Religious people give more to charity (From Asian Image)

Religious people give more to charity

10:40am Saturday 18th February 2012 in United Kingdom news

Religious people donate more than twice as much money to charity as those without a faith, according to research published today.

The average amount given to charity by those who are religious was £576 over the previous 12 months, compared to the £235 contributed by those of no faith, the study by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) found.

Only 31% of religious donors had given money to a religious activity, a spokeswoman said. The split across the other causes tended to be more in line with the rest of the population, 68% donating to medical charities and 48% to overseas aid, which were also the two most popular choices for those of no faith.

The figures come from CAF's 2011 Market Tracker Report, which asked 507 donors giving at least £50 to charity a year a variety of questions about their charitable habits.

CAF director of research Richard Harrison said: "These results not only show that those of faith are more generous to charity in general, but that their giving is not uniquely focused on their own religious activities.

"If anything, people of faith broadly give in line with the rest of the general public - to a variety of different appeals.

"The culture of giving within religious circles that is demonstrated by our survey is an admirable one, and a phenomenon that clearly enriches our society."