Lunch & Learn
Philanthropy and Religion
_

Lunch & Learn 45 🔹 Friday, June 17, 2022

🇫🇷 🇬🇧 Bilingual edition

Philanthropy and Religion in the United States and Europe: Roots, Evolutions, and Prospects

Charitable giving is an essential part of religious observance in most sacred texts. For believers, giving a percentage of one’s income to the poorest, using one’s wealth for the common good are associated with purification and justice in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Giving and altruism also have an important role in other religions such as Buddhism. In Western history, the Christian religion has deeply shaped the practice of philanthropy. In Europe and then in the United States, churches and congregations built and managed pioneering medical, social and educational institutions, provided emergency aid, and fostered international development. Traditional charity to alleviate immediate suffering, driven by faith and personal commitment, has often been supplemented by a secular and professionalized philanthropy, seeking to tackle the root causes of social ills. Even today, despite the "disenchantment" and progressive secularization of Western societies, religion remains a key motivation and destination for many donors. In France, 23% of donations and bequests are received by religious organizations, not counting the many associations and foundations with social, humanitarian, medical or educational purposes that are affiliated with a religion... In the United States, almost three quarters of donations are channeled to organizations affiliated with a religion, and this does not include voluntary work, mutual aid and all the invisible gifts. But what do we really know about this "religious philanthropy"? What are the major evolutions it has undergone up to now? In particular, how have the profiles, motives and practices of religious donors evolved? What is the future of this form of philanthropy in a world where tensions and identity conflicts also permeate religion?

Guest-speakers:

🔹 David P. King, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies & Director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (US)

🔹 Jean-Marie Destrée, Director, Fondation Caritas France

➡️ Guest-speakers' biographies
➡️ David P. King's slides
➡️ Jean-Marie Destrée's slides

⬇️ REPLAY ⬇️