Autocross Blogs - Tiffiney Diamond

YOU STATE that the one out of five who attend church are far more generous than Tiffany Pendants who don't. You then go on to lump all of the nonchurchgoers into one basket, including atheists or agnostics. Polls regularly show that at least four out of five Canadians are believers, whether they attend church or not. It is also unfair for you to compare the contributions to the four-month-old atheist organization Foundation Beyond Belief to those of churchgoers, who have likely built their charitable giving over a lifetime.

Marc Villemaire, Fournier, Ont.

THE "SUBSTANTIAL declines in Sunday attendance" at Canadian churches is good news. I claim this not as an enemy of the church but as a clergy and missionary. Ever since the beginning of Christianity in the West, it has been foisted upon people who are largely spiritually indifferent. The church Tiffany Bangles up an oppressor and that's why she is now despised. Now these spiritual fossils have left the church and the church is free to work without that heavy baggage. As to atheists now competing in doing good: welcome! There are few things more useful to the poor than to have communities compete in doing good - especially if it's the kind we call justice rather than the charity that currently seems to be the rage.

Jan Boer, Vancouver

YOUR EDITORIAL makes misleading use of a Statistics Canada figure stating that the average annual charitable donation from weekly churchgoers is $1,038, compared to $295 for the rest of the population. The simple conclusion is that atheists are less benevolent. Appropriately enough, the devil is in Tiffany Cuff Links details. Deeper research into the Statistics Canada data from which the $1,038 figure is derived shows the majority of that amount in the form of donations to charities whose only stated purpose is "the advancement of religion." When we filter out such donations, we find that weekly churchgoers, who represent 17 per cent of the population, are said to be responsible for 20 per cent of donations to "nonreligious" charities. That no longer seems so impressive. Charitable donations from churchgoers may be higher, but this is only because Canadian law still upholds the outdated principle that espousing religious opinions is in itself a legitimate charitable activity.

Justin Trottier, Executive Director, Centre for Inquiry Canada, Toronto

IF I BELIEVED that an all-knowing Orwellian Big Brother was Tiffany Money Clips my every move and that it would reward charity with a pleasurable afterlife and punish selfishness with everlasting torture, I would give until it hurt. Is it fair to call that altruism? It's as altruistic as charitably giving to the needs of a mugger with a gun to your head.

Linds Allen, Vancouver