As we\u2019ve long known<\/a>, the more liberal and the more secular a person gets, the less likely they are to give money to charity, but these charts show rather starkly not just the regional but also the religious divides in generosity. \u00a0I have three short observations:<\/p>\n1. \u00a0Mormons rule<\/strong>. \u00a0The top six cities are heavily Mormon \u2014 if not outright LDS-dominated. \u00a0And the gap between the top-giving Mormon city and the top-giving Protestant city (Provo, Utah, versus Pine Bluff, Arkansas) is vast. \u00a0Provo residents give a median 13.9% of discretionary income, while Pine Bluff residents give a median 8.9%. \u00a0(For perspective, that\u2019s the same percentage gap as exists between city number 7 on the chart and city number 128).<\/p>\n2. Yankees drool<\/strong>. \u00a0Outside of the LDS-heavy states of Utah and Idaho, there is not one single city north of the Mason-Dixon line represented in the top 25. \u00a0Not one. \u00a0Meanwhile, 22 of the 25 lowest-ranked cities are northern. \u00a0This is just one more piece of evidence that our regional differences are also cultural differences.<\/p>\n3. \u00a0We can do better.<\/strong> \u00a0It\u2019s hard to look at the overall chart without thinking that we can do better, much better. \u00a0For all the popularity of the underdog, for all the pop culture that celebrates acts of charity and giving, and for all the millions of words written about poverty and helping your fellow man, the truth is that we don\u2019t put our money where our mouth is. \u00a0The truth is that our words are often merely wind, and we allow our attitudes and ideologies to substitute for real virtue.<\/p>\nAside from a precious few LDS communities, we should feel a sense of collective shame and individual conviction. \u00a0Simply put, let\u2019s give more.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has released a comparison of the giving rates of all 366 major metropolitan areas. \u00a0I won\u2019t paste the whole chart, but I would direct your attention to the top 25 areas and the bottom 25. \u00a0First, here\u2019s the top 25:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[204,27,674,24,22],"class_list":["post-3502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charity","tag-evangelicals","tag-generosity","tag-mormons","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\n
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