How Does Religion Affect Giving to Outgroups and Secular Organizations? A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Although religious giving represents the largest sector of charitable giving in the US, its overall impact on social welfare has been questioned, pointing to the possibility that the majority of funding might stay within the religious community, with little benefit to outgroups or secular charity. Despite multiple studies showing a positive relationship between religion and secular and outgroup giving, some empirical findings show a negative or non-significant relationship. By employing a systematic literature review, the current study explores theories and empirical evidence to provide an integrative framework that identifies the mechanisms and directions through which religion affects giving to outgroups and secular organizations. The study also compares the major five religious traditions and giving to outgroups and secular organizations. The study finds that religious teachings, norms, values, social network, and private rituals, determine the direction of the relationship between religion and giving to outgroups and secular organizations. The study concludes that, despite the dominant positive relationship between religion and giving to outgroup and secular organizations, there remains heterogeneity among the studies based on their location, operationalization of religion and secular giving, and methodology used. The study also poses some implication questions and points out future research directions.

Does economic growth benefit the poor? The role of institutions and religions

“…For instance, Kuran (2018) reviewed the literature concerned with Islam and economic performance and concluded that Muslim's charity benefits mostly the middle and upper middle classes and not the poor. Yasin et al (2020) examined charitable giving outside religious communities and found non-negligible heterogeneity across studies. They attributed this heterogeneity to differences in location, operationalization of religion, and the methodology used.…”

Giving and going: US congregational participation in disaster response

“…Scholars have developed only a partial understanding of how differences in religious tradition influence giving outside of congregations (Yasin et al, 2020). The scholarship on the relationship between religious tradition and disaster response is even thinner.…”

Eating Your Cake and Having it Too: US Megachurches and Factors Associated with Attending Multiple Congregations

“…This implies that organizations are competing for essential resources from a finite pool.” Much of the research on giving focuses on whether those who are religious, in addition to donating to their own religious organizations, also donate more money to secular or out-group organizations than the non-religious. In Yasin, Adams, and King ( 2020 ) review of the literature on the relationship between religiosity and giving to out-groups, they identified that most studies found a positive relationship between religiosity and charitable giving to out-group organizations. Numerous studies of social movements have found positive associations between external organizational affiliations and participation in a social movement or protest (Corcoran et al 2011 , 2015 ; Kitts 1999 ; McAdam 1986 ; Passy and Giugni 2001 ; Schussman and Soule 2005 ; Somma 2010 ; Walsh and Warland 1983 ) even when the external organizational affiliations are other social movement organizations (Kitts 1999 ).…”