Transcript Where Your Treasure Is: Toward Explaining Financially

Presentation Materials from
Passing the Plate: Why
American Christians Don’t
Give Away More Money
(OUP, 2007)
by Christian Smith, Michael Emerson,
and Patricia Snell
© permission granted for use in not-for-profit public presentations
Passing the Plate

Explains how much American Christians do give in total
financial charitable and religious contributions

Explains how much money American Christians could
give if they gave more generously

Explores why American Christians do not give more
money than they do
Why Christians Specifically?

Keeps the analysis and argument focused— is hard for
anyone to take ownership of “all Americans”

Maintains sharp contrast between official Christian
teachings and actual practices
Context

Americans are more generous in voluntary financial
charitable giving than most people in other (post)
industrialized countries.

Religious Americans are more generous in financial
giving than non-religious Americans.
= glass half full
However…

Most American Christians turn out to be stingy financial
givers

When measured against the normative teachings of their
own religious traditions

Considering the financial resources American Christians
have with which they could be generous
= glass half (95%?) empty
Riddle: Why?

Contemporary American Christians are among the
wealthiest of their faith in the world today

Contemporary American Christians are among the most
affluent single group of Christians in 2000 years of
church history.
Earnings

Self-identified Christians in the U.S. earned a total
collective income in the trillions of dollars in 2005.

U.S. Christians who are members of churches earned a
total income of more than $2 trillion in 2005.
How about committed Christians?

U.S. Christians who attend church twice a month+ or
who consider themselves “strong” or “very strong”
Christians earned a total collective income of more than
$2 trillion in 2005.
If Christians were a country…

$2,000,000,000,000+ / year = more than the total GDP
of any nation in the world, except the six richest: U.S.,
Japan, Germany, China, the UK, France.
Vast Giving Potential

If …
– (1) serious American Christians gave 10% of after-tax income
– (2) 1/3rd of less-serious Christians gave 5%

This group could generate a total of $133.4 billion a
year for religious, charitable, and social service
purposes—over and above what they currently give
Five
Facts…
Fact #1

At least one out of five self-identified American Christians
— 20 percent of all U.S. Christians — gives literally
nothing to church, para-church, or non-religious
charities.
Zilch.
Table 1: Self-Reported Financial Giving by U.S. Religious Types (Percents)
Percent of
Percent of
Percent
Income Given Mean Dollars
Gives
Giving $0 in
by Average
Given by
Less than 2
a
Previous
(Mean) Giver Median Giver
Percent of
All U.S.
Year
Income
Christians
22.1
2.9
13.6
71.7
Protestants
19.2
4.1
13.5
63.9
Fundamentalist
11.5
6.2
29.6
40.4
Evangelical
4.4
8.2
29.8
36.4
Mainline
12.6
4.6
18.5
59.1
Liberal
19.8
2.7
17.3
68.4
Other
24.4
3.1
10.6
75
Catholics
28.2
1.8
13.7
80.8
Non-Christian
9.4
3.3
24.7
69
Non-Religious
50.5
.7
<1
89
Regularly
Attendingb
Christians
Protestants
Fundamentalist
Evangelical
Mainline
Liberal
Other
Catholics
4.5
3.2
5.6
<1
3.8
7.5
1.5
7.8
6.2
7.4
8.3
9.5
7.1
5.2
7.1
3.7
27.7
34.3
54.3
36.9
28.1
55.8
23.2
30.9
44.7
37
21.9
28.3
40
36.8
47.7
55.9
Gives
10 Percent or
More of
Income
9.4
12
17.6
27.3
13.6
11.2
7.5
4.4
13.8
.6
17.9
22.5
21.9
30.2
22
23.7
16.9
7.8
Source: General Social Survey, 1998. Notes: aThe result of dividing the median (average denoted as numerically middle position among all
Christians) dollars given by U.S. Christians by the mean (average calculated by summing all dollars and divided by total number of Christians)
dollars given by U.S. Christians, showing how the median reveals much lower levels of giving than do means. bRegularly attending is defined
as attending religious services two to three times per month or more often.
Figure 2: Percent Contributing No Money or Property to Charitable
Purposes, by Religious Group
60
52
50
46
40
40
35
40
38
34 34
34
31
30
34
27
30
26
37
17
14
0
10
20
17
ian ian us
ir st rist ligio
Ch -Ch -Re
n
n
No No
t
t
t
l
l)
er
n
al ne ral
st
tis ptis odis alian eran era (Al ona
ali elic ainli ibe Oth
p
t
a
i
t
p
n
th an
L
g M
th
th
Ba B
n her Me isco Lu r Lu teri mina
me van
r
a
E
he Ot ted Ep LMS the sby no
nd
i
ut
O re -De
o
Fu
S
Un
P
n
No
t
ic
tan thol
s
e
ot
Ca
Pr
Source: General Social Survey, 1996. Note: Includes giving to health, educational, religious, human service, environmental,
public benefit, recreational, arts, cultural, humanities, work-related, political, youth, private community foundation, or international or foreign
charities or purposes; does not include informal giving to needy relatives or neighbors.
Fact #2

