Atheists more compassionate than believers, study finds

Who's more generous, religious people or atheists? If you guessed believers, you're wrong, according to a new study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. Researchers found that atheists and agnostics were actually "more inclined to help their fellow citizens" by, say, giving food or money to those in need, than were people who identified as religious. The study's authors, who surveyed 1,300 Americans, suggested that non-believers may be driven by emotions like compassion, whereas religious people may be motivated by "doctrine, a communal identity or reputational concerns." Chances are atheists will find the study's conclusions easy to believe, while believers will doubt them.