Additionally, religious congregations offer rich social resources with a strong sense of
ethics. A core belief of each of the world’s religious traditions is that of concern for
others less fortunate and the deliberate turning of attention away from ourselves and
toward others who are in need. A study by Christopher Ellison, a researcher at the
University of Texas, used data from a national survey of black Americans that
underscores this observation (Ellison, 1992). Ellison posed the question “are religious
people nice people?” and collected and analyzed interview data. Ellison’s study was
unique because he asked the interviewers their opinions about the interview itself;
interviewers rated the respondents based on how much they had enjoyed interviewing
them, how friendly the respondents were, and how open and engaged they were during
the interview. The results made it clear that religiously devoted individuals were
evaluated in more positive terms compared to other respondents; people who prayed
and read the Bible often, and those who saw religion as important in their daily lives
were found to be more enjoyable to interview, more open, friendly, and less suspicious
than the nonreligious members of the sample. This study demonstrates the pro-social,
engaged attitudes of the religiously involved, and suggests that these friendly attitudes
probably carry over to other relationships in life, not just those with survey interviewers
who knock on the door.