These Divisive Times
There is much talk of the divisiveness in today’s political climate. There seems to be a lack of tolerance in accepting viewpoints that are different from one’s own — not just different from cultural norms.
Historically, religion held a prime spot for dividing “us” from “them.” It was a factor in the splitting of countries, the geographical migrations of groups seeking religious freedom and expression, and even presidential races, as seen in JFK’s September 1960 campaign speech. Addressing his characterization in the press about being the “Catholic candidate” to a group of Southern Baptist clergy in Houston, he said, “I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic.”
Today, the idea that JFK had to overcome religious bias feels foreign. In the current social climate, has political intolerance replaced religion intolerance?
What Divides and Unites Us in Charitable Giving The Role of Religion and Politics in Giving
We investigated the topic with the lens of human services organizations: charities that feed, clothe, and provide services for those experiencing homelessness and/or addiction. Many, but not all, of these organizations — including The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and Rescue Missions — are rooted in religion. Other social good organizations or foundations have their origins in politics due to being established by political firebrands.
How does the religion and politics of the charitable organizations themselves influence who supports them? Do only charitable donors of religion give to religious organizations? How do politics compare, and what inferences can we make about the two?
The Role of Religion in Giving
According to multiple studies of charitable donors, including including our own study, the majority of charitable donors (56%) prioritize the good work of an organization over that organization’s religious beliefs. Another 27% of charitable donors say that it’s important to them that they support charities that share their beliefs about religion. And the remaining 17% say that it’s important to them that they support charities that are not religion based.
Females are more likely than males to prioritize good work over matching religion. Across multiple studies and years, females are five to nine percentage points more likely than males to fall into this category.
Prioritizing good work over matching religion increases with age, with Millennial and older donors aligned: 58% of donors in their late 20s and older prioritize good work, versus just 35% of Gen Z.
Not surprisingly, political moderates tend to be most tolerant of religious affiliations and prioritize good works over alignment with their own religious beliefs. This insight begs for additional analysis on the role personal politics play in evaluating charities to support.
The Role of Politics in Giving
A corresponding question from our research looked at the politics of the organization or its founders, versus its religious affiliation. Importantly, these charitable organizations were described as being outside of a political campaign. An example of this is the Stand Together Foundation, which has provided programs addressing poverty since its founding by controversial businessman and philanthropist Charles Koch.
Compared to religion, charitable donors are less tolerant of political differences in the social good organizations they support. A slight plurality — 41% — do feel that the good works of an organization are more important than political founding or beliefs. However, this is substantially lower than the religious tolerance shown above, where 56% of charitable donors prioritized good works over the religion of the nonprofit.
As in the role of religion in giving, moderates tend to be most tolerant of political affiliations and prioritize good works over alignment with their own political leaning.
Close to half (49%) of Gen Z donors say an organization’s good work outweighs their political beliefs. As age increases, so does political aversion, which is the opposite of what we found with religion.
Religious Tolerance Is Higher Than Political Tolerance
As it relates to evaluating charities to support, Americans are more tolerant of religious differences than they are political differences, with 56% prioritizing good works over the religion of the charity vs. 41% prioritizing good works over the political affiliation of the organization’s founders. For charitable organizations with a prominent and politically active founder, this can create a headwind in generating support for non-partisan causes. Interestingly, religious tolerance in charities increases with age, along with political aversion.