Religious people are more generous

Re: “Praise kindness wherever you see it,” letter, Dec. 27; “Religions important to a healthy society,” column, Dec. 24. So the letter-writer is willing to admit the point made by Cardus think-tank contributor Milton Friesen as to the benefits of “the charitable work that is carried out by many religious organizations.”

But then he denies Friesen’s larger point, claiming the latter’s essay “reminds me and other non-believers that what matters is not so much what a person believes; it is what they do.”

The implication is that the hospitals, schools and orphanages established by Christians and their individual acts of charity are not really attributable to their faith, but to a generalized spirit of generosity to be found in all.

Friesen’s essay makes precisely the opposite point: Religious people are measurably more generous. This should surprise nobody who believes that “the word is father to the deed.” Indeed, the letterwriter clearly believes that thoughts breed actions when it comes to the alleged negative consequences of religious beliefs, for he then refers to the unspecified “problems that can result from the undue certainty that sometimes accompanies religious belief and from the inclination to proselytize.”

When smallpox struck early Victoria, it was the Catholic Sisters of St. Ann and Protestant clergy such as Alexander Garrett and William Hill who risked their lives, precisely because they heeded Jesus Christ’s teachings with “undue certainty” to nurse and vaccinate all the stricken regardless of race or religion. Steve Weatherbe Victoria