughness in facts and quotes, I do see a religious ghost here. Why are religious people helpful and giving? The answer likely lies in the various traditions – benevolence in Christianity, tzedakah in Judaism, zakat in Islam – that teach the need to share what believers have received from God. That could have been a good sidebar.
Some background on giving and volunteering would have been good, too. In 2001, a Independent Sector found that religious households not only gave more to charity but volunteered more – both to religious and secular organizations.
And in 2006, social researcher Arthur L. Brooks published a whole book on the topic, showing that given equal income and socioeconomic situation, religious and social conservatives give and do more for charity than their secular counterparts.
I also wish the Orlando Sentinel had interviewed some beneficiaries. Besides Fulmore, all of the quotes are from institutional chiefs. True, they're in a position to speak authoritatively. But a person or two who have gotten help from religious sources would have crystallized the facts on the ground.
It would also be good to link to the Pew survey. It's not easy to find, because it has a general title of "How highly religious Americans’ lives are different from others." Here's the link.
But my main problem is that there aren’t more such articles. For so many mainstream media, religion news these days is about setting straight whom to marry or which bathroom to use. Meanwhile, tens of millions of regular people quietly give and work for others. http://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2016/5/30/who-really-helps-the-needy-pew-study-shows-us-and-so-does-the-orlando-sentinel
So it's a pleasure to read a news feature in The Orlando Sentinel – which not only reports a new Pew Research Center study on the fact, but takes the reporting down to the level of real people and groups in its own circulation area.
Starting with a minister who pastors a church and serves dinner at a rescue mission, the article broadens into a trend story:
Echoing a new Pew Research Center study that found religious people are more apt to volunteer and make charitable donations than others, the Rescue Mission and other Central Florida charities say the faith community provides critical support in providing food, shelter and clothing for the needy.
In survey results released last month, 45 percent of highly religious people — those who said they pray daily and attend weekly services – reported they had volunteered in the past week. By comparison, only 28 percent of others indicated they'd volunteered over that time frame.
Sixty-five percent of the highly religious individuals said they had donated money, time or goods to the poor in the past week, compared with 41 percent of people who were defined as being less religious.
You could use the story in a journalism clinic on showing how national studies shed light on local trends. Not only does the Sentinel summarize the Pew findings, but it provides the big picture on charity in Central Florida:
The roughly 7,000 nonprofits classified as 501(c)(3) in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties raise about $4.6 billion each year in charitable donations, he said. congregations are likely responsible for harnessing an additional $1.5 billion, he estimated, extrapolating this number from the few churches and faith organizations that have publicly available tax reports.
These congregations also help direct people toward the right nonprofit resources, said Eric Geboff, executive director of the Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando.
Even among secular non-profits, 10 percent to 15 percent – such as Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando – are "grounded in faith," the Sentinel says.
This story even passes a crucial GetReligion test, specifying the church that Fulmore pastors: Church of Christ at Gotha. Many mainstream media just call clergy "pastor," as if all churches and denominations are interchangeable.
The well-sourced 700-word piece includes remarks not only from Fulmore and the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, but also from the director of the local Jewish Family Services and even the imam of area's Islamic society. I'm surprised, though, that the newspaper doesn't ask the Diocese of Orlando, which has its own charity wing.
Especially enterprising is when the Sentinel gives a few paragraphs to a secularist leader:
At the same time, the impulse that drives many religious people to volunteer might have nothing to do with belief in God, said Joseph Richardson, who belongs to a local group of secularists, the Central Florida Freethought Community. Acts of kindness often flow from a humanist perspective that atheists and theists alike can embrace, he said.
"Having this compassion and empathy for fellow human beings and understanding that they hurt and need help sometimes … that's the kind of motivation that we have for doing volunteer work," Richardson said.
I'll confess that whenever I did a story on charity as a newspaper religion writer, I didn’t think of that angle.
My only question here is, why didn’t the Sentinel ask a logical follow-up question: "Why do you think so many more religious people give and volunteer more than nonreligious?" Richardson may have left the door open to the idea that freethinkers lack the "compassion and empathy" that the religious have. He should have had a chance to explain that.
Richardson does get to voice concerns that religious people use charity to proselytize, and the Sentinel gets a denial from the imam, Muhammad Musri. That was probably adequate. If Richardson didn’t bring up overall stats, his point is more argumentative than factual.
While I admire the thoroughness in facts and quotes, I do see a religious ghost here. Why are religious people helpful and giving? The answer likely lies in the various traditions – benevolence in Christianity, tzedakah in Judaism, zakat in Islam – that teach the need to share what believers have received from God. That could have been a good sidebar.
Some background on giving and volunteering would have been good, too. In 2001, a Independent Sector found that religious households not only gave more to charity but volunteered more – both to religious and secular organizations.
And in 2006, social researcher Arthur L. Brooks published a whole book on the topic, showing that given equal income and socioeconomic situation, religious and social conservatives give and do more for charity than their secular counterparts.
