Giving can serve merely to pacify one's conscience when actually it is necessary to do more.

Over the last few years donor conferences have become quite common in international politics, whether for rebuilding Afghanistan, disaster relief following the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, or aid for the stabilization of Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia. During such gatherings of politicians and diplomats, countries and governments commit to allocate certain amounts as relief aid. In spite of all the pragmatic and strategic interests involved, donor conferences can also express the solidarity of the international community with some of its individual members that, for example, have been affected by a natural catastrophe or the consequences of war: "We will not leave you alone. We share a common responsibility for the weakest among us. We are donating some of our wealth to those that need it most to help them bounce back."

Giving: A Basic Human Activity

Here we can basically feel a certain solidarity on a global scale, even if the actual success of such conferences differs from case to case. Especially surprising is the enormous amount of money that the populations of different countries contribute to relief organizations (religious as well as secular) so that they can--even in faraway countries--alleviate the suffering that follows major catastrophes. Even people of modest financial means participate in such charitable campaigns, as was seen to the surprise of many, for example, in China after the calamitous earthquake in the spring of 2008.

A worldwide global solidarity is indeed a development of recent times, since it has now become possible to learn instantaneously about the situation of people even in distant lands by means of the Internet and the mass media. In recent times people have also been able to visit such countries themselves and get to know the people there. However, a commitment to assist the poor and the weak, which finds its practical expression in charitable donations, can be found quite early in human history. At first such support was limited to one's family and clan, or to one's own ethnic group. Later this expanded beyond geographic boundaries to one's own religious denomination or to the social class with which one was associated by common problems, as in the labor movement, for example. Today we speak of the international community as a global family or the human family.

Of course, the act of giving does not necessarily have anything to do with helping the poor and the weak. A birthday present is simply an expression of affection or friendship for another human being. Giving can also honor a person's achievements, as in the presentation of awards. Moreover, giving can play a basic role in the economy, not only in the old system of barter. Giving can also represent sacrifice, in a religious as well as a secular context: to give something of yourself for a higher purpose or a greater goal. However, I will limit my considerations here to giving as an expression of compassion and support for the weak and disadvantaged.

One can be ambivalent about the reasons for giving to the poor, however. It can serve merely to pacify one's conscience, when actually it should be necessary to do more. It can cement the balance between power and dependence; the donor can feel superior to the receiver and may take advantage of this presumed superiority. Thus, particularly in the area of aid to developing countries, a change has occurred during the last decades, from a neocolonial attitude of purely charitable donations, which did not really improve the situation of the developing countries, to helping people to help themselves. Often this proverb is quoted: "It is more important to teach a hungry person how to fish than to give him or her a fish." Aid to developing countries has turned into cooperation, ideally into a form of partnership. People in the "rich" countries have thus learned that even a "poor" partner in the South has a lot to give in return, especially in a social or spiritual sense.

Therefore the attitude and the motivation behind the act of giving matter as well. An attitude of sympathy, empathy, or compassion is necessary so that the act of giving can become an expression of true solidarity with others. These are basic human sentiments and thus elements of a fundamental ethics of humanity as well. These attitudes do not necessarily have to be based on spirituality or religion. But giving, to give something of one's own to the less fortunate, is indeed a central aspect of the ethics of all religions. In the history of religion this activity is referred to as almsgiving and charity. All religions have created institutions to help the needy. A few brief examples from the various world religions help to illustrate this.

Giving: A Common Ethical Concern

In the Hebrew Bible, practical support for the poor, widows, orphans, and strangers is virtually considered the criterion for a person's relationship with God. Prophets such as Amos and Isaiah demonstrate this pointedly as service to God in the truest sense. Thus they consider this form of giving, of social activity, as superior to making an offering in the temple or other religious practices. One who gives to the needy is blessed by God. In the Middle Ages the great scholar Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) emphasized that better than almsgiving was helping the poor get back on their feet by lending them money or giving them work. Thus the self-esteem of the poor would not be damaged.

In the Christian New Testament, Jesus is depicted as the one who preaches "the Gospel to the poor," who turns toward the outcasts of society and restores their human dignity. The equality of love of God and love of one's fellow human being, based on the Jewish Bible, which should express itself in practical deeds, is a central element of the message of the New Testament. However, Jesus warns against making a show of almsgiving. The donor should demonstrate an attitude of humility: "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matt. 6:3). In the sermon about the final judgment in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 25), the service to one of "the least brothers" is identified with service to Christ himself. In the early Christian church, mutual solidarity and support of the needy play an important role. In this context the apostle Paul recalls the words of Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). The Christian churches have established a tight network of relief organizations, and collections for social purposes are being held regularly, even in church services. Some Christians during the forty days of fasting before Easter renounce a certain kind of comfort and donate the corresponding amount to an aid project--a practice that is very similar to the Donate-a-Meal Movement of Rissho Kosei-kai.

In Islam, the obligatory social contribution (zakat) is one of the five pillars of religion and thus is equal to the creed, the daily prayer, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. This lends extraordinary importance to giving to the poor. At countless places in the Qur'an and in the traditional records of the prophet Muhammad (Hadith), one is called upon to help the needy, orphans, and travelers. In one Hadith collection it is emphasized that the practice of zakat causes givers to be less attached to their possessions and thus to develop in themselves an attitude of sympathy for their needy fellow human beings.

