You guys like to get deep into the philosophy and physics of it. I get that, but why not look at it from a purely practical perspective.
"…surveys have long shown that religious believers in the United States are happier, healthier, longer-lived, and more generous to charity and to each other than are secular people. Most of these effects have been documented in Europe too. If you believe that morality is about happiness and suffering, then I think you are obligated to take a close look at the way religious people actually live and ask what they are doing right.
Don’t dismiss religion on the basis of a superficial reading of the Bible and the newspaper. Might religious communities offer us insights into human flourishing? Can they teach us lessons that would improve wellbeing even in a primarily contractualist society. "
“Religious believers give more money than secular folk to secular charities, and to their neighbors. They give more of their time, too, and of their blood. Even if you excuse secular liberals from charity because they vote for government welfare programs, it is awfully hard to explain why secular liberals give so little blood. The bottom line, Brooks concludes, is that all forms of giving go together, and all are greatly increased by religious participation and slightly increased by conservative ideology (after controlling for religiosity).”
Quotes above are from this essay I posted earlier.
https://www.edge.org/conversation/jonathan_haidt-moral-psychology-and-the-misunderstanding-of-religion
As I’ve said before, you can’t predict charitable giving to secular charities like the Heart Association by political party. Before someone jumps me, when you look at Dems and Reps, we give very similarly to these kinds of organizations. I’ve said that before, and it’s true. But in terms of health and flourishing as a community, the quotes above seem important.
Also, just an observation. Well, something I wonder about. So many progressives in the US seem to really long for bigger government safety nets. They just care more, right? They’re constantly frustrated by the people on the other side of the political aisle standing in their way, and they look forward to having a majority so they can vote our country toward something that looks like Norway, but A LOT bigger, and more diverse. Meanwhile, they’re feeling really impotent, waiting for that more enlightened time to come.
Why wait for an act of congress? Doesn’t it seem a little ironic that I’m probably one of the most Republitarian-minded smaller government people here, and yet my religious group is already FAR more voluntarily socialist than the typical NYT reading liberal? I love being part of a socially involved group that feels like an extended family. Why not find 100 like-minded lefties and get it going on? Form a local group of humanistic progressives. Get really voluntarily collectivist. You need to live close to each other for this to work well. In my church, we attend services by geographic area, so everybody lives within about a 3-4 mile radius. Pool some money as a percentage your income so you can actually afford to do something, and so even the poorest people feel like they are contributing and have some skin in the game. Some of them have more time than money and that’s fine because you need volunteers and people are happier when they are in a position of giving. You’re close enough to know what people really need. With existing social programs in the US, you can step up and fill in most of the gaps in terms of time and money, and you can do it FAR cheaper and more effectively because you’ll have zero bureaucratic overhead and everything is run by volunteers.