Abstract

What influence does religion have on altruistic belief and prosocial behavior? This is a question of substantial ethical and religious relevance that currently has no consensual answer. We atempt to address this question by applying measurements of personal religious orientations, doctrinal orthodoxy, and faith maturity to the data from an extensive survey of adolescents in an evangelical Protestant church. Results suggest that horizontal or "love-of-neighbour" faith is a powerful predictor of altruism. Intrinsic and orthodox religion are aligned with positive views toward helping others but inversely related to actual altruistic behavior. This link between altruistic hypocrisy and intrinsic-orthodox religion is striking; therefore, potential explanations on the source of this relationship are explored.