The number of households that tithe their income to their
church dropped by 62 percent from 2001 to 2002, according to national pollster,
the Barna Research Group.
According to Barna, the number of families who contributed at least 10 percent
of their income was at 8 percent in 2001, a year later the percentage had
dropped to just 3 percent.
The numbers were not much better among born-again adults, who represent 38
percent of the nation’s population. According to Barna, only 6 percent of
born-again adults tithed last year, down from 14 percent in 2001. The drop
comes on the heels of a slight increase recorded in 2001, when the 2000
percentage was just 12 percent.
George Barna, the researcher who conducted the study, said there were several
factors contributing to the decline.
Different challenges have caused people to choose not to tithe, Barna said in
a news release. For some, the soft economy has either diminished their
household income or led to concerns about their financial security. For others
the nation’s political condition, in terms of terrorism and the war in the
Iraq, has raised their level of caution. The scandals involving Catholic priests
last year reduced some people’s confidence in church leaders and, consequently,
reduced their giving as well.
The Barna study discovered that several people groups are more likely to tithe
than are others. Groups with the highest proportion of tithers were people 55
or older, college graduates, middle-income individuals, Republicans,
conservatives, residents of the South, evangelicals, Protestants and those who
attend mainline Protestant churches.
The group that had the highest proportion of households tithing was
evangelicals. While that group represents just 6 percent of the public, nearly
9 percent of the group tithed in 2002 roughly three times the national average.
Five population segments emerged as highly unlikely to participate in tithing.
Those segments, where less than one-tenth of one percent tithed in 2002,
included Hispanics, liberals, Catholics, homeschool parents and downscale
households defined by Barna as earning less than $20,000 and not having a head
of household who graduated from college.
The research indicated three other groups that were significantly below average
in their likelihood to tithe were people not registered to vote, those
registered as independent and residents of the Midwest.
The role of demographics
In discussing the decline, Barna identified another
significant problem shifting demographics that will affect the church for
years.
We are losing many of the people who have a habit of tithing people in their
sixties and beyond while the proportion of homes headed by younger adults, who
have never tithed and don’t plan to, is growing, Barna said. Also realize
that the fastest growing group in the country is Hispanics, among whom very few
give generously to their church.
Barna suggested that the long-term solution for church leaders is to stress a
biblical worldview to congregants in an effort for them to understand the
Scriptural mandate for tithing.
In the interim, the researcher recommended several steps that church leaders
can take to increase giving, including providing evidence of ministry needs,
showing efficiency in church spending, demonstrating the life-changing impact
of the church’s ministry and establishing trust and confidence in the
leadership of the church.
Among one of the bigger surprises in the survey was the low tithing rate among
homeschoolers. Barna cited research indicating that they tend to have
below-average household income levels and less disposable income than the
typical household. On the other spectrum, Barna said the showing of liberals
fits with their practice of giving a bigger share of their donor dollars to
non-religious, non-profit organizations.
The data in this report is based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by
the Barna Research Group from its interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The
OmniPollSM survey involved interviews among 1,010 adults during the last week
of January and first week of February. The maximum margin of sampling error
associated with the aggregate sample of adults is ±3.2 percentage points at the
95 percent confidence level.