Social capital ... has not disappeared. It is alive and well and can be found in churches, synagogues and other places of worship. Religious people, he discover

Social capital ... has not disappeared. It is alive and well and can be found in churches, synagogues and other places of worship. Religious people, he discovered, make better neighbors and citizens. They are more likely to give to charity, volunteer, assist a homeless person, donate blood, spend time with someone feeling depressed, offer a seat to a stranger, help someone find a job and take part in local civic life. Affiliation to a religious community is the best predictor of altruism and empathy: better than education, age, income, gender or race. Struggling politically for more government action (and by extension, taxation) toward the same goals isn't altruistic?