Thinkers and feelers: Emotion and giving

• Feeling positive emotions during religious services is positively related to giving.
• Congregations with high levels of positive emotion have higher levels of giving.
• The effect of emotion on giving is stronger in contexts with high positive emotion.
• The effect of emotion on giving is stronger in strict congregations.

Voluntary organizations, such as religious congregations, ask their members to contribute money as a part of membership and rely on these contributions for their survival. Yet often only a small cadre of members provides the majority of the contributions. Past research on congregational giving focuses on cognitive rational processes, generally neglecting the role of emotion. Extending Collins’ (2004) interaction ritual theory, I predict that individuals who experience positive emotions during religious services will be more likely to give a higher proportion of their income to their congregation than those who do not. Moreover, I argue that this effect will be amplified in congregational contexts characterized by high aggregate levels of positive emotion, strictness, dense congregational networks, and expressive rituals. Using data from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey and multilevel modeling, I find support for several of these hypotheses. The findings suggest that both cognitive and emotional processes underlie congregational giving.