Catholic Giving
Observers have long noted the difference between Protestants vs. Catholics in the realm of charitable giving.
A 2001 study found that Protestants in the U.S. donated an average of $1,093 to their churches in 2001, whereas the average amount given by Catholics to their churches was $495.
“The average annual Catholic household weekly offertory is $10 per week,” said Mary Gautier, senior research associate with Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. “That’s what is given to the parish, not diocesan appeals or Catholic Charities.”
A 2011 Lilly Endowment-funded CARA study titled “Changing Face of U.S. Catholic Parishes” found that the annual weekly offertory has increased between 2000 and 2010. The total offertory is 23% larger than it was in 2000.
Adjusted for inflation, while Catholic households gave a total of $6.9 billion to their parishes in 2000, they donated $8.5 billion in 2010. The average weekly parish offertory is $9,191.
One surprise in that study was that parishioners in smaller parishes, those with 200 or fewer registered households, give more on average than those in larger parishes. The average weekly household offertory in a small parish is $12 vs. $7.81 at a parish with more than 1,201 registered households.
The difference between Protestant and Catholic giving is attributed to several factors. Among some Protestant and Mormon teachings, there is an obligation for members to tithe 10% to their church to remain members in good standing. Those faith traditions draw from Old Testament laws to emphasize a 10% annual donation, or tithe, to the church in recognition that everything one possesses belongs to God and giving back to God and others is a way of saying thanks.
Catholics, however, are not under a strict obligation to tithe 10%.
“The absolute necessity of it is relatively less stressed in Catholicism,” writes Catholic author and apologist Dave Armstrong at his website Biblical Evidence for Catholicism. “The New Covenant is not about laws, but about relationship and the Holy Spirit and 100% commitment to following Jesus as a disciple from the heart. So it goes beyond tithing. If tithing were still required, it surely would have been spelled out in the New Testament. But it is not.”
The Catechism states that, “The faithful have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities” (2034).
“Tithing is fine as a voluntary adopted policy of an individual; just not as a mandatory requirement, as if the New Testament teaches that,” added Armstrong.
While Catholics are not under an obligation, most dioceses, such as the Archdiocese of St. Louis, recommend that the faithful consider giving 5% to one’s local parish and 5% to other charities.