In Buddhism, especially in Theravada Buddhism, it is considered a meritorious deed for lay followers to give monks their daily meals. But beyond this traditional activity there are also more recent forms of social commitment. Some groups, which call themselves "engaged Buddhists," understand the Buddhist truth of liberation from suffering explicitly as beyond the individual level and as a call for a change in the social and economic structures that cause such suffering. This leads to direct support for the poor and disadvantaged. Especially in more recent movements in Mahayana Buddhism, such as Rissho Kosei-kai, social activities and the attitude of giving play a particularly important role.

In the Sikh religion, social responsibility finds its most evident expression in a unique institution: the free kitchen (langar). In the gurdwaras (temples), a meal in which everyone can partake for free is regularly prepared. This is an act of generous giving, expressing an ethos of equality and sharing. At the Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona in 2004, the Sikhs organized a langar at every lunch period for hundreds of guests from all religions.

These are just a few examples of the role that the practice of giving plays in certain religions. I apologize for all the reductions and oversimplifications, which unfortunately I could not avoid in this rather short account. However, the decisive result of this reflection is: Giving is considered a central ethical activity in all religions. This has two consequences.

First, giving as an expression of solidarity and as a step toward greater social justice is an element of a common ethic of humanity, of a global ethic.

Second, because in all religions an ethical consensus regarding the importance of giving exists, all religions could and should increasingly stand up for the disadvantaged and work at eliminating poverty and injustice. Interreligious organizations such as Religions for Peace realized this long ago and practice such cooperation on social projects, for example, in Africa. The participants in the World Religious Leaders Summit for Peace: On the Occasion of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit rightly emphasized in their "Call from Sapporo" (July 3, 2008):

"Collectively, our religious communities are the world's largest social networks, which reach into the farthest corners of the earth and include countless institutions dedicated to caring for people. Religions share many moral traditions that can provide basic principles essential for just and harmonious relations among persons and communities. Moreover, religious traditions--each in its own way--cultivate the spiritualities of compassion and love essential for genuine reconciliation and peace. Mobilizing these great social, moral, and spiritual dimensions of the world's religions in service of the common good is essential for the well-being of the human family. We are united in the conviction that all religions obligate their followers to work for justice among all peoples and to care for one another and our common home, the earth. We commit to doing so."

A Global Ethic Based on Giving

The conviction expressed in this "Call from Sapporo" especially conveys the idea of a global ethic. It takes as a starting point that the necessary global ethical values and standards are found in the ancient religious and philosophical traditions of humanity. In the Declaration toward a Global Ethic at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1993, more than two hundred representatives of the world's religions expressed a consensus regarding such common ethical values, standards, and attitudes (the declaration can be accessed at www.global-ethic.org/dat-english/index.htm). On the basis of the principle of humanity, "Every human being must be treated humanely," and the Golden Rule of reciprocity, "What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others," concrete directives for four central areas of living are developed in the form of self-commitment:

Commitment to a culture of nonviolence and respect for life.
Commitment to a culture of solidarity and a just economic order.
Commitment to a culture of tolerance and a life of truthfulness.
Commitment to a culture of equal rights and partnership between men and women.

The ethical call for building a culture of solidarity and a just economic order in the declaration of Chicago starts from a clear description of the present situation, in which the individual as well as structural dimensions are addressed. The declaration then recalls the ancient commandment, found in all religions and civilizations, "You shall not steal," and addresses some concrete areas of action:

"If the plight of the poorest billions of humans on this planet, particularly women and children, is to be improved, the world economy must be structured more justly. Individual good deeds, and assistance projects, indispensable though they be, are insufficient. The participation of all states and the authority of international organizations are needed to build just economic institutions.

"A solution which can be supported by all sides must be sought for the debt crisis and the poverty of the dissolving second world, and even more the third world. . . . In the developed countries, a distinction must be made between necessary and limitless consumption, between socially beneficial and non-beneficial uses of property, between justified and unjustified uses of natural resources, and between a profit-only and a socially beneficial and ecologically oriented market economy. Even the developing nations must search their national consciences. . . .

"To be authentically human in the spirit of our great religious and ethical traditions means the following:

? We must utilize economic and political power for service to humanity instead of misusing it in ruthless battles for domination. We must develop a spirit of compassion with those who suffer, with special care for the children, the aged, the poor, the disabled, the refugees, and the lonely.
? We must cultivate mutual respect and consideration, so as to reach a reasonable balance of interests, instead of thinking only of unlimited power and unavoidable competitive struggles.
? We must value a sense of moderation and modesty instead of an unquenchable greed for money, prestige, and consumption. In greed humans lose their 'souls,' their freedom, their composure, their inner peace, and thus that which makes them human."

A global ethic is not meant as a sort of "hyperreligion" or as a substitute for various individual traditions, whether based on religion or not. The declaration of Chicago is no substitute for the Sermon on the Mount, the Torah, the Qur'an, or the Buddhist didactic scriptures. It concerns the question of a basic ethic. The declaration of Chicago and the texts regarding the project of a global ethic thus do not contain concrete instructions for individual complex questions of business ethics or social policy. This is a matter for economists and special ethicists. However, justice in the distribution of goods, solidarity with the weak and the poor, and the demand to improve their material condition--these are, as we have seen, ethical directives in all religions. Thus, people from various religious and philosophical traditions can each with their individual ethics contribute to a global ethic that aims at the development of a culture of solidarity and the promotion of a just economic system. Here the attitude of giving plays an important role.

Günther Gebhardt, a Christian theologian, was secretary-general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace Europe in Geneva from 1984 to 1997. Since 1998 Dr. Gebhardt has been the senior advisor at the Global Ethic Foundation in Tubingen, Germany.

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