Source: Religion News Service
VENTURA. CALIFORNIA, June 7, 2001: Tithing, the ancient practice of contributing one-tenth of your income to the religion of your choice, is on the decline in America. According to the Barna Research Group who conducted a telephone poll on 1,005 adults, 17% claimed to tithe but in actuality only 6% donated one-tenth of their income to a religious charity. According to this article, “Sixty-one percent of adults donated money to one or more churches in 2000, compared to 66% in 1999. The average church donor contributed a mean of $649 to churches in 2000, compared to $806 in 1999.” The research company pointed out that young adults contribute meagerly to their churches as does the generation of baby-boomers 30-50 years of age. Both groups tend to contribute more to charitable organizations. The article also points out the challenge that church ministries will face in the future to instill the value of tithing upon their congregations. Other studies have shown that members contribute liberally to churches which provide a great deal of service to their members. Cutting back of services because of lack of donations only causes a further drop.