Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers

[rug]

By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | April 30, 2012

“Love thy neighbor” is preached from many a pulpit. But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the highly religious are less motivated by compassion when helping a stranger than are atheists, agnostics and less religious people.

In three experiments, social scientists found that compassion consistently drove less religious people to be more generous. For highly religious people, however, compassion was largely unrelated to how generous they were, according to the findings which are published in the most recent online issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

The results challenge a widespread assumption that acts of generosity and charity are largely driven by feelings of empathy and compassion, researchers said. In the study, the link between compassion and generosity was found to be stronger for those who identified as being non-religious or less religious.

“Overall, we find that for less religious people, the strength of their emotional connection to another person is critical to whether they will help that person or not,” said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study. “The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion, and more in other factors such as doctrine, a communal identity, or reputational concerns.”

http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/religionandgenerosity/

[agent46]

1. This has been

This has been my experience of most true believers.

[roguevalley]

11. those who hold ritual over content I can believe. if you however read the red

words in the new testament you will be a totally different person.

[JNelson6563]

2. Perhaps they think it's bible-god's wrath.

And so the hardship is somehow deserved...

[rug]

3. It's interesting that those who are not highly religious act more on personal connection.

I wonder if it works both ways.

[Confusious]

4. Not perhaps

Puritan ideas from centuries ago.

If you have wealth, it's because god likes you.

If you don't, it's because he doesn't.

[zeemike]

5. Why don't you tell us something we don't already know.

It is no surprise to most of us...and there is a reason for it.
Long ago the "christian " church was taken over by the Mammonist....those individuals that are worshipers of materialism and wealth....and along with it comes lack of compassion and caring for others.

[rug]

8. That may or may not be true but the study describe the motive for compassion, not the quantity.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. I'm gonna have to read the studies ...

But I suspect these findings can be traced to the belief that God is in control, so blessings (the alleviation of suffering) is up to God, not man.

[rug]

9. If you find a free link, please post it.

This one costs:

http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/25/1948550612444137.full.pdf+html

[alfredo]

7. Those with no internal moral compass expect the same from others.

[silverweb]

10. No surprise at all.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Personal experience confirms those findings, as others here have also said.

[Odin2005]

12. The highly religious are motivated by fear of eternal damnation.

They are always terrified of offending GAWD. They are driven by fear and hate, not love.

[Leontius]

13. What was the conclusion the studies actually reached?

The comments seem muddled and confused about what they were. At one place they seem to be saying that less religious people need an emotional connection to help while more religious people just help when they see a need and then the comments seem to say later that the less religious help at a different rate than more religious people. So what conclusion was reached?

[laconicsax]

14. From the article:

“Overall, this research suggests that although less religious people tend to be less trusted in the U.S., when feeling compassionate, they may actually be more inclined to help their fellow citizens than more religious people,” Willer said.

[Leontius]

16. Key words "when feeling compassionate," The only example cited in the article involved

a strong emotional connection to helping by less religious people not just to seeing a need for it. Then it seems to say something different latter that's why I call it muddled and confusing as to what they are trying to say are the conclusions.

[cbayer]

15. Unfortunately, you can't look at the actual study without a subscription.

I wonder about the methods and the use of soft words like "compassion".

What it seems to conclude (based on limited information) is that the more religious attribute good deeds to things related to their religious teachings or community and less so to their own internal motivators (like compassion and empathy).

I don't think it speaks to the frequency of good deeds, just the motivation when they occur.

But I'm not really sure.

[Leontius]

17. "But I'm not really sure."

That's my problem with the article.

[Taverner]

18. Not surprising in the least

[MineralMan]

19. Well, the parable of the Good Samaritan would seem to

support that idea. What Jesus supposedly taught and what many Christians do are not the same thing at all. It's an interesting phenomenon.

Now, that is not to say that many Christians are not charitable and generous. Many are. Many, however, are not. I'm betting that the percentages are just about the same in the non-Christian community.

What is taught is not always what is followed. I give you the Republican Party and the Southern Baptist Convention.