The Role of Religion in Charitable Donations: The Case of Parishioners of Moscow Parishes

Abstract

Empirical surveys confirm the importance of religion and religiosity as factors which determine prosocial behavior, including charitable donations. We examined the donations made by parishioners in the logic of gift exchange, revealing the division between the donations to the nearer and the farther circle. The former includes supporting the parish, and the latter includes charitable donations to non-profit organizations. The data were collected via personal interviews with parishioners (N=16) of Moscow churches and an online survey of Orthodox donors (N=604) in 2019. We found that the donations to the nearer and the farther circle have different meanings for the donors. The donations to  the nearer circle resemble reciprocal gift giving and have a normative nature, promoting group solidarity and belonging. Helping the farther circle pursues the motive of helping strangers, in the form of a non-reciprocal gift. Such charity is intended as an expression of faith, the struggle with passions and individual spiritual work. Through such non-reciprocal donations, an Orthodox self is formed and this self is improved as a believer.