People who believe in God tend to be more helpful, honest and generous individuals, new research suggests

Scientists say that those who frequently pray and attend religious services report more charitable donations and volunteer work. However the review, published in the journal Science, does suggest that believers acting for the greater good may be doing so to enhance their own reputation among friends and acquaintances. In one experiment, volunteers who had been told that a dead student's ghost had been seen in the experiment room cheated less on a test than those who had not. In another, children who were told that a fictional character called Princess Alice was watching them were less likely to disobey their instructions. In Science, the authors wrote: "These findings are consistent with the idea that outward evidence of religious devotion may engender more trust." The evidence also suggests that trust in other members of a religious group is higher when those groups involve a greater degree of commitment, for example in stricter forms of religious belief, such as Mormonism. The authors say that the research supports the idea that in early societies religion helped to foster social cohesion by encouraging cooperation.