In a recent article highlighting Mitt Romney’s charitable giving, the New York Times shared a graph that outlines the amount of giving major religions in America contribute. The LDS, or Mormon Church’s members give nearly twice as much as the denomonation in the number two spot.
Here’s the breakdown of the average percentage of giving per member of each denomonation:
- Mormon: 5.6%
- Assemblies of God: 2.9%
- Nondenominational Evangelical: 2.6%
- Baptist: 2%
- Lutheran: 1.5%
- Jewish: 1.4%
- Orthodox: 1.3%
- Methodist: 1.2 %
- Episcopalian: 1.2%
- Presbyterian: 1.2%
- Catholic: .7%
- Muslim/Buddhist: .6%
Since paying tithing is a requirement for Mormons to attend the temple, I can understand how they could have a relatively high percentage. Also, regular church attendance for Mormons is usually around 50% and since the tithing requirement is 10%, I can see how the Mormon church members are at around 5%.
For other Christian faiths, I’m actually pretty amazed how low the charitable giving is. My understanding was that tithing is a law for all Christian faiths, but evidently I’m wrong about that. Also, I’m amazed that giving isn’t up for Christians merely based on the fact that Jesus taught about giving to those in need.
Grace for Grace 
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February 25, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Doug
How sad it is that so many who profess Christ are so stingy when it comes to their giving to the Lord. As a counter balance look at a young woman named Katie Davis who has given her life for the Lord in Uganda (see her book: Kisses from Katie-Ama and Cal you would love this book!)). I personally believe that a Tithe is the starting place! And the Lord delights to bless his people when we give with glad and thankful hearts to Him-you can’t out give God!
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February 25, 2012 at 9:01 pm
ezra
Christians (in general) understand that tithing is a part of the Old Testament covenant which came to an end with the New Covenant instituted by Jesus Christ on the advent of his crucifixion, death and resurrection. Jesus completed the Law in its fulness, and as the perfect human he became the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sin. We are freed from the details of the Law so that we may live in Christian freedom. In other words, there is no requirement for the tithe–it is a personal decision to return to the Lord what is deemed best. Faith, informed by the Word of God, will call a person to realize that giving is not just a “responsibility,” it is an opportunity to join in the work that God has given us to do.
While it is disappointing that people do not practice “tithing” as they are able, giving is a matter of faith and personal decision on the part of the Christian. When a person is forced to give a tenth, he is moved by an ordinance and not motivated by the heart. It’s hard to insist on tithing and call it a response of love. God owns the cattle on a 1000 hills, as the Bible says; he doesn’t need more. What he seeks is our heart. When God gave his only-begotten Son to be our Savior, he gave his all; as a person grows in faith, he understands that giving back is a proper Christian response.
As Jesus mentioned to the Pharisees, better that we focus on the weightier matters of judgment, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23).
(And for the record, yes, our family gives more than the “ten percent.”
( I do believe that God blesses those who step forward in faith: giving
(The new covenant of Christ frees us to be “cheerful givers.”
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February 25, 2012 at 9:43 pm
ezra
On a more positive note, Jesus does not say that tithing is bad; any service given to God or to others is good, but it is pointless to insist upon it. Laying down the law is successful for a while (it provides some immediate results) but will not succeed in the long run. The Law, by its nature, will only drive us to see our inability to please God. The result is either that we are driven into the arms of God, who forgives us, or we are driven away from God in anger, fear, or frustration. God is not a demanding God, but one of mercy and grace.
Bottom line: Any work, however great, is not acceptable to God without faith in Christ Jesus. Faith will always manifest itself in works; the more it understands the love of God the more it will want to please God. Motive is everything.
Nevertheless, Jesus’ saying rings true to Christian or pagan:
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Everything has its own reward; God wants us to have the one that is eternal.
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February 26, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Cal
Both Doug and Ezra express my sentiments exactly. I think Ezra has exuded lots of insight.
Doug, I put your recommendation on my Christmas List! Your last recommendation worked out well. 🙂
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February 27, 2012 at 10:47 pm
graceforegrace
Hi Ezra,
I appreciate that you point out that without faith the works aren’t really meaningful. I’m sure there are people who pay their 10% and think they’re in good graces with God, but their heart isn’t in it, so therefore it’s really pointless. God doesn’t need the money. He wants us to give so that our hearts are focused to him.
Personally, I feel that one of the ways to measure one’s faith in Jesus can be correlated to the amount they give/share with others. If we truly have faith in Jesus, we’ll realize nothing is ours anyways and it all belongs to Him.
What do you think?
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February 28, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Ken
Another study I read recently also showed that donations to churches have dropped considerably in the past 50 or so years here in the US. Is that a sign that faith is declining or is a sign that faith is increasing as people realize they don’t have to give to be saved?
At the time of Christ and after he was risen, the Church had set up a situation where people could give everything to the church if they wanted, and that was also practiced at the time of the establishment of the LDS church, but that was always optional in both cases, and in both did not last.
To conclude that Jesus taught that tithing was no longer a commandment for us to follow is nothing more than that, a conclusion. For nowhere in the New Testament is that doctrine taught specifically, if it is please give me chapters and verses.
As a LDS person I am grateful for a living prophet today who has revealed that this is still a commandment of God that he wants us to follow, and I gladly give from my heart and count it a blessing to do so. I also give in the form of fast offerings and missionary funds (I have a son serving full time right now). And I count each of these opportunities to give a blessing. Just because God has prescribed the minimum amount we should give, seeing as we are not now ready to live the higher law of giving everything, makes it no less of a blessing, in fact it takes a lot of the guess work out of trying to figure out just what is a proper tithe. It is clear that if we are left to figure that out ourselves, our generosity will more often than not fall short of what God would ask, or at least asked in the past.
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February 29, 2012 at 9:46 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Ken,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on tithing.
Ideally, if we are completely pure, we will want to give everything to the Lord including our lives.
However, we’re mortals and not perfect, therefore, I think it is God’s wisdom to have the law of tithing for us to keep our hearts from being hardened.
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