Painful rituals make for charitable people

| New Zealand News | Wednesday July 17 2013 12:18

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A study involving Victoria University of Wellington researchers supports the longstanding theory that taking part in extreme, painful rituals makes people more charitable.

Religious and Psychology experts from the University visited the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius last year to observe two annual rituals.

One ritual, known as Kavadi, involves body piercing with multiple needles, dragging carts attached by hooks to the skin for over four hours, and climbing a mountain barefoot to reach a religious temple.

They compared that with another ritual involving singing and prayers.

Both groups were then given money and the opportunity to donate anonymously to a temple.

They found donations from people involved in the painful, extreme ritual, were almost twice as high as in the second group.

Photo / Michael Hoefner

Related Subjects

Victoria University
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Mauritius
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