I wonder what the original hypothesis was? I also wonder what all of the options were? When I had a NDE(Near Death Experience) and returned from heaven, I felt drawn toward altruism but at first I felt like I needed take to care of my own wants and needs...then out of the fullness of being blessed I could be kind to others... I later discovered that giving was the only way I could ever get ahead... When I gave to those who just gave to me and then those who I gave to broke my heart...I was left with nothing... I couldn't keep up the giving enough to those that gave to me to balance my life. I still know there is some kind of universal law...You give and you get back what you gave... and then some... Some of us give loving kindness and it is returned to us....while other give bitterness...and it is returned to us as well...with extra measure...but today I believe that that giving to strangers gives me the most benefit...

To give an extra measure of loving kindness to others where there is no direct relationship to myself is where there is a line that trips the magic of the giving and receiving law and puts all who give an extra measure of loving kindness to strangers in a place where they are in the company of angels and the God who is love. That kind of giving can dispel the strangeness of others if we allow others who we give to to give back to us the gifts they can share with us. We become a part of a larger pool of possible blessings.

Everyone who leaves the house may have rain and sun pour down on their heads but only those who look up and marvel at the rain and sun get the most benefit from it... Some would prefer to keep their heads down and hide away inside to prevent the sun from burning their eyes while others use an umbrella to prevent themselves from getting wet... The sun and rain have physical gifts to give everyone but when we contemplate the sun and rain, they can become tools that give us the ability to grow whatever we want to grow. God( who is love) is like that. God loves us all and we can benefit from believing in God but even if we don't believe, God's love will benefit us... yet when we believe and turn our faces to God(or whatever you call love)... we can receive more of the benefits and gifts that God(who is love)has to give... It doesn't take a religious person to understand this law but it helps... only it works both ways...

If your religion creates bitterness between your in-group(believers) and others who do not believe as you do(non-believers)... then I would like to see a study to discover if those who held religious beliefs would be generous to those who are not of their religious in-group? My hypothesis would be that religious beliefs do create a sense of altruism for strangers yet those beliefs can also create animosity towards those who are not of their belief system or lack of a belief system. If this is the case then does the benefit of altruism of believers lead believers to dehumanize and marginalize those not in their in-group? If religion leads us to marginalize those not in our in-group then the benefit of having that religious belief is counterproductive and the benefit of altruism comes from pity... but altruism that comes from a respect for all people regardless of a person's belief system is more likely to reward the giver and receiver of that altruism more fully. At least that is my hypothesis...