LifeWay Survey Reveals Laity, Clergy Hold Differing Views On Tithing

Written by LifeWay News Service

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PHOENIX, Ariz., 3/2/06 -- Research results being released for the first time in the March/April edition of Facts & Trends magazine show most Protestant ministers believe Christians are supposed to tithe - or give 10 percent of their income - to their local church. Unfortunately for these ministers and churches, most people in the pews of the local church do not agree with them.

Two studies were conducted by Ellison Research (Phoenix, Ariz.). One was a representative sample of 811 Protestant church ministers nationwide, and the other was a companion survey of 1,184 people who attend Protestant churches at least once a month.

In the study, 56 percent of all clergy say Christians are under a biblical mandate to tithe 10 percent of their income to the local church, while another 12 percent feel Christians are under this 10 percent mandate, but the gifts do not necessarily have to go to the local church. Twenty percent believe there is a biblical mandate to give, but not any specific amount or percentage.

However, among the people who attend Protestant churches, only 36 percent feel there is a biblical command to tithe10 percent to their local church, while another 23 percent believe there is a biblical mandate to tithe, but not necessarily to the local church. Twenty-seven percent feel the Bible commands Christians to give, but not a set proportion or amount, while 10 percent believe Christians are under no mandate to give anything.

How much and to where?

Among both clergy and laity, Pentecostals, Southern Baptists and people from other Baptist denominations are the ones most likely to believe in tithing to the local church, while Presbyterians, Methodists, and Lutherans are the denominational groups least likely to hold this opinion.

Among people who do believe in tithing (whether to the local church specifically or to any type of organization), an ongoing debate is whether the 10 percent should be figured on gross income or on net income (after taxes). Churchgoers who believe in tithing are equally split over this, with 48 percent believing the tithe should be figured on net income, and 52 percent saying it should be on gross income. Clergy fall much more into the "gross income" camp (72 percent, versus 28 percent who believe the tithe should be calculated on net income).

The study also found that most people - both clergy and laity - believe that Christians’ giving does not have to be limited to religious causes or organizations. Just 3 percent of clergy and 1 percent of laity feel that Christians should only support Christian causes. Three out of 10 clergy and 1 out of 10 churchgoers feel Christians should give preference to Christian causes or organizations in their giving, and another third of each group feel Christians should support Christian causes when they can, but should be free to support non-religious organizations when there is no religious equivalent (such as cancer research or animal welfare).

One-third of all clergy, and a majority of all churchgoers (55 percent), feel Christians should be free to support any type of cause or organization, regardless of whether it has a religious connection.

In fact, ministers and laity are equally likely to have supported a non-religious cause or organization in the last year. Fifty-seven percent of each group have given money to an organization with no religious connections in the last 12 months.

Giving to causes

Finally, the studies evaluated what types of causes and organizations church leaders and churchgoers have actually supported through donations in the last 12 months.

With the plethora of natural disasters over the last year, it’s probably no surprise that the No. 1 category for both laity and ministers is disaster relief. Eight out of 10 ministers and 54 percent of laity have personally supported an organization working in disaster relief in the last year.

Among pastors, there is a clear hierarchy of causes. After disaster relief come three others that are very popular: evangelism (66 percent), denominational causes or programs (51 percent), and specific schools, colleges, or universities (49 percent). Eight other types of causes or organizations have received donations from between one-fifth and one-third of all pastors: literature (such as Bibles and tracts), international poverty relief and development, domestic poverty relief and development, health (such as medical research and hospitals), educational causes, broadcast stations or ministries, political causes or organizations, and social/moral causes (such as pornography, supporting or opposing abortion).

Five other types of causes are less popular among clergy, finding financial support from fewer than 20 percent: individual political candidates, veterans’ causes, cultural (museums or the opera), the environment, and animal welfare.

There are substantial differences between what evangelical and mainline Protestant ministers support out of their own pockets. Evangelicals are more likely than mainline ministers to contribute to evangelism, literature, and social/moral issues. Mainline Protestants are more likely than evangelicals to have supported disaster relief, denominational programs, specific schools, international and domestic poverty relief, health, education, the environment, and cultural issues.

Keeping it in the church

The people in the pews, on average, have supported fewer causes outside of their own church over the past year than have their church leaders. In fact, disaster relief is the only cause to have received donations from a majority of Protestants who attend church. Second to disaster relief among laity is evangelism (33 percent), followed by veterans’ causes, denominational programs, health, and educational causes (all supported by 20 percent or more in the past year).

Virtually all clergy in this study have financially supported their own church in the past year. And for the typical churchgoer, a majority of the money they give does go to their local church. On average, Protestants estimate 69 percent of their giving in the last year went to their church, while 31 percent went to organizations outside of their church.

Two percent of all clergy and 16 percent of all churchgoers say they have not financially contributed to any organizations (outside of their local church) in the last year.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, noted the irony in some of the findings. "What’s really sad is that 6 out of 10 churchgoers told us they believe the Bible commands them to tithe 10 percent or more of their incomes, yet other studies have consistently shown that under 1 out of 10 actually do that," Sellers said. "In other words, at least half of all Protestants are clear on what they believe they’re supposed to be giving, but consistently don’t give it."

Sellers also noted that Christian organizations and ministries need to understand that many religious people are supporting non-religious organizations. "When we work with individual charitable organizations, there’s often an assumption that Christians support Christian ministries over non-religious organizations," he said. "This study conclusively shows that assumption to be false, and that in fact over half of all Protestant churchgoers don’t even give any preference to Christian organizations in their giving decisions. It’s critical that Christian organizations really understand this about their target market."

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