| Abstract: | Abstract . Most studies of charitable giving only examine total charitable contributions. This paper finds that contributions to religious organizations should be studied separately from contributions to nonreligious organizations. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions that religious giving is fundamentally different from nonreligious giving. Religious giving is assumed to directly influence after‐life consumption, while nonreligious giving is not related to after‐life consumption. While contributions to both increase with income, contributions to religious organizations also increase with age. There is no relationship between age and contributions to nonreligious organizations. Also, as income rises, religious contributions fall as a share of total giving. |
