A recent study by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden found that religious people are more generous than non-religious people, but only when they know the recipients’ religious beliefs. The study, which included Christians, Muslims, and atheists in different countries, found that participants of religious backgrounds tended to give more money to recipients of the same faith as themselves. This contrasts with previous studies that suggested religious people are generally more likely to be generous overall.
The study involved distributing fake money among participants and hypothetical recipients, revealing information about the recipients, including their religious beliefs. Most participants gave the same amount of money in most rounds, but when religious information was revealed, religious participants became more generous. Muslims in the U.S. were found to be more generous to recipients of the same faith than Christians and atheists.
The study did not include participants of other religious or non-religious groups outside of Christianity, Islam, and atheism. Researchers suggest that knowing the religious beliefs of recipients may influence generosity among religious individuals.
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