Flagship Study
Religious Affiliation and Measurable Social Contribution
A reliable, data-driven review of giving, volunteering and civic-participation measures linked to religion.
Across the clearest direct-comparison measures, religious people show an average increase of 57% on these measurable social contributions, changing to 54% when including additional measures.
Giving
1.82×
average increase across core giving measures
- Core
- 2 measures
Volunteering & civic life
1.37×
average increase across core volunteering and civic measures
- Core
- 3 measures
Direct aid & social support
1.68×
average increase across core direct-aid measures
- Core
- 1 measure
Even after removing religious-based giving and volunteering, the pattern remains: religious adults still give more to nonreligious charities and participate more in nonreligious service groups.
Method noteSource Selection & Methodology
This page summarizes measured differences in public data. It does not prove why those differences exist.
The study list was developed through a reliability-first review of the strongest publicly available comparisons across these domains. To reduce personal selection bias, I used multiple independent source scans to identify candidate studies, then separated weaker or non-equivalent comparisons rather than folding them into the headline findings.
The strict comparison looks at U.S. adults who identify with a religion versus adults who do not.
The default summary below widens that with clearly labeled supporting comparisons, including broader U.S. participation-based evidence. Those cards stay visible even when they are not part of the strict core, so readers can see when the comparison frame changes.
When direct Christian-versus-non-Christian datasets are unavailable, we use the closest reliable public comparison instead, such as religiously affiliated versus unaffiliated adults. In the United States, Christians make up most religiously affiliated adults, so that frame is still informative for this question, but we keep the label explicit rather than treating it as a perfect Christian-only substitute.
Summary scopeHow to summarize the evidenceDefault summary · All confidence · All domains
These settings recalculate the summary below. The evidence cards stay visible for transparency.
Current evidence summary
8 of 8 measures in the default summary point in the same direction.
This panel recalculates from the summary scope above. The default summary uses the strongest public comparisons we found in each domain and keeps any frame changes labeled instead of blending them into one hidden mix.
How many summary measures point the same way
The middle result after standardizing each measure
The average across the summary measures in view
The smallest to largest increase in this view
What is driving this view?
Average annual giving
129% higherUnited States households
Direct aid to the poor
68% higherUnited States adults
Volunteered in the past year
59% higherUnited States adults
Other voluntary-organization activity
49% higherUnited States adults within a 26-country comparative study
Giving
3 metrics shown below
U.S. religious vs nonreligious
Gave to any charity
Religiously affiliated households lead by +16 pts (35% higher).
This is the strongest giving-participation measure in the set, and it includes gifts to churches and other religious causes as well as secular charities.
Household-level participation measure from the Giving USA Special Report on Giving to Religion.
U.S. religious vs nonreligious
Average annual charitable giving amount
Religiously affiliated households lead by +$895 (129% higher).
The amount gap is larger than the participation gap, which suggests religious households not only give more often but also give more in dollar terms.
Core metric, but kept at medium confidence because the public $1,590 versus $695 figures are reported through Chronicle coverage of the same Giving USA special report rather than through a directly cited public table from the report itself. It remains the clearest available public dollar-amount comparison in the current dataset and includes donations to churches and other religious causes.
Regular worship attendance vs nonattendance (U.S.)
Average annual charitable giving (PSID, attendance frame)
Attend worship 2+ times/month lead by +$2,231 (317% higher).
This attendance-based supporting metric suggests a larger total-giving gap among regular worship attenders than the broader affiliation comparison, but it should not be read as a direct religious-versus-unaffiliated estimate.
Supporting metric only: this is a Philanthropy Roundtable summary of PSID-based analysis comparing attendance frequency (2+/month vs none), not affiliation, and it covers total charitable giving rather than secular-giving alone.
Volunteering & Civic Life
6 metrics shown below
U.S. religious vs nonreligious
Volunteered for an organization or association
Religiously affiliated adults lead by +10 pts (59% higher).
Volunteerism is one of the clearest contribution measures because it captures donated time instead of just donated money.
U.S. religious vs nonreligious
Involved in a nonreligious volunteer or community service group
Religiously affiliated adults lead by +3 pts (21% higher).
Even after church-routed volunteering is stripped out, religious adults still participate more in explicitly nonreligious service groups. The gap is smaller than the broader volunteering measure, but it still points in the same direction once the activity is no longer church-based.
U.S. religious vs nonreligious
Verified turnout in the 2022 U.S. midterm election
Religiously affiliated citizens lead by +12 pts (31% higher).
This is stronger than self-reported turnout because Pew validated it against official state records.
More religiously active vs nonreligious
Active in at least one other nonreligious voluntary organization
Actively religious lead by +19 pts (49% higher).
This is one of the clearest signs that the gap is not confined to church-only activities. The more active religious subgroup also leads in nonreligious voluntary organizations.
Supporting metric only: this compares the actively religious with the unaffiliated, not affiliated with unaffiliated adults as such.
More religiously active vs nonreligious
Say they always vote in national elections
Actively religious lead by +21 pts (44% higher).
This stays outside the core headline because it is self-reported and participation-based, but it still points in the same direction as the verified turnout measure.
Supporting metric only: this compares the actively religious with the unaffiliated.
Higher religiosity vs lower religiosity
Volunteered in the past week
Highly religious lead by +17 pts (61% higher).
This reinforces the idea that the biggest volunteering gaps show up when regular religious participation is part of the definition.
Display-only supporting metric: kept on the page as context, but not rolled into the filter-driven summary.
Direct Aid & Social Support
2 metrics shown below
U.S. religious vs nonreligious
Donated money, time or goods to help the poor
Religiously affiliated adults lead by +21 pts (68% higher).
This is a direct-help measure rather than an institutional one, which makes it a useful counterweight to giving metrics that include church donations.
Higher religiosity vs lower religiosity
Helped the poor in the past week
Highly religious lead by +24 pts (59% higher).
The direct-aid pattern strengthens further when the comparison uses religiosity intensity instead of affiliation alone.
Display-only supporting metric: kept to show how much the gap expands when regular practice is part of the comparison frame.
Source appendix
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy · October 24, 2017
Religiously affiliated people more likely to donate, whether to place of worship or other charitable organizations
Official summary of PPS-based findings from the Giving USA Special Report on Giving to Religion.
Open source (external)The Chronicle of Philanthropy · October 24, 2017
Religious Donors Who Attend Services Frequently Give More, Study Says
Secondary coverage used for the annual-average giving figures reported from the same Giving USA special report.
Open source (external)Pew Research Center · April 12, 2016
Religion in Everyday Life
Used for direct-aid and religiosity-intensity metrics drawn from the report charts.
Open source (external)Pew Research Center · January 24, 2024
Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe
Used for direct affiliated-vs-unaffiliated civic metrics and verified turnout.
Open source (external)Pew Research Center · January 31, 2019
Religion’s Relationship to Happiness, Civic Engagement and Health Around the World
Used for participation-based supporting metrics that compare actively religious, inactively religious and unaffiliated adults.
Open source (external)Philanthropy Roundtable · Winter 2019
Less God, Less Giving?
Summary article in Philanthropy magazine drawing on Panel Study of Income Dynamics data with demographic controls. Reports U.S. adults attending worship at least twice per month giving an average of $2,935/year vs. $704/year for adults who do not attend religious services.
Open source (external)
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