It's Church not Prayer That Makes Us Good

New Republic: It's Church not Prayer That Makes Us Good (HT:Brad Wright)

Mike Gerson has a column up today laying out some of the key findings to be featured in Bob Putnam and David Campbell's upcoming book, "American Grace," that I mentioned on Wednesday.

In a nutshell, writes Gerson:

Against the expectations of hard-core secularists, Putnam asserts, "religious Americans are nicer, happier, and better citizens." They are more generous with their time and money, not only in giving to religious causes but to secular ones. They join more voluntary associations, attend more public meetings, even let people cut in line in front of them more readily. Religious Americans are three to four times more socially engaged than the unaffiliated. Ned Flanders is a better neighbor.

The interesting wrinkle that (as Gerson notes) promises to perturb many religious folks is that the increased "niceness," as Putnam kept apologetically describing this set of desirable behaviors, has nothing to do with the content of a person's beliefs. Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Mormon, Baptist, Southern Baptist, Anabaptist--some of you may not believe that the others are headed for Heaven, but the research indicates you're all better citizens than your unchurched counterparts. Theology doesn't matter. What does matter is how deeply immersed in a religious congregation you are and how many friends you have within it.