Saturday, July 5, 1997

Giving in American Churches'

By David Crumm

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

"Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches," by Dean Hoge, Charles Zech, Patrick McNamara and Michael Donahue; Westminster John Knox Press (260 pages, $20).

In the depths of our spiritual journeys are secrets we would never share with another soul.

For many Americans, one of those closely guarded secrets is how much money we contribute to religious groups. That's why, when a team of four scholars set out to research donations, the first reaction of church leaders was:

"Oh, no - not that sensitive topic!"

Fortunately, the scholars persevered and from 1992 through 1995 conducted the most extensive study ever completed of religious giving. They gathered data from many religious groups, developed surveys, visited congregations, interviewed members as well as clergy, and extensively studied five denominations: Assemblies of God, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Roman Catholic Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The results are fascinating. Among their broad conclusions:

Contributions to churches amount to at least $60 billion a year. Of course, that number is very difficult to document, and the authors believe that the total is a very conservative estimate. They argue that religious giving probably represents nearly two-thirds of all philanthropic giving in the United States.

Churches vary widely when it comes to collecting cash. Among 23 denominations listed in the book, Mormons and members of the Assemblies of God ranked far ahead of most mainline churches by donating - on average - more than 5 percent of their annual incomes to the church. At the bottom of the list were Catholics, Christian Scientists and Unitarian-Universalists. Generally, they donate 1 percent of their incomes.

Since the 1950s, church members have steadily decreased the amount of money they spend on missions outside the local church, dropping from 20 percent to 30 percent of a congregation's annual budget in the '50s to only about 10-15 percent today. There are many reasons for this decline, including the loss of volunteer time to local churches as more women entered the workforce, increasing the need for paid staff. Another factor is the growing competition among churches, which causes each one to spend more money to improve its programs.

This book is especially timely in an era when governments are cutting back their assistance to local communities with the hope that each neighborhood will fend for itself. For many years, churches have been the pillars of thousands of communities nationwide.

But if church leaders rush to read "Money Matters," looking for a quick formula for increasing donations, they'll find some sobering news: Though the scholars offer many helpful suggestions, they also conclude that it is getting harder to inspire such donations.

"At a time when baby boomers are assuming leadership within churches, studies tell us that young adults are less loyal to their denominations than their parents were," they write. "The era when people gave large sums to denominational leaders with implicit trust is fading fast. Generous giving can no longer be taken for granted."

How credible are these scholars and their research? Very. This is an impressive piece of work. It was funded and supervised by the Lilly Endowment, the leading nonprofit group financing serious research on religion in America. Dean Hoge, a highly respected sociologist from Catholic University of America, headed the group of scholars. Hoge's colleagues - Charles Zech, Patrick McNamara and Michael Donahue - have backgrounds in economics, sociology and research techniques.

In short, these guys know their stuff - and have triple-checked their major conclusions from several perspectives. If readers want to judge for themselves, the scholars have included the texts of their survey questionnaires, extensive tables of their statistical data and a detailed section of notes to readers.

Along the way, the scholars pierce many myths, including:

Myth: Catholics and Protestants who disagree with some of their church's social teachings tend to give less. Not so, the scholars found. People seem to separate these attitudes from their decisions about giving.

Myth: Churches that establish endowments will reduce their overall giving, because members will think the church doesn't need the money. Not true. Endowments have no effect on members' week-to-week giving.

Myth: Making too many financial appeals for special projects will turn off members. In fact, the opposite is true, as long as the appeals aren't more than once a month. Churchgoers like to give to a variety of specific causes.

Remember, the scholars conclude, it's those ornery middle-aged baby boomers who are reshaping the face of religion in America. And baby boomers value nothing more than choice.

So, Hoge and his colleagues write, "Give the members numerous options and let them choose!"

(c) 1997, Detroit Free Press.

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