July 12, 2007
Are Bill Gates And Warren Buffett Atheist Donors?
Are the world’s two biggest donors atheists?
The author of The Great Realization, a blog dedicated to discussing atheism in America, points out that both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates appear to be nonreligious, a characteristic overlooked in the coverage of their philanthropy, he says.
“When people speak about the good that religion has done, philanthropy is always one of the first things that is spoken about. Why isn’t it brought up that some of the largest philanthropic efforts in the world are being conducted without religion?” writes the author, who goes by the name Magikent.
The blogger, a marketing professional in Ohio, says that atheists are often accused of lacking a moral code, but perhaps with these two men as examples, secular people can refute that claim.
What do you think? Do Mr. Buffett and Mr. Gates seem nonreligious? Can atheism or secular humanism play a similar role in philanthropy as religious beliefs? Share your thoughts by clicking on the comments link below this post.
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Philanthropy, like morality, really come from your culture and upbringing. I don’t know much about Buffet, but Gates seems like a typical skeptic geek. Of course atheists can be charitable. We are moral because we follow our reason and conscience. Clearly that leads to lending a helping hand, pooling resources to help those in need.
— Bryan Jul 12, 12:30 PM #
“Appear to be nonreligious” and “atheist” are hardly synonymous! They may be atheists, or agnostic, or they may simply choose not to make a big public parade of their religious beliefs (of whatever sort). And in any case, I can’t fathom why it’s thought to be relevant to their philanthropy, unless one is a fundraiser seeking money for a religious cause — in which case, just read the application guidelines and that’ll tell you as much as you need to know. Just because these people are prominent public figures doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a little privacy.
— Lisa Jul 12, 01:05 PM #
I can only agree with Lisa’s thoughts on this and add a couple of my own. As a younger person the word ATHEIST was huge with capitals and bold fonts within my mind—something to be feared and disdained. In the last five or so years, I realized that whether we are deists, monotheists, atheists, or secular humanists it is really a personal choice through our own path of discovery. No matter what results, we will hopefully be as generous and philanthropic as we can be to our fellow travelers along the way.
— Connie Jul 12, 01:46 PM #
Lisa – The reason it could be relevant is that it would provide some sort of defence to the accusation often levelled at us atheists that without religious belief you cannot be moral.
My personal feeling is that the empathy that makes me want to act charitably and help others springs from something less nebulous and eben more fundamental to my humanity than any religious belief.
— Richard Jul 12, 08:28 PM #
The Gates Foundation values are probably more important than whether Bill believes or how Melinda was brought up: “all lives have equal value and to whom much is given, much is expected”. The latter is paraphrased from Luke 12:48! http://gateskeepers.civiblog.org/blog/_archives/2007/6/13/3007204.html
— Gates Keeper Jul 12, 10:32 PM #
I don’t know any religious thinker who says “without religious belief you cannot be moral.” I don’t doubt that there are some religious people who think so, but this is not a serious argument. I know many religious people who say that without religion, society cannot transmit morals, moral behavior is not promoted in society, and that immoral behavior is not discouraged. I don’t think a feeling of empathy can get a society to that point.
As far as the effect of religion on Buffet and Gates, I wonder if they haven’t been raised in religious homes. I don’t know. Maybe their motivations are simply altruistic, in which case they are the exception to the rule. Still, the American culture and environment in which they operate is religious. Good behavior is determined largely by the values that the Judeo-Christian tradition has engendered. As Arthur Brooks has shown, religious people give more than secular people. Of course that is not true in every particular. Regardless of their religious (or lack of) motivation, Gates and Buffet are doing good things.
— Patrick Jul 12, 10:56 PM #
Don’t forget George Soros. He, Gates and Buffet are the top 3 on BusinessWeek’s 50 Most Generous Philanthropists list (for donations between 2002 and 2005). And none of them believe in a god.
http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=Warren_Buffett
http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=Bill_Gates
http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=George_Soros
The Top 50:
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/philanthropy/06/index.asp
— John Franson Jul 13, 01:29 AM #
Who are they? They are the self-proclaimed rich philantropists with more money than brains whose every move to save a hungry child, a piece of marsh land or the inflicted, makes the media to let the world be aware of their ‘noble’ cause.
