Prior research has found mixed evidence for the long-theorized link between religiosity and pro-social behavior. To help overcome this divergence, I hypothesize that pro-social behavior is linked not to religiosity per se, but rather to the salience of religion and religious norms. I report a field experiment that examined when auction participants will respond to an appeal to continue bidding for secular charitable causes. Religious individuals are more likely than non-religious individuals to respond to an appeal “for charity” only on days that they visit their place of worship; on other days of the week, religiosity has no effect. Notably, the result persists after controlling for a host of factors that may influence bidding, but disappears when the appeal “for charity” is replaced by an appeal to bid for other (i.e., competitive) reasons. Implications for the link between religion and pro-social behavior are discussed.

Source: "(When) are religious people nicer? Religious salience and the “Sunday Effect” on pro-social behavior" from Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 5, No. 2, April 2010, pp. 138–143

Well, I know what day I'll be asking my churchgoing friends if I can borrow money.  :)

So does this mean if you go to church every day that you end up pretty altruistic?

For further reading on the subject of religion, I recommend Jack Miles' excellent book, "God: A Biography" which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996.

Related Posts:

Priest, Minister and Rabbi: Which one does the most for the public good?

Why do people say they're "Spiritual but not religious"?

Here you can find out if romantic rivals spur religiosity.

Here you can find out if sports can be considered a religion.

Here are some curious economic effects of religion.

You should follow me on Twitter here or subscribe to this blog's feed. If you're a regular reader please support the blog by doing your book and movie shopping at the store. You'll find all my recommendations there. Here are the site's most popular posts of all time.