Charitable & Benevolent Services

The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Effective altruism is the use of evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to help others.

The word charity originated in late Old English to mean a “Christian love of one’s fellows and up until at least the beginning of the 20th century, this meaning remained synonymous with charity. Aside from this original meaning, charity is etymologically linked to Christianity, with the word originally entering into the English language through the Old French word “charité“, which was derived from the Latin “caritas“, a word commonly used in the Vulgate New Testament to translate the Greek word agape (ἀγάπη), a distinct form of “love“. 

Over time, the meaning of charity has shifted from one of “Christian love” to that of “providing for those in need; generosity and giving, a transition which began with the Old French word charité. Thus, while the older Douay-Rheims and King James versions of the Bible translate instances of “agape” (such as those that appear in 1 Corinthians 13) as “charity“, modern English versions of the Bible typically translate “agape” as “love”.

Charity in Christianity

In medieval Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, Latin Christendom underwent a charitable revolution. Rich patrons founded many leprosaria and hospitals for the sick and poor. New confraternities and religious orders emerged with the primary mission of engaging in intensive charitable work. Historians debate the causes. Some argue that this movement was spurred by economic and material forces, as well as a burgeoning urban culture. Other scholars argue that developments in spirituality and devotional culture were central. For still other scholars, medieval charity was primarily a way to elevate one’s social status and affirm existing hierarchies of power.