I almost never like columns by Nicholas Kristof. Today is an exception. He concedes what is now well known from many studies: conservatives give much more money to charity than liberals, who want government to do the work for them, and Americans are far more generous than Europeans (who also expect government to do the charitable work for them).
 
Even if you do not consider money given to religious organizations, conservatives give more. And Kristof is wrong in his usual sneering fashion that most money given to religious organizations goes for bigger buildings. Liberals talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. Where liberals give to charity -- the Ivy League schools with already huge endowments, museums, symphonies, it is really giving to "charity" that helps the rich, as Kristof admits.