Charity driven by religiosity?

I thank former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban for sharing with the readers, the philanthropy of the Tan Caktiongs of Jollibee Foods (“Exemplars of Pope Francis,” Opinion, 1/18/15). Indeed, we should rejoice in the knowledge that there are wealthy people out there who have made a major commitment to make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate the best way they could. Mired at 25-percent poverty rate, this country is obviously in great need of philanthropy.

In his Jan. 18 column, Panganiban likens the Tan Caktiongs to the Gates in that they gave up executive positions in their respective companies in order to devote more time to charity. The former chief justice, however, gives the impression that a religious perspective is the driving force for people to be more charitable. (The column made no mention of the Tan Caktiongs religious affiliation.) Perhaps. But just to balance our perception, it is important to note that the top three philanthropists of all time are all atheists. Some of them are even outright vile in their criticism of religion.

In one of his letters, Andrew Carnegie, the top giver of all time ($75 to $297 billion, thus far!), stated, “the whole scheme of Christian salvation is diabolical as revealed by the creeds.” Still, he gave 7,000 church organs, “in the hope the organ music will distract the congregation’s attention from the rest of the service.”

Bill Gates, also an atheist (maybe an agnostic) and ranks second ($28 billion so far), is not only generous but could be Pope Francis’ poster boy for humility. He is not in favor of a continuing legacy of a foundation in his name after his death. He, along with Warren Buffett (third), vows to give all their money back to society before they pass on.

In 2013, the top philanthropist was none other than Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder; he is an avowed atheist. The list of the wealthy and charitable, which includes the likes of Ted Turner, (CNN), Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com), Jeff Skoll (ebay), Richard Branson (Virgin Atlantic), Steve Jobs (Apple), Elon Musk (Tesla Motors), etc., tells me that they are genuinely altruistic in their desire and commitment to help others since they have no illusions of any afterlife. The wealth? They are not held back in their creative quests by a stifling absolutist ideology of religion.

One thing sure: These people do not (or did not) waste their time glorifying a myth. As Bill Gates famously said: “There is a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning” (than going to church).

—EDWIN DE LEON, edwingdeleon@gmail.com