The vast majority of American Christians give very little
to church, para-church, or non-religious charities.

The MEDIAN (midpoint) dollars given by U.S. Christians
is a mere .62 percent of the median Christian income
($200 given of $32,500 earned)
Table 1: Self-Reported Financial Giving by U.S. Religious Types (Percents)
Percent of
Percent of
Percent
Income Given Mean Dollars
Gives
Giving $0 in
by Average
Given by
Less than 2
a
Previous
(Mean) Giver Median Giver
Percent of
All U.S.
Year
Income
Christians
22.1
2.9
13.6
71.7
Protestants
19.2
4.1
13.5
63.9
Fundamentalist
11.5
6.2
29.6
40.4
Evangelical
4.4
8.2
29.8
36.4
Mainline
12.6
4.6
18.5
59.1
Liberal
19.8
2.7
17.3
68.4
Other
24.4
3.1
10.6
75
Catholics
28.2
1.8
13.7
80.8
Non-Christian
9.4
3.3
24.7
69
Non-Religious
50.5
.7
<1
89
Regularly
Attendingb
Christians
Protestants
Fundamentalist
Evangelical
Mainline
Liberal
Other
Catholics
4.5
3.2
5.6
<1
3.8
7.5
1.5
7.8
6.2
7.4
8.3
9.5
7.1
5.2
7.1
3.7
27.7
34.3
54.3
36.9
28.1
55.8
23.2
30.9
44.7
37
21.9
28.3
40
36.8
47.7
55.9
Gives
10 Percent or
More of
Income
9.4
12
17.6
27.3
13.6
11.2
7.5
4.4
13.8
.6
17.9
22.5
21.9
30.2
22
23.7
16.9
7.8
Source: General Social Survey, 1998. Notes: aThe result of dividing the median (average denoted as numerically middle position among all
Christians) dollars given by U.S. Christians by the mean (average calculated by summing all dollars and divided by total number of Christians)
dollars given by U.S. Christians, showing how the median reveals much lower levels of giving than do means. bRegularly attending is defined
as attending religious services two to three times per month or more often.
Fact #3

American Christians do not give their dollars evenly
among themselves but, rather, a small minority of
generous givers contributes most of the total Christian
dollars given.
Figure 4: Percent of Total Dollars Contributed by All Christians
Grouped in Five Percentiles by Increasing Levels of Generosity
60
59
.6
50
40
30
20
13
10
0
0
0
1.9 2.7 3.8
1
1
.5
0
.
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 .03 .1 .2 .3 .4 .6 .8 1
5.4
.3
8.1
0
Lowest
Givers
Source: General Social Survey, 1998.
Five
Percentile
Groups
Highest
Givers
Figure 5: Percent of Total Dollars Contributed by Regularly ChurchAttending and Self-Described “Strong” or “Very Strong” Christians
Grouped in Five Percentiles by Increasing Levels of Generosity
51
50
.1
40
30
14
20
10
0
2.8 3.6 4.6
2
1
.7 .2
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.
0 .05 .2 .2 .4 .5 .7 .8 .1 3
6
.6
8.3
0
Lowest
Givers
Source: General Social Survey, 1998.
Five
Percentile
Groups
Highest
Givers
Fact 4

