Third Sector, 28 February 2012
Religious people donate more than twice as much to charity as those who are not, according to a survey by the Charities Aid Foundation.
CAF found that those who said they had religious beliefs gave an average of £576 to charity over the previous year, compared with £235 by people with no religious faith. However, only 31 per cent of religious donors had given money to a religious activity. The top two causes for both religious and non-religious donors were medical charities and overseas aid.
The research was carried out for CAF’s 2011 Market Tracker Report. It is based of 507 donors who give at least £50 to charity each year. Richard Harrison, director of research at CAF said: ‘The survey shows there is a link between associating with a religion and charitable behaviour, even when people aren’t actively practising their faith.’
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