Giving is greatest where Christianity is strongest

BOSTON — Bible Belt residents are among the most generous in the nation, according to the Catalogue of Philanthropy’s annual “Generosity Index.” For the fourth year running, New Hampshire was the stingiest state, and Mississippi remained at the top for generosity. The index takes into account both “having” and “giving.” It is based on average adjusted gross incomes and the value of itemized charitable donations reported to the Internal Revenue Service on 2003 tax returns, the latest available.

“We believe that generosity is a function of how much one gives to the ability one has to give,” Martin Cohn, a spokesman for the Catalogue for Philanthropy, told The Associated Press. Using that standard, the 10 most generous states were, in descending order, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Utah, South Carolina and West Virginia.

The 10 stingiest, starting from the bottom, were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, Hawaii and Michigan.