Americans more generous to charities than churches

Americans are being more generous to religious charities, but why are they skimping on their giving to churches?

A new report from Empty Tomb Inc., an Illinois-based Christian research organization, contains an analysis that found from 2007 to 2008, Protestant churches saw a decrease of $20.02 in per-member annual charitable gifts. Meanwhile, Empty Tomb’s analysis of federal data found that annual average contributions to the category of “church, religious organizations,” which includes charities like World Vision and Salvation Army, increased by $41.59.

Sylvia Ronsvalle, executive vice president of Empty Tomb, said the good news/bad news difference is stark: giving to religious charities is up, while giving to churches is down.

One reason? Churches spend more money on congregational finances and less on missions beyond the church walls, which is unappealing to people who want to support specific causes with a tangible, visible benefit.

“People overall give to vision, and this is just what we’ve observed, that you see that kind of outpouring when there is a specific need,” said Ronsvalle, who co-wrote the 20th edition of the “State of Church Giving through 2008” with her husband, John.

According to the Empty Tomb report, U.S. churches devote more than 85 percent of their spending on “congregational finances” such as salaries, utility bills and brick-and-mortar maintenance.

Christian Smith, the director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, said the main reasons Christians hold back on their generosity are bad personal financial habits, distrust of where the money is going and a lack of teaching from the pulpit.

“Obviously, churches are more than financial,” he said. “They are more than about just money, but it takes resources to hire people and put programs into action and to serve the community.” A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey found that 92 percent of charitable giving from people under the age of 25 went to church or religious charities.  (RNS)