@Setanta,
Thanks for the context on Hobbes. It looks like we largely agree, but I'm not entirely convinced that secular charities are necessarily less effective or efficient than religious ones. That is, I concede that religious charities have historically been more visible and, at least apparently, robust than secular ones, but I don't see any reason why this must be the case. As religious influence declines worldwide - as it has been doing for a few decades - those charities will be, I suspect, replaced by secular ones witout loss. Perhaps with gain, seeing as how secular charities have no need for gilded catherals and such lavish overhead. But now I've crossed over into uncomfortable territory, speculating about the future.