Paul G. Schervish, Ph.D. discusses “Receiving and Giving as Spiritual Exercise,” exploring how spiritual aspects of both receiving and giving affect the giver, personal relationships and the greater community. Schervish’s work focuses on giving by people of wealth, what motivates their philanthropy, and the influence of personal and spiritual values on giving. 

Noting that many individuals and cultures today are experiencing an age of affluence, Schervish says, “The leading question of this era is not just how to appropriately accumulate great wealth, but how to allocate it for deeper purposes…for what I call a moral and spiritual citizenship of care.”

Schervish says that many people today are conscientiously seeking to discern how their wealth can best help them carry out their values, accomplish a greater good in society and care for others. He notes that this type of thoughtful giving is important for all people across the economic spectrum, not just the wealthy.

Paul G. Schervish is a Professor of Sociology, the Director of the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, and National Research Fellow at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. He is senior advisor to the John Templeton Foundation, and to the Wealth & Giving Forum, an international round-table for wealth holders to reflect on and discuss their charitable giving in a peer environment.