Religion and Compassion

There are always interesting studies coming out of some well known research centers that are worth reading and understanding. Often they are fascinating because of the impact the reported results may have on day-to-day life. At times, research reports are worth a careful review simply because of the interest that the study generates even if the findings have no pragmatic application.

One recent report that is getting a fair amount of media attention suggests that religious people tend to act less on compassion than non-believers when acting charitably. This may be an interesting finding but whether or not it has practical applications is yet to be seen. In a series of three experiments conducted by a team of psychologists at the Universities of California, Berkeley, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Oregon State University, research teams tested the notion that religious compassion is the motivator for devout people to provide assistance to the needy. The studies included a survey of 1,300 adults and two direct experiments with a group of 101 adults and 200 college students. In all three experiments the researchers determined that less religious people, even people who report that they are agnostic, are more likely to assist strangers than individuals who report themselves as more religious. What triggers their desire to be charitable is what the researchers call compassion.

In understanding the findings of a study, one of the key tasks is to understand how the research team operationalizes, or defines, the variables that they are investigating. In this report, religiousness is self-defined. People reported that they were either religious or not on a scale that measures religiosity. Personal affiliation is often based upon self-report in survey research and this is the standard followed in these three studies. Compassion, however, is a trickier variable to pin down. The researchers defined it as an emotional reaction that people have when seeing the suffering of others. This reaction motivates someone to act in a compassionate manner by offering assistance to others even at personal risk or cost. The three studies all indicate that the less religious people were more likely to be generous based upon their emotional reaction to the needs of others than religious believers.

The research team concluded that the link between generosity and compassion was more robust for those who were non-believers. Despite some media reports, the studies do not imply that religious people give less charity, are less compassionate overall, or are less charitable. What the report does indicate is that religious people are less likely to react to compassion, as defined by the researchers, than non-religious people are.

So what does motivate religious people to show generosity? After all, in absolute numbers, religious people tend to give more charity than non-religious people. According to the research team, the best hypothesis may be that very religious people do their charitable giving based on a deeper sense of moral obligation or identification with those who are in need. Others have suggested that religious individuals are raised in an environment where giving is part of their sacred obligations, and still others believe that giving is motivated by the notion that G-d is above and always watching. All people tend to be generous when someone is watching.

I was raised in a home where I was taught that you never turn away anyone who is needy. Even if you give just a small amount, you are still behaving the correct way. Many of my co-religionists were raised similarly.

Psychologists speak of a phenomenon known as intrinsic motivation. The desire to do something when motivated not by a reward but simply by the wish to behave a certain way tends to be associated with more long-term positive behavior. When a behavior is motivated by extrinsic motivation, for example, because it makes you feel good to give charity, then the behavior is likely to be subject to how good it makes you feel, not because charity is meant to help others. So while the researchers in this study define compassion as the desire to help others who are suffering, their definition is purely extrinsic and restricted to this particular study. Compassion is giving because it is the right thing to do, on a regular basis and not simply because of a particular appeal for the suffering of others. Perhaps that is the lesson of giving that religious individuals have learned.

Dr. Michael Salamon, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, is the founder and director of ADC Psychological Services in Hewlett, New York. He is the author of numerous articles, several psychological tests and books including “The Shidduch Crisis: Causes and Cures” (Urim Publications) and “Every Pot Has a Cover” (University Press of America). His newest book is called “Abuse in the Jewish Community: Religious and Communal Factors that Undermine the Apprehension of Offenders and the Treatment of Victims.”

Michael J. Salamon, Ph.D., FICPP is in private pratice in Hewlett. He can be reached at 516 596-0073 or www.psychologicalhelp.org.