According to CNN Money, there’s a new statistic out Arkansans can tout with pride.
Arkansans ranks among the top-ten states in America when it comes to charitable giving, coming in at #7 on the list.
Other states rounding out the top-ten were:
- Utah
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Idaho
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- North Carolina
- Maryland
Overall, southern states are more likely to give to charity than others (especially northeastern states)–despite the fact that the south as a whole is much less affluent than other parts of the country.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that many of the most charitable states in America also happen to be in the Bible Belt. Showing love (i.e. “charity”) is a longstanding Judeo-Christian value. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (KJV).
The CNN article noted this saying, “There’s a direct correlation between giving and religion…with residents of Southern states donating larger portions of their income than their Northeastern counterparts.”
Increasingly it seems like a lot of folks would rather Americans abandon religion (and the free exercise thereof) altogether; I wonder how many people who benefit from religiously-motivated charitable giving feel the same way.
