Ammo:”In addition, many people who are interested in charity work will often join religious led charities for the sake of helping others - therefore, not all members of your charity are in fact Christians.”

But a lot of non-religious groups do ride on the govt lobbying coat tails of the Christians for their own benefit.

“Charity work” might need defining.

Goes back to individual Christian’s vs. Christian Admin I guess. In Aussie a Christian org can refuse to hire/recruit volunteer people. I don’t think a non-religious Business/Charity etc is allowed to discriminate.

In my book – The Book of Jewel - it states that; “love thy neighbor and it aint okay to keep ringing the peeps next door landlord until you get one you like.

Also; “Know who you are working for because the sins of the org are passed down to all that receiveth.

Hi Jewely,
You are right, in my view Religion is a personal thing, it just becomes horribly distorted when the individuals become groups.
I am a follower of Buddhism, it is not a religion, it is a way of life, which teaches kindness, understanding, content with what we have and acceptance of that which one cannot change....tis a good and gentle precept to enjoy life and embrace the teachings.
Better still it is such a good teacher for the individuals of this world. One doesn't have to be under the power of others, part company with promised offerings to the Church, and most of all, it does not teach hypocrisy.
Enjoy your day my friend,
Noisy

I like it Noisy – any belief type system thingi where one could perhaps become a follower by accident having never heard of it makes sense to me.

There are no 'nicer' Christians or Atheists, just individuals who will be judged by their own actions. In my experience involvement in charity work does not always reflect 'niceness'. It all depends on how these organisations are managed, what are the primary goals and efficacy.

Following on from other posters, watching some of the Republican candidates call for a ban on all social security payments and/or abolishing taxes was eye-opening. Some of the Conservative Right in the US certainly have a different mindset.

Do some of these presidential hopefuls really think Jesus would approve this approach? I don't pretend to know what the religious Right interpret from the Bible but surely this is not the way in a civilised society. It is libertarianism run amok with some of them, more worried about limitless rights to exploit others rather than what can be collectively achieved in everybody's interest.

There is certainly room to improve social welfare systems but banning them would be counterproductive and lead to far more problems than current concersn of rorting.

The most illuminating aspect of US religiosity to me, is that a considerable majority of them believe that the Bible teaches "God helps those who help themselves".

Which, of course, it does not

They then proceed to employ it as perpetual justification in their quest to enrich themselves at the expense of as many of their fellow-countrymen as possible. Who, of course, by not being in a position to help themselves, by definition must be a) godless, b) worthless and c) un-American.

Simple, really.