by Religion teaches us to be generous and help other people. But the church giving statistics show that Christians aren’t donating as much as they used to.
So what is the reason behind the declining donations for religious purposes? Is Christianity the most generous religion in the world? How much do churches give to charity?
Without further ado, let’s find out the answers and reveal many more intriguing statistics about church giving.
Top 10 Interesting Facts About Church Giving Statistics
- 49.6% of American households donate money to charity.
- 27% of the overall charitable contributions in America in 2021 were for religious causes.
- In the last 30 years, the percentage of monetary donations to religion has dropped by 19%.
- Religious people donate more money to charity compared to secularists by 25%.
- Muslims donate $1,810 on average, which is more than other religious groups in the USA.
- 87% of the religious donations go to the church, while the rest is for a specific objective.
- The average monetary donation to a church is $205.
- One in five Christians in the USA gives more than $50 weekly to their church.
- 18.01% of the total church donations are made on Sunday.
- 71% of church donations in America are sent from a bank account.
General Donations by Religion Statistics
1. The United States of America and Myanmar are the most generous states in the world
According to the 2019 data, USA and Myanmar are the most generous countries worldwide, with an aggregate score of 58%. According to the statistics for the USA, 72% of the respondents stated they had helped a stranger, 61% had donated money, and 42% had volunteered.
Close behind USA and Maynmar is New Zealand with a 57% aggregate score for giving, Australia and Ireland with 56%, Canada with 54%, and the United Kingdom with 54%.
On the other hand, the countries who donate the least are China and Greece, with only 16%.
2. 49.6% of American households donate money to charity
Almost half of the households in America made some kind of donation to charity in 2018. The number of American households donating to charity has decreased by 16.6% from 2000.
3. 27% of the overall charitable contributions in America in 2021 were for religious causes
Religion is, without a doubt, the number one cause for donating money in America. Every fourth donation in America is for religion. From the total $484.58 billion in donations, $135.78 billion went to religious causes.
Compared to the statistical data from 2020, Americans donated more money to religion in 2021. The year-over-year growth was 5.4%.
4. In the last 30 years, the percentage of monetary donations to religion has dropped by 19%
The percentage of donations to religious organizations has declined from 46% in 1992 to 27% in 2021. The main reason for this drastic change is the declining number of Americans who worship religion.
It is expected that the charitable dollars for religion in America will continue to decline.
5. Muslims donate $1,810 on average, which is more than other religious groups in the USA
A survey conducted in 2021 showed that Muslims are the most generous religious group in the USA. According to charitable giving by religion statistics, Muslims give more to faith-based and non-faith-based causes.
To be more specific, Muslims stated they give $1,810 on average for religious purposes, which is $672 more than other religious groups. On the other hand, while the other religious groups have donated $767 on average for non-faith-based purposes, Muslims have given $1,400.
6. White households donate the most money to religious causes, with $967
The church giving statistics show that donations for were significantly lower in 2018 compared to 2000. White households are the most generous in the USA, with the average giving amount for religion of almost $970 in 2018.
Next are black households, with $446 given to religious causes, while Hispanics donate $165 on average.
7. 21% of Christians in America give at least 10% of their income to their church or ministry
One in five Christians in America donates 10% or more of their income to the church. 37% of the participants in the Barna survey stated the amount they give varies each year.
9% have stated they set aside less than 10% to give to their church. Unfortunately, one in four Americans doesn’t give monetary donations to the church.
But what percentage of Christians give to their church according to their religious practices?
The amount Christians donate to their church varies between practicing and nonpracticing Christians. For instance, 42% of practicing Christians give 10% or more of their income to charity, while the number is lower in nonpracticing believers, counting only 16%.
8. People with religious affiliations donate $1,590 annually to charity
Overall, the data shows that persons with some religious affiliations generally give more than twice to charity than people who aren’t religious. Additionally, the annual charitable donations are bigger from people who attend religious services than the ones who don’t.
Interestingly, there is no drastic difference in the percentage of people who give gifts to secular causes. 65% who attend religious services give gifts to secular causes, and half of the people who don’t go to religious services do the same.
9. Religious people donate more money to charity compared to secularists by 25%.
(Hoover)
Generally, believers are more generous than secularists; they donate more money and spend more time volunteering. More specifically, 91% of the people who worship religion donate money, compared to 66% of the secularists who do the same.
Regarding volunteering time, 67% of the believers do volunteer work which is 23% more than secularists.
