Compassionate Conservatives and Miserly Liberals (and the Call of Christian Charity That Supersedes Politics)

Some in the Catholic academic community, both here on Mirror of Justice and elsewhere, tend to describe the liberal wing of Catholicism as that which upholds the Preferential Option for the Poor as enshrined in Catholic Social Thought, while the conservative wing of Catholicism cares only about moral and cultural issues but neglects the persistent problem of poverty.

One answer to that inaccurate caricature (although one focusing on the contrast between religious conservatives and secular liberals) may be found in Syracuse University Professor Arthur C. Brooks's new book titled "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism" (which will be available in bookstores later this week).

In an article about the book and Professor Brooks on Beliefnet, Frank Brieaddy writes:

The child of academics, raised in a liberal household and educated in the liberal arts, Brooks has written a book that concludes religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income.

In the book, he cites extensive data analysis to demonstrate that values advocated by conservatives -- from church attendance and two-parent families to the Protestant work ethic and a distaste for government-funded social services -- make conservatives more generous than liberals.

In the book, Brooks writes: "For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice."

About Brooks's book, Brieaddy further writes in the Beliefnet article:

The book's basic findings are that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure.

Conversely, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone's tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don't provide them with enough money.

[In this regard, I am reminded of the old saw that liberals truly are more generous -- but with other people's money.]

As a point of common-ground, Catholics of whatever political persuasion should agree that Catholic Social Thought is much more than a platform for governmental programs. Aside from politics, we should heed the words of Pope Benedict that charity, as an act not merely of justice but more importantly of love (caritas), is an essential element of the Christian life and that "Christian charitable activity must be independent of parties and ideologies." Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est para. 31b

Greg Sisk