Generosity And Compassionate Conservative Christians

Who are the most generous in America? The common assumption behind many articles and columns is that liberals are more compassionate than conservatives, and secularists are more compassionate than Christians. Yet every piece of evidence suggests just the opposite.
First, let's look at it on a statewide basis. The Catalogue of Philanthropy each year creates an index of generosity. The stingiest states in the U.S. are New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, and Maine. These are all liberal northeastern states with relatively small Christian populations. Vermont is the most secular state in the union. The most generous states are Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, and South Carolina. These are conservative Bible belt states.
Another way to look at it would be to consider the generosity toward a tragic event, like Katrina hurricane. One article written a year after Katrina documented the stark difference in giving. It praised Christian compassion and outreach, even mentioning Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing. But is also quoted University of Tennessee professor Glenn Reynolds that "when you look at who was providing relief after Katrina, there's not much in the way of secular humanism to be found."
Finally, we can look at the work of Arthur Brooks at Syracuse University. His book, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism, documents in detail the giving patterns of various ideological and religious groups.
He has found that conservatives are more charitable than liberals. He has also found that religious people are more compassionate than secularists. He has found that religious people (mostly Christians) "of all persuasions are 40 percent more likely to donate to charities each year than secular people, and more than twice as likely to volunteer. They are also more than three times more likely than secular people to give each month, and three and one-half times as likely to volunteer that often."
He even breaks down religious giving in a more significant way. If you compare the religious right to the religious left, you find that the religious right is more charitable and compassionate than the religious left.
This research is contrary to the prevailing viewpoint presented in the media and needs to be spread far and wide. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view