Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon church is formally known, appear to be the exception. They are required to give 10 percent of their incomes to remain in good standing and almost 80 percent donate, according to a recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
A study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University showed that Mormons give 6 percent of their incomes on average. Pentecostals, Evangelicals and some Protestants give between 2 and 3 percent to religion while Jews give 1. Catholics donate the least — less than 1 percent. Like other religious institutions, Mormons must rely on honesty for the full 10 percent donation. So how do Mormon leaders achieve the kind of participation they appear to be getting? The answer lies partly in an annual obligation called a "tithing settlement.
Ryan Cragun, a former Mormon and an expert on the Mormon religion at the University of Tampa, began tithing when he was 6 years old and working in his uncle's cherry orchard in Utah. At the end of each year, the bishop would invite his family for a meeting in his office.
The bishop would slide a piece of paper with an accounting of how much the family had paid in tithes for that year across his desk. In most faiths, tithing is a personal decision made when someone writes out a check or puts cash into a basket. There is little direct pressure from a church leader on individual churchgoers. Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? For Mormons, however, a failure to tithe technically means they may not enter the temple where sacraments are performed.
In most churches, tithes support the workings of the congregation — from building maintenance and salaries to ministries like food banks and missionary trips. In most religions, a tithe can be made to any charity. But Mormons must give 10 percent to the church. Across the country in recent years, the downward trend in giving has meant that some churches are closing and others are experiencing layoffs. The backlash comes as some churches step up their efforts to encourage tithing.
Some are setting up "giving kiosks" that allow congregants to donate using their debit cards when they attend services. Others are offering financial seminars that teach people in debt how they can continue tithing even while paying off their loans. Media-savvy pastors, such as Ed Young in Grapevine, Texas, sell sermons online about tithing.
And in a shift, more Catholic parishes are asking churchgoers to tithe, says Paul Forbes, administrator of McKenna Stewardship Ministry, a nonprofit that says it has encouraged more than parishes to tithe in the last decade. Popes haven't requested tithes in recent decades. You may change your billing preferences at any time in the Customer Center or call Customer Service.
You will be notified in advance of any changes in rate or terms. The bishop or branch president is a witness for the Lord, and he records the declaration for the Church records.
The correctness of the declaration is known only to the individual and God. Tithes are paid by Mormons of all ages, including children. There's a children's verse about tithing to help them understand what it's about:. I want to give the Lord my tenth, For ev'ry time I do It makes me think of all the gifts He gives to me and you. He gives us life, this lovely world. And though my tenth seems small, It shows my faith and gratitude To him, the Lord of all.
Mormons regard the main purpose of tithing as helping to develop the soul of the tithe-payer, rather than generating church income. A major spiritual benefit for the Church is that the money it uses to carry out its work has already been sanctified by the faith of the giver.
And so each giver is equally blessed by God for their gift, regardless of its actual size. A farmer might give an egg for every ten eggs his hens laid. Pioneer settlements often built Tithing Houses to store the produce. Some people worked on church projects for one day out of ten because they didn't produce anything suitable for a tithe. Tithing was introduced very early in the life of the Church but by the end of the 19th century it was much neglected and the Church was in serious money trouble.
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