Published 14 December 2024 at 17.44
Science. A study from Linköping University shows that religious Swedes are not more generous than atheists. In the US, on the other hand, some believers are more generous – towards people of the same faith.
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A new study from Linköping University busts the myth that religious people are more generous than others. When the participants were allowed to distribute money anonymously, believers and atheists were found to be equally generous. But when the recipients' religion became known, the results changed. Believing participants then gave significantly more to people who shared their faith, while atheists also showed an unexpected tendency to favor their own group.
The study was conducted by researchers Nathalie Hallin and Hajdi Moche, together with Gerhard Andersson and Daniel Västfjäll . A total of over 1700 people participated in Sweden, the USA, Egypt and Lebanon.
The results show that religion has a strong impact on generosity, especially in relation to group identity.
– I was actually surprised over that, because the only thing that unites atheists is that they don't believe in a god, says Nathalie Hallin.
In Sweden, the differences were small, while the differences were large, especially among Muslims in the United States. In Egypt and Lebanon, where both Christians and Muslims participated, however, no such differences were noticed.
The researchers emphasize that the relationship between religion and generosity is complex. They believe that it is not obvious whether this type of “inner generosity” is something negative or positive, but that the influence of religion on group feeling and generosity deserves further investigation.
The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council and Linköping University and published in the journal Judgment and Decision Making.