But what sensible person would put saving the planet first, before saving his/her own soul? Yes, the idea of putting soul before planet or anything else, maybe construed as a selfish idea but by only the ignorant, when in reality it is far more beneficial for the planet.
The truth is, if you don’t know how to save your own soul, you cannot save anything else and if saving the planet does not materialize, it is still a victory (www.vjsingh.com), for the soul.
— Vj Jul 13, 07:44 AM #
In all ages it has been shown that the most important desire in life is the need to be and stay alive. Nobody wants to be forgotten: we all want to be remembered even after we are no more aroud. The most important life therefore is the life that stays in pepetuity and the knowledge of how to live forever (i.e save your soul)is the most important wisdom. Philanthropy is good, indeed a great virtue but it is not the ultimate. A robber can be philanthropic. The knowledge of God the Giver of eternal life is the ultimate wisdom. That knowledge is JESUS the Son of God.
— Blessing Jul 13, 11:45 AM #
I would assume anybody as intelligent as Bill Gates would be atheist. Don’t know how smart Warren Buffett is…
— Mrrzy Jul 13, 12:37 PM #
Mrs. Gates was raised as a Catholic. They donated several million dollars to her high school, Ursuline Academy in Dallas, Texas (a Catholic prep school)... so I assume there is some value of religion there.
Their religious beliefs are, however, inconsequential. What matters is how they act in this world.
The question that I believe should be asked is this:
Why is everyone praising these guys for their philanthropy and ethics, when they built their wealth through what was often unethical means?
Had Buffett not destroyed so many companies and ruined so many jobs, we may not need all his philanthropy. Had Gates not controlled the market and destroyed competition, it might be easier for low-income families to afford computers and education.
— not that it matters Jul 14, 05:15 PM #
To answer the topical question, the reason that people associate charity with religious organizations is simply that, since most people are religious, churches and other such venues are used most often to put such an effort into motion. It is an understandable mistake from incompletely understood association, and I don’t necessarily see it as something that should be held against religious people.
As for the association between atheism and intelligence, I think that it would be prudent to take into consideration a trend that is often seen in the behavior of intellectually gifted people: for some reason, gifted children tend to have a great deal of difficulty in forming interpersonal relationships, even if they have a deep desire to be loved by others. The result of this is often a deep-seeded independence of mind, sometimes verging on a type of narcissism. It may be that many extremely gifted and intelligent people are atheists, but this isn’t necessarily due to them being gifted and intelligent. Their eschewment of religion could just as easily be a consequence of social attitudes and behaviors that stem from the pathological “reimbursement” for their gift, so it would pay for atheists across the globe to contemplate the possibility that they’re just socially underdeveloped.
Although I, personally, have always found religion and all manner of magical thinking to be more than a little disturbing, I have generally found atheists to be, in spite of also being caring and intensely loving individuals, arrogant and annoying on the whole. I think that they would benefit greatly from being more patient with religious people. I think that it is impatience that has always been their undoing.
However, the top’s point is pretty consistent from what I’ve observed in atheists, though: in spite of them being arrogant, rude, insensitive, vulgar, forward, loud, boorish and sometimes intolerant, I have also found them to have a deep and unconditional affection for other people and for the world at large. To me, it is unsurprising that the most generous philanthropists in the world would be atheists who have a long history of being overbearing and inconsiderate. I assure you that they are sincere.
Lest I be accused of stereotyping, I should articulate that I do understand every individual in this society to be unique, and my attitudes are quite consistent with the egalitarian individualism on which our society is based. Generalities, however, are often servicable as a means of understanding certain things.
— Griff Jul 18, 04:58 PM #