Outchurched

According to this article in the Wall Street Journal (found via Philanthropy.com), secular philanthropic giving is on the rise while financial support of religious institutions is on the decline. Religious institutions, in turn, are trying new methods pioneered by the secular (apparently since the Bible doesn’t really have all the answers to life’s questions).

As churches find new ways to encourage their members to donate a percentage of their income, congregations are becoming increasingly resistant to the idea of tithing, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Proponents of tithing say that the Bible supports the practice of donating a minimum amount, often 10 percent, of one’s annual income to the church. But critics say that people should feel free to give whatever amount they want and that no religious teachings suggest a set amount of giving.

That worries some church leaders. “If everyone gives 2% of their income because that’s what they feel like giving, you aren’t going to have money to pay the light bill and keep the doors open,” says Duane Rice, an official with Evangelical Friends International, a denomination that believes that tithing is required by the Bible.

What? Churches being unable to pay the light bill and keep the doors open is a bad thing? Having centers of religious hate and intolerance (that’s what churches are) closing their doors due to lack of funding sounds awesome to me.

What’s a church to do about all the freeloaders?

Some churches are taking steps to combat the decline. Several churches have installed “giving kiosks” that allow worshipers to use debit cards to make donations. Others have allowed churchgoers to set up an automatic deduction from their checking accounts; some churches have also offered seminars to teach people how to manage tight budgets while still tithing.

We all know how important it is to fund the removal of women’s rights and the oppression of gay people. Give liberally generously, as God has given to you (which means God owes me a hell of a refund).

This entry was posted by Rev. Dan on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 at 11:33 am and is filed under Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.