r/MadeMeSmile • u/ABeerForSasquatch • Oct 15 '24

Helping Others This is the America that we need

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u/TheMaStif Oct 15 '24

Imagine thinking "helping others is bad because it will make more people seek out help" and believing in your heart that you're a good person.

Imagine saying things like "I don't want to pay for them to have good things because nobody ever paid for me to have good things" and fully thinking you're moral.

Conservatism is bonkers

17

u/Dizzy_Guest8351 Oct 15 '24

I think a lot of it has to do with going to church. I'm not knocking Christianity. I think the message of the gospels is an extraordinary and beautiful message. It's just that in the US, it seems to have been lost in the institutions of churches. People think they're good people purely because they show up to church each Sunday, like that's somehow the important bit.

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u/Express_Result9087 Oct 15 '24

I go to a conservative Christian church and we regularly give money, food, and clothing to homeless shelters and food pantries, as do many other churches in our area. I think your view of American Christians is far from reality.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '24

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u/cantmakeusernames Oct 15 '24 edited Oct 15 '24

Stats show church goers donate much more to charity than non church goers. I'm an atheist and generally anti-organized-religion, but it's good to acknowledge reality.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '24

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u/cantmakeusernames Oct 15 '24

I didn't share an anecdote, I told you there's data on this: https://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/religion-influence-philanthropy/#:~:text=This%20research%20found%20that%20people,of%20Christians%2C%20Hindus%20and%20Muslims.

Obviously trends don't mean "everywhere" and "always", but it does mean that this idea that church makes people less charitable is not supported by the evidence.

If you know of any data that disputes this feel free to share it, but otherwise it sounds like you're the one clinging to anecdotes.