www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall LIBERALS GIVE THE LEAST TO THE POOR

Got this interesting e-mail from the Catholic League:

Dn. RJB


CATHOLIC LEAGUE


FOR RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL RIGHTS


LIBERALS GIVE THE LEAST TO THE POOR

August 20, 2012


Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a new study on charitable giving released today by the Chronicle of Philanthropy:

Liberals are the least likely to help the poor. That’s the inescapable conclusion of this new study: states where people participate in religion at a high rate are also the most generous; conversely, the least generous states are also the least religious. Importantly, nine of the ten least generous states voted for Obama in 2008.

This new study is consistent with previous research. Sociologists Mark D. Regnerus and David Sikkink looked at the data gathered by the Religious Identity and Influence Survey and concluded that the more religious a person is, the more likely he is to give to the poor; those who are nonreligious give the least. In his book Who Really Cares, Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, examined this issue in depth. He concluded that “Religious people are far more charitable than nonreligious people.” Similarly, in their book American Grace, David Campbell of Notre Dame and Robert Putnam of Harvard found that religious people are more generous than nonreligious people.

It is well known that liberals are far more likely than conservatives to be nonreligious. It is also well known that liberals talk endlessly about poverty. Yet in their daily lives they do the least about it: they volunteer the least; they give less blood; they are less likely to help someone find a job; and they donate the least. Their idea of charity is to have the government raise taxes, i.e., take money from others, and spend it on welfare programs.

The data have grave implications this election season. Paul Ryan is being lectured by liberals—the most miserly people in the nation—for not being responsive to the poor. It doesn’t get more absurd than this. Not until liberals catch up with conservatives in their charitable giving are they in a position to lecture anyone about the poor.


Contact our director of communications about Donohue’s remarks:
Jeff Field
Phone: 212-371-3191
E-mail: cl@catholicleague.org

Copyright © 2012 CATHOLIC LEAGUE, All rights reserved.
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I never thought about it from this angle, but it makes sense. People like Bill Gates contribute to social CAUSES, not people or people-active organizations. Things like Planned Parenthood, Feminist organizations, health organizations and political campaigns.

NBC News is also reporting this story today, with a slightly different angle:

Least Religious States Give Least To Charity [msnbc.msn.com]

OVER 100 MILLION ON WELFARE (2011)


http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/over-100-million-now-receiving-federal-welfare_649589.html

It's also a statistical fact that Catholics give much less to charity than do Protestants, many of whose denominations insist upon tithing. Catholics seem to operate on the assumption that, since the Church is so rich, a dollar in the plate on Sunday is more than adequate.

Which could lead one to conclude that many Catholics are liberals.

It's amazing how the same report elicted different reactions. It's not a liberal/conservative issue.

Here's the original report from The Chronicle on Philanthropy:

How America Gives [philanthropy.com]

The research in this report reflects that the rich (income over $200,000) actually give less as a proportion of income than those in lower economic brackets. Our Lord pointed that as well (e.g.The widow's mite) Paul Piff, a social psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, conducted studies showing that as wealth and income increase, people tend to insulate themselves, they become less likely to engage with others of lower socio-economic levels, and they tend to tune out the suffering of others:


from Study Reveals the Geography of Charitable Giving [npr.org] This seems to recall at least 3 Gospel lessons: the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Last Judgment and the Rich Young Ruler, which was read just yesterday.

One way for the camel to go through the eye of a needle is for the camel to live in a more diverse neighborhood. The Chronicle found that high-income people who live in economically diverse neighborhoods give more on average than high-income people who live in wealthier neighborhoods.

The rich young ruler could not serve God because he could not recognize those who were in need were created in the image of God.

Many are. But more likely, Catholics have absorbed the message subliminally transmitted by our God-loving bishops, that care for the poor, the homeless and the hungry is a government responsibility. "And, hey", says Joe Catholic "I paid my taxes so my job is done".

One of the more insidious effects of the welfare mentality.

Father Deacon Paul,

don't be too quick to dump on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Although I don't agree with the means by which the Foundation addresses the spacing of children, the Foundation did provide a grant to Saint Therese Catholic Academy, Seattle, Washington in order to transform itself into "the first blended technology learning Catholic school in the Northwest."

Saint Therese Catholic Academy [stthereseseattle.org]

Anecdotal, but one shining example is the ongoing support that my parish provides for a family of fourteen living in a 70 foot mobile home.

Despite that family's poverty they have "taken in" some teenagers in the trailer park whose parents have substance abuse issues. It does not often happen, but sometimes we may bring more perishable food than they can use, so any excess they share with the neighbors.

And I have noted that it is our less-well-off families which are the most generous in this endeavor.

Liberals tend to love to give away other people's money but rarely give much of their own.

Correction: Liberals tend to love to give away other people's money plundered through taxatation....

Which would be true

Many of those denominations which insist upon tithing are highly legalistic neo-Pelagians who also insist that salvation hinges not on what God has done for us but on our making a specific response--putting up a hand at an "altar call" or praying a "sinner's prayer".

Those of us who believe, teach, and confess that salvation comes by God's grace and that good works (including financial giving) are the visible fruits of faith have a daunting task.
Human nature is much more inclinded to give when it is out of self-interest than when it is in volutary response to God's goodness.

Well, that's as good an excuse for tight-fistedness as I have ever heard: "We're not stingy; we're just repudiating neo-pelagianism by not giving money to the poor. Besides, the Church is loaded, let it take care of it".