I also wish the Orlando Sentinel had interviewed some beneficiaries. Besides Fulmore, all of the quotes are from institutional chiefs. True, they're in a position to speak authoritatively. But a person or two who have gotten help from religious sources would have crystallized the facts on the ground.
It would also be good to link to the Pew survey. It's not easy to find, because it has a general title of "How highly religious Americans’ lives are different from others." Here's the link.
But my main problem is that there aren’t more such articles. For so many mainstream media, religion news these days is about setting straight whom to marry or which bathroom to use. Meanwhile, tens of millions of regular people quietly give and work for others. http://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2016/5/30/who-really-helps-the-needy-pew-study-shows-us-and-so-does-the-orlando-sentinel
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Words are inadequate to answer this... but, Good Grief!
Giving to a church is fine, but it goes to support one's own comfort, etc., in a church setting. I've been to several churches, right down the road-- brand new building, including a fancy library and a gym. But would the charitable members of this church help our fellow Kentuckians have a library in their county? Nope. They would neither donate books, even religious ones, to help their fellow man-- only their own. Would they help a community build a community center that benefits the entire community in another, poorer county? Nope.
Not one church would help, in any way.
Would they bring in canned food and other food items to help the refugee center? Nope. Would they bring in and donate school supplies to the poor children that live the same county they do? Nope. Would they allow a portion of their unused and vacant property to be used for a community garden? Nope.
So don't give me this crap. I donate at least 10% of my $$ to help people. Yet, you would label me an "uncaring progressive liberal". I've given entire paychecks for people who need help. And done it gladly. So, NOPE.
You sure do talk the talk, but do YOU walk the walk? What sacrifices have you made for those less fortunate than yourself?
Religious people donate and volunteer more than their nonreligious neighbors.
Really?
In 2014, the majority of charitable dollars went to religion (32%), education (15%), human services and grant making foundations (12%), and health (8%).
Since donations to religious groups, even uncharitable ones, count as “charitable giving,” then it is no surprise that religious people give more to charity.
Simply put, non-religious people don’t donate to religion. This is neither earth shattering nor particularly informative. Nor is it surprising that those states populated by sects that push their members to tithe report higher “charitable” giving.
I don't question the roles of compassion and empathy, but the real test is in the proportion of donations to secular/utilitarian charities as compared to religious people giving to religious charities.
Altruism or self-funded pragmatism? Humanitarianism or self-perpetuation?
They have two gyms, an old folks home, a retirement community, a large library, 5 services on Sunday and 2 on Saturday, and the place is constantly hopping with bible studies, etc. They make a fortune (at $20 per head) for their Passion Play.
I'm sorry, but I find this to be utterly ridiculous. This is NOT what Christianity is all about! And then, on every street corner there are the wannabes that funnel more and more resources into their buildings and less and less into the people they SAY they are trying to help. My husband and I call them Six Flags over Jesus, because it is such a circus over there. The pastor makes more than $1 Million a year.
I can make my charitable dollars go farther and do more, on my own. And I do. (My overhead is less...)
That monstrosity has 'sucker' written all over it.
I get mad just thinking about that place.
Dowser, when I lived in Toledo, OH we had a similar mega church. It is still thriving, despite the fact that the pastor has been arrested on multiple DWI charges and masturbating in public. Read this, but try not to let your head explode.
Too late...
I just went to the article to see the Pew Study. The link sent me to another newspaper, which also cited a Pew study, but no link to it. I then went to the Pew and could not find the study. If there was a study, it was not done recently.
I am so tired of these endless articles about religion. Who knew that this group was so fascinated?
You have been known to post a few yourself.
I thought it was common knowledge that conservatives were much more charitable than liberals. Liberals are only generous with other people's money.
Again, I protest!
Broad brushed labels that aren't factual or real.
I've seen homeless people without a coat, stopped the car and given them mine. That's not a "charitable donation", but it's helping someone stay warm. What's the monetary worth of that? Seeing as how it my first new winter coat in about 10 years, it was a hard gift to give, but it would have haunted me that I have old, but ok, winter coats and this lady was freezing. Does it have a monetary value? The cost of the coat? To me, not that much, but to that person, everything.
Note: I came home, selected one coat as a winter coat, and gave the rest to the Salvation Army. People need help!
What about the young families in the grocery store line that can't pay for all the food they need? Have you ever stepped up to the plate and paid their balance? I do, a lot. I can do without my People Magazine, if it buys food for their kids... What is the monetary value of that? It's purely random, I don't know these people. Yet, it is the least I can do. IF you are of a charitable mind, there is need everywhere. Opportunities are everywhere.
You would call me an uncaring progressive liberal. I call myself a human being...
My church at home would not sponsor a Mother's Day Out, because they may have to buy new playground equipment in the next 10 years or so. Yet, they're on a HUGE fund drive to build the church a gym. They don't need a gym. Go to the YMCA. If it is fellowship they want, set up a time for all the kids to go to the YMCA together-- or set up a volleyball net in the dang parking lot. Let's be a bit more practical! Save the postage and don't send me another begging letter...