At the recent Imagine Canada Summit for charities, a top subject for attendees was how to instil a philanthropic mindset in the next generation - an issue that has grown in the nonprofit sector as religious belief has declined. In The Globe and Mail, reporter Erin Anderssen explores the implications of declining attendance at religious services in relation to overall charitable giving in Canada.

"This is a hugely important topic," said Penelope Burk, president of Cygnus Applied Research. "Religion has a huge impact on turning people toward philanthropy and keeping them pointed in that direction.  Who or what is waiting in the wings to pick up the slack?" School? Families? Facebook?

"[Religion] is one of the few institutions left in society that actually teaches people about giving," points out Jeff Pym, director of stewardship for the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. "Almost all other institutions teach people about consuming."

Read Anderssen's full article