Religious people make better citizens, study says
Fred Goodwin, CMA
http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=18088
May 13, 2009
by Daniel Burke
Religion News Service
First, the silver lining: people of faith are better citizens and
better neighbors, and America is "amazingly" religious compared to
other countries, says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam.
Now, the cloud: young Americans are "vastly more secular" than their
older counterparts, according to Putnam.
But religious people may be God's gift to civic engagement, Putnam and
University of Notre Dame scholar David Campbell argue in their book,
"American Grace: How Religion is Reshaping our Civic and Political
Lives," which is scheduled to be released next year.
The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three
to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are
more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects,
belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in
local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies,
and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones.
At the same time, Putnam and Campbell say their data show that
religious people are just "nicer": they carry packages for people,
don't mind folks cutting ahead in line and give money to panhandlers.
Ron Millar, acting director of the American Humanist Association, said
that nontheists are just as likely to volunteer for worthy causes as
believers. For example, he noted that the Secular Student Alliance
went to New Orleans to help build homes with Habitat for Humanity a
few years ago.
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