Scrooge Lives!
This could be the worst moment in our lifetimes to discover that American Christians give away relatively little of their money.
The economy is in the midst of the worst downturn in at least 17 years and the most serious U.S. banking crisis in at least 20. It has the potential to be as painful as the Great Depression. Banks are failing. Workers are losing their jobs. Homeowners are losing their homes.
But this may actually be the best time for an emerging study that delivers the bad news. Over the next few months or years, as our economy travels down a long road of recovery, our neighbors may need much more assistance than we've grown accustomed to providing. And like skyrocketing home prices, the lack of generosity among American Christians is a trend that cannot continue without doing serious harm.
More than one out of four American Protestants give away no money at all—"not even a token $5 per year," say sociologists Christian Smith, Michael Emerson, and Patricia Snell in a new study on Christian giving, Passing the Plate (Oxford University Press).
Of all Christian groups, evangelical Protestants score best: only 10 percent give nothing away. Evangelicals tend to be the most generous, but they do not outperform their peers enough to wear a badge of honor. Thirty-six percent report that they give away less than two percent of their income. Only about 27 percent tithe.
Economists sometimes view recessions as necessary purgings of excessive behavior, correcting irrational investments in stocks in the 1920s or tulips in 17th-century Holland. Perhaps the current correction, as families learn to live on less and depend on each other more, will make American Christians more generous. It would be a correction long overdue.
The $85.5 Billion Gap
American Christians' lack of generosity might not be as shocking if it didn't contrast so starkly with their astounding wealth. Passing the Plate's researchers say committed American Christians—those who say their faith is very important to them and those who attend church at least twice a month—earn more than $2.5 trillion dollars every year. On their own, these Christians could be admitted to the G7, the group of the world's seven largest economies. Smith and his coauthors estimate that if these Christians gave away 10 percent of their after-tax earnings, they would add another $46 billion to ministry around the world.
This kind of money matters. Smith says he embarked on his study after discovering the difference a healthy church budget could make for a church youth group. Working on Soul Searching, his 2006 book about the religious lives of teenagers, Smith says, "It was clear how much churches can do when they put up the money for hiring a good youth minister or putting programs in place."
His inside look into church spending opened his eyes to the limits of church giving. This is pretty pathetic, he remembers thinking.
How much do American Christians really give? What could they give? And most importantly, why don't they? Smith began investigating the questions with Michael O. Emerson, a Rice University sociologist with whom he wrote 2001's Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, and Patricia Snell, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, where Smith serves as director.
One early finding: That estimate of $46 billion in additional giving is unrealistic. Not because it's too big, but because it's too small. Estimating 10 percent giving for every committed Christian in the U.S. neglects two groups: those who truly can't afford to give 10 percent (due to illness or unemployment or similar reasons), and those who are already giving more than 10 percent (more on this group in a moment). If you calculate that 10 percent of Christians can't give because of their financial limitations, most of the rest give 10 percent, and a handful of generous givers continue their current generous giving pattern, committed American Christians could realistically increase their giving by $85.5 billion each year.
Star Trek Into Darkness
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D Miller
In the magazine, it shows a graph of all denominations and the percentage of income that they’re giving on average. By at least double, the Mormon church led with 5% as an average. The next closest was the Evangelicals, but they weren’t much more than 2%. Catholics, Protestants, and Episcopalians were all under 2% with Catholics trailing all. Funny thing, this article talks about all the other denominations but never once mentions the Mormons and their impressive faithfulness in tithing (relatively speaking). The article incorrectly states that “Evangelicals lead amongst American Christian churches in giving”, even though the LDS Church contributes a percentage of over twice as much.
R.A.
Good administration of earned money that is offered to the cause of the gospel is a right concern for Christians. Many Christians really excel in administering money by putting God's money to help the needy and the spreading of the Gospel but I feel that money is also a call for love of neighbor and I don't see an explicit connection in the article. There is also a question that lumbers in my mind, how many Christians were co-authors in creating this economic upheaval? Are we now calling Christians for a bail out? Christian charity must prevail but also self examination should not be avoided if you want sins to be forgiven and due reparation to take place. In the parable of the Good Samaritan the religious stablishment is called into question about what they do with the needy. How many Christians did not raise their voice about the different "signs" of the economic "greed" that slowly was erroding this Country of ours?
Gracie
I think that we Christians need to improve in our giving. Many, as this article pointed out, give only impulsively not thoughtfully. I have tithed on my gross income since I got my first job; not because I saw my parents do this but because of the Bible's teaching. I tithe 10% to my church. Then I determine what organizations I feel are doing good work and I give another % of my income to them. I have no sympathy for those who don't give because they can't trust organizations to spend their money wisely. I research those to whom I give to make sure they are doing the most with what they receive. It takes a little time but at least I can be sure my money is doing the work I intend. Another aspect of stewardship that receives little attention is the responsiblity we have to use all of the money God gives us wisely. Will I live in a little smaller house? Will I drive a used car instead of a new car? God has blessed me and it is my responsibilty to use what He gives me wisely.