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Conservatives are already fulfilling The Pledge
by Scott Gilbreath ~ January 23rd, 2009
I imagine that anyone who follows news on the internet has seen the cringe-inducing “I Pledge” video of celebrities promising to do a bunch of good stuff because they’re so enamoured of Barack Obama. If you haven’t seen it yet and really want to, it’s on YouTube. Here’s a snippet from the show’s script.
I pledge to help end hunger in America […] I pledge to volunteer more of my time to help children battling serious illnesses.
While Hollywood liberals begin talking the talk, conservatives have been busy for many years walking the walk. Those who self-identity as political conservatives consistently devote more of their time, energy, and resources to charitable causes than do self-identified liberals.
Arthur C. Brooks, who has written two thoroughly documented and stereotype-shattering books on philanthropy, fills us in.
Over the past several years, studies have consistently shown that people on the political right outperform those on the left when it comes to charity. This pattern appears to have held — increased, even — in 2008.
[…]
A common explanation for this pattern is that conservatives are more religious than liberals, and are simply giving to their churches. My own research in the past showed that religion was a major reason conservatives donated so much, and that secular conservatives gave even less than secular liberals.It appears this is no longer the case, however: The 2008 data tell us that secular conservatives are now outperforming their secular liberal counterparts. Compare two people who attend religious services less than once per year (or never) and who are also identical in terms of income, education, sex, age and family status — but one is on the political right while the other is on the left. The secular liberal will give, on average, $1,100 less to charity per year than the secular conservative. The conservative charity edge cannot be explained away by gifts to churches.
In the current economic downturn, non-profit organisations are very concerned about declining donations. Historical data show that, in difficult economic times, conservatives tend to reduce their giving less than do liberals.
Thus, in all probability, this year will see the gap in philanthropy between liberals and conservatives become even larger—unless that “I Pledge” video is more than just talk.
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January 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 PM
[...] NSCOTT– Conservatives are already fulfilling The Pledge …. [...]
January 24th, 2009 at 08:08 AM
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