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A recent study highlights the difference between “talking the talk” and “walking the walk” when it comes to religion and moral behavior. It’s not what you say you believe, it’s how often you show up for church that really makes a difference. Or, as the good book says: Faith without works is dead.
In the study, over 750 Spaniards were tested on three different measures assessing generosity, trust, and sense of fairness. The participants were divided into groups based on religious denomination (including none), intensity of religiosity (how often they attended church), and whether or not they had abandoned the religion (or non-religion) of their upbringing (either for another faith or for no faith).
Economic games (frequently used in these sorts of studies) were employed to measure subjects on virtuous behavior. For example, in one game – called the ultimatum game – one player (called the proposer) is given a sum of money that he or she is free to share with a second player (called the responder). If the responder accepts the amount offered by the proposer, then both players get to keep their money. If the responder refuses the offer, then neither player keeps any money. From a purely rational perspective, proposers should offer as little as possible and responders should accept any non-zero offer. So if the proposer is given $10 but only offers the responder $1, the responder should still accept the offer since it is $1 more than what the responder had when the game started. The ultimatum game measures fairness: How willing is the proposer to split the money evenly? How willing is the responder to reject unfair offers even when it forces him or her to forgo a selfish gain? Similarly, other games such as the dictator and trust games measure generosity and trust.
At first blush, the results showed little differences between believers (in this case overwhelmingly Catholics) and non-believers. But then the researchers plunged a little deeper. It was actually the non-active Catholics (attended Mass less than once month) who looked indistinguishable from the non-believers. Active Catholics (attended Mass at least once a month), however, were more generous and fair than non-believers (no differences on trust). Also of note was the fact that among those claiming the label “Catholic,” over two-thirds were actually non-active, thus skewing the over-all Catholic sample in a direction more like non-believers. Thus, as people drop out of ritual practice, their behavior becomes increasingly indistinguishable from the secular norm, regardless of their professed “belief.” The secular norm in this case can be described as “rational self-interest.”
Dawkins-brand belligerent atheism is enamored with the idea that less religion would make the world a more rational place. Studies such as this should give pause: more rational does necessarily mean more virtuous.
It's the ritual that makes us better
Ref:
Branas-Garza P, Espin AM, Neuman S (2014) Religious Pro-Sociality? Experimental Evidence from a Sample of 766 Spaniards. PLoS ONE 9(8): e104685.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104685