10. 87% of the religious donations go to the Church, while the rest is for a specific objective.
Each church donation is divided to cover the administrative costs of the religious organizations and nonprofit objectives. Unfortunately, almost 90% of the people’s donations are spent to help run the church.
Only 13% of the donations are used for a nonprofit objective and to support a specific cause. When we consider the average church donation of $390, only $50 goes to charity, while the other $340 is for the church.
11. Almost 15% of the Americans who donate money to churches are recurring givers.
(Church Giving Statistics Report 2023)
Only 14.91% of the overall givers donate money regularly. If we compare the amount of money they are responsible for, we will see that they donate 35.94% of the total church donations.
Church Giving Statistics
12. The average monetary donation to a church is $205.
(Church Giving Statistics Report 2023)
The church giving statistics show that 44% of the gifts from people are under $100. However, this group is responsible only for 8.67% of the donated money.
On the other hand, 2.79% of the people who donate more than $1,000 make 27,02% of the overall church donations.
But what percentage of Christians give between $100 and $999?
- 33.07% of the donors give between $100 and $249.
- 13.24% give between $250 and $499
- 5.94% donate between $500 and $999
13. One in five Christians in the USA gives more than $50 weekly to their church.
Christians in the USA make generous weekly donations to their parish. 25% give more than $50, while 9% give between $41 and $50. 23% of American Christians give from $21 to $30.
Furthermore, 15% of Americans give from $11 to $20 weekly, and 7% donate between $31 and $40. Another 7% donate from $6 to $10 a week.
Lastly, 14% give $5 or less per week to their church.
Church Donors Behavior
14. 81% donate money yearly or intermittently.
(Church Giving Statistics Report 2023)
The majority of the people who donate money to the church do it once a year or intermittently. Only 5% make monetary donations to the church weekly, while 14% make monthly donations.
Considering the overall amounts donated, almost half of the overall donations, or 48.8%, come from the monthly givers. The believers who donate weekly contribute 30.63% to the total amount donated.
Surprisingly, 20.58% of the total church donations comes from people donating yearly.
15. December is the most popular month for church giving when 8.98% of the total donations are made.
(Church Giving Statistics Report 2023)
In December, Christians donate the most, counting almost 9% of the total amount. On the contrary, the month with the lowest donations, 3.65%, is February.
For the other months of the year, the giving volume is between 4.81% to 5.62%.
16. 18.01% of the total church donations are made on Sunday.
(Church Giving Statistics Report 2023)
Almost every fifth church donation is made on Sunday. On the contrary, Saturday is the day of the week when the churches receive the least donations.
Regarding the time of the day, the church giving statistics show that 7.26% of the total donations are made between 10 and 11 o’clock.
17. 71% of church donations in America are sent from a bank account.
(Church Giving Statistics Report 2023)
Seven in ten Americans use their bank account as a donation method. The other 29% prefer to use a credit card.
Furthermore, the bank account gift amounts are higher than the ones done with a credit card by $100 on average. More specifically, the average gift amount from a credit card is $147, while from a bank account, it is $247.
18. Between 3 and 5% of Americans regularly donate money to their local church by tithing.
From the overall number of people who tithe, 77% donate between 11% and 20% of their income. Typically, the tithers consider their gross income when calculating how much money to donate to the church.
Considering the financial situation of the people who tithe, 80% don’t have credit card debt, and 28% don’t have any debt.
Church Giving Trends
19. 59% of the surveyed church leaders noted that their church received a higher amount of donations in April 2020 compared to the same time the previous year.
(Tithe)
Although the churches expected a decrease in donations during the pandemic, almost 60% of the surveyed church leaders stated they received more monetary donations in April 2020 than in 2019.
In fact, during the pandemic’s peak, 72% of the churches in 2020 had higher donations than in January of the same year.
Looking at the overall picture, 70% of the churches had enough donations to continue their normal work.
20. It is expected for the number of donors to decrease, but the donations to be larger.
Wealthy people have an advantage when they donate money because the amount they give is tax deductible. Except from helping the less fortunate, wealthy people reduce their income taxes and lower their capital gains.
Conclusion
It is important to analyze the church giving statistics in the past and see the current trends so that we can make accurate estimations for the future. Although most of the overall donations go to religious causes, the number of people who regularly donate to their local church is declining.
The predictions for future church donations are somewhat concerning because the number of Christians in America who practice religion is slowly declining. But, on the optimistic side, although the number of givers is lower, the church gifts are getting bigger.