Higher income- earning American Christians—like all
Americans—give little to no more money as a
percentage of household income than lower income
earning Christians
Figure 7: Percent of Household Income Given
to Religious Organizations by Income Level,
All Americans
2.5
2
1.5
1
2.3
1.7
1.3
1.4
0.95 0.91
0.5
0
<$10,000 $10,000- $20,00019,999
29,999
30,00039,999
1.2
$40,000- $50,000- $70,000+
49,999
69,000
Household Income Categories
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2000.
Figure 8: Percent of U.S. Households Giving
More than 3 Percent of Income, by
Household Income Level
40
40
30
30
30
$25,00049,999
$50,00074,999
20
27
27
$75,00099,000
$100,000+
10
0
<$25,000
Household Income Categories
Source: Giving and Volunteering in the United States, 2001.
Figure 9: Percent of Household Income in
Total Charitable Giving by Income Level,
Contributing Households Only
5
4
4.2
3
3
3
$25,00049,999
$50,00074,999
2
2.7
2.7
1
0
<$25,000
$75,00099,000
Household Income Categories
Source: Giving and Volunteering in the United States, 2001.
$100,000+
Re
g
Al
l
2.9
Al
l
Re
g
$40,00059,999
$60,00089,999
Household Income Categories
Source: General Social Survey, 1998.
5.4
5.
ul
ar
1
Re
g
3.1
2.7
Al
l
$30,00039,999
Al
l
$0-12,499 $12,50029,999
ul
ar
5.
ul
ar
Re
g
3.2
Al
l
3.5
Al
l
5.
1
Re
g
7
ul
ar
6.
6
7
ul
ar
Re
g
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
ul
ar
8.
8
Figure 10: Charitable Giving as a Percent of Household
Income by Income Level, U.S. Christians
$90,000+
Figure 11: Charitable Giving as a Percent of Household Income
by Income Levels, Giving U.S. Christians (Non-Givers Excluded)
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
5.5
5.7
4.2
3.1
3.6
3.2
$0$12,500- $30,000- $40,000- $60,000- $90,000+
12,499 29,999 39,999 59,999 89,999
Household Income Categories
Source: General Social Survey, 1998.
Fact #5

Despite a massive growth of real per capita income over
the 20th Century, the average percentage share of
income given by American Christians not only did not
grow in proportion but actually declined slightly during
this time period.
Table 12: Giving Per Church Member as a Percent of Income
in 11 Protestant Denominations, and U.S. Per Capita
Inflation-Adjusted Income 1921-2003
The 11 denominations analyzed are American Baptist (Northern), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, The Episcopal Church, Evangelical
Lutheran Church of America (and subsidiaries that merged), Moravian Church in America, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., Reformed Church in America, Southern
Baptist Convention, United Church of Christ (and subsidiaries that merged) , United Methodist Church (and subsidiaries that merged).
Figure 13: U.S. Catholic Religious Giving as
a Percent of Income, 1963-1998
3
2.2
2
2.2 2.
.1 6 1.6
2
1.1
1
0
1960
1963
1968
1974
1975
1982
1984
.1 6
1987
1.1
1988
1.6
1989
1.7
1991
1.2
1993
Source: Greeley and McManus 1987, Hart 1990, GSS 1998, Independent Sector 1994.
Note: Years not to scale.
1.8
1998
Fact #6

The vast majority of the money that American Christians
do give to religion is spent in and for their own local
communities of faith — little is spent on education,
development, missions, or poverty relief outside of local
congregations, particularly outside the U.S., in ways that
benefit people other than the givers themselves.
Figure 14: Financial Expenditures of U.S.
Religious Congregations in 1996
Operating Expenses
71%
Property Improvements
and Acquisitions
13%
Savings
4%
Direct Assistance to
Individuals
1%
Denominational Giving
8%
Donations to Other
Organizations
3%
Source: Independent Sector, 1996.
Figure 15: Financial Expenditures of U.S.
Religious Congregations in 1986
Operations (Salaries,
Benefits, Supplies, etc.)
75%
Direct Assistance to
Individuals
2%
Donations to Other
Organizations
4%
Source: Independent Sector, 1987.
Facilities Construction
and Improvements
8%
Denominational
Contributions
11%
Q: How to explain
this lack of
financial generosity by U.S.
Christians?
Passing the Plate examines the
best available empirical
evidence to evaluate 9 different
hypotheses seeking to explain
the relative lack of financial
generosity by contemporary
American Christians.
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