When Financial Information Meets Religion: Charitable-giving Behavior in Taiwan

Abstract

The effects of religiosity and financial information on charitable-giving behavior were juxtaposed for examination along with other demographic variables in this study. We adopted a survey research design in which 410 adults formed the sample representing people from across Taiwan who were Christians and Buddhists, people who believed in a folk religion, and people who had no religious beliefs. The results indicate that although charitable giving may reasonably be viewed, according to theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), as a rational behavior, it is influenced much more by religiosity than by financial information. Type of religious belief moderates the effect of religion on both the decision to give and the amount to give, with the strongest positive relationship found for those professing the Christian faith.