Questions of Faith: religion and charity

The Muslim community has come to the end of its holy month of Ramadan. As well as a month of fasting the festival also has a big focus on charitable giving, known as Zakat. But Islam isn't the only faith that puts charity at the centre of its beliefs. Research commissioned by the BBC in 2014 found that people who have a religious belief are more likely to give to charity than non-believers. Sikhs and Jews emerged as the most likely to share their wealth with a good cause, just ahead of Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The study, carried out for the BBC's network of local radio stations found that levels of generosity across the British public are strikingly high, but highest among those with a religious faith. As many as seven in 10 people in England said they had given money to a charity in the past month. But while just over two thirds of those who professed no religious faith claimed to have done so, among believers the figure rose to almost eight out of 10. Among those polled, all of the Sikhs and 82 per cent of practising Jews had given money in the past month. Among practising Christians the figure was 78 per cent. So what is it about religion that makes people so charitable? Well as one example, in the Jewish faith there is a rule that people should give 10 per cent to charity, known as Tzedakah. Marc Shoffman spoke to Rabbi Yoni Birnbaum of the Hadley Wood Jewish community to find out more.