Speak a good word for deserving churches

The book “American Grace” is of monumental importance. I have mentioned it in earlier columns. It is a massive study of religion in America during the last half of the 20th century and into the 21st.

The book was published in 2010 and authored by Robert Putnam and David Campbell, sociologists who teach at Harvard and Notre Dame respectively. It is a very thick book with lots of statistics and graphs. It has been reviewed with high praise.

I suspect that no book has been purchased by so many and read by so few. Only a very dedicated reader will wade through the 600 pages. My concern is that the findings of Putnam and Campbell will not get the hearing that they deserve.

Churches and religious organizations have enough flaws that criticizing them is an easy exercise. “American Grace” confronts us with the good side of religious people in America. When the facts are marshaled, every American is indebted to the generosity and goodness of religious people. Religious people are the best neighbors for which a person could hope.

Putnam and Campbell marshal their research facts in a chapter near the end of the book titled “Religion and Good Neighborliness.” The authors looked at people from a total of 15 perspectives and the Americans who attend church meetings come out ahead of the nonreligious folk in the doing of good by significant margins. Religious people give more of their money not just to religious causes, but to secular causes as well. Religious people do more volunteer work than their nonreligious neighbors. They donate blood. They will allow a stranger to cut in front of themselves in a line. They will offer a seat to a stranger and help someone find a job. They will give directions to a stranger and lend a tool to someone who asks. They will loan money to another person.

People who are religious and express that by regular church attendance are simply better neighbors and citizens.

I was particularly interested to read that levels of generosity do not change in response to being liberal, conservative or progressive. Generosity levels are maintained whether religious people are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim. In the public arena, religious people are more apt to be members of a community group, be a part of a reform political movement, become officers of such community groups, work on solutions to community problems and vote faithfully in public elections.

Add to all this that religious people are more trusting and more trustworthy than nonreligious people.

Putnam and Campbell are quick to remind the reader that not all religious people are generous and not all nonreligious people are stingy. However, the numbers are so consistent and the margins are so significant that the differences between the religious and the nonreligious cannot be ignored. After confronting the reader with the facts, the authors begin their speculations about what stands behind the facts. They begin looking for an answer, knowing full well that any conclusions will be highly subjective and cannot be verified and written in stone.

One of their observations comes from asking “what do all of these religious groups hold in common?” They zeroed in on the story of Cain and Abel. It is a story that is a part of sacred teaching for Christians of all varieties, Jews and Muslims. In the story, Cain killed Abel and was confronted by God. Cain played dumb and asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In one way or another, the same question is raised in every major world religion. Everyone who is a regular part of religious gatherings is confronted with that particular question. Religious groups may differ on whom they will call “brother,” but the question of responsibility for a brother never escapes the consciousness of the regular worshipper.

Religious groups train the consciences of their participants in a manner that is unmatched by other groups. The Golden Rule and the Good Samaritan ethic are tattooed on the conscience of religious people.

Why are religious Americans better neighbors and more active and skilled in social networking? Here again is speculation. Religious organizations are very good at forming groups, boards and committees. The more faithful people are to their religion, the more involved they are with church groups and committees. Effective and satisfying religious life is seldom found in isolation. Good religious experience is found in group exercises. Apparently, religious people take the skills they learn in their religious communities into all the arenas of public life.

There is a bonus to religious involvement. Religious Americans are more satisfied with their lives and are happier than nonreligious Americans. Research shows that happiness correlates to the other research about the positive impact of being religiously involved.

Religious organizations are not perfect. American religious groups are in a constant process of reformation, and their chaos is apparent. Nevertheless, before making critical remarks about our religious bodies, stop and be thankful for the impact for good that is made every day by religious Americans.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

Opinions expressed on the Faith page are the author’s and are not necessarily those of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, its staff or its parent company, Wick Communications Co. To submit a column or other news for the Faith page, send email to news@frontiersman.com, or call 352-2268.