Tithing -- the response to the biblical exhortation of returning to God 10% of his gifts -- may be common in some denominations, but in most American churches it remains a rare practice.
Researchers have found that although about 80% of Americans profess to be Christians, and many say they believe in tithing, consistent tithers are a small group -- about 3% of adults.
Modest tithing is especially noticeable among Roman Catholics, who give to their parishes about half as much as Protestants. In 2003, Protestants gave 2.6% of their income to their churches and Catholics gave 1.2%, according to studies conducted by Empty Tomb Inc., a Christian research and service group based in Champaign, Ill.
Why?
One reason -- researchers, clergy and parishioners say -- is that Catholics simply don't have a tradition of tithing and annual pledging.
Angela Lee, a member of St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church in Encino, said many Catholics continue to drop $1 in the offering basket, as they did 30 years ago.
Msgr. Carl Bell, pastor of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, said he once heard a bishop describe the state of giving in the Catholic church as something like this: If you have $50, you go out to dinner. If you have $20, you go to a movie. If you have $10, you get fast food. But if you have $1, you go to church.
A lack of tradition isn't the only reason for a scarcity of tithing, experts say. The avoidance of tithing reflects the sense of ownership parishioners feel toward their churches -- or more precisely, the lack of it.
"The heritage in Catholic thought that still hangs over people is that they are just customers and the clergy really owns the church," said Dean R. Hoge, a professor of sociology at Washington, D.C.'s Catholic University of America, whose specialty is churches.
That view, combined with the large size of parishes, makes it hard for most members to think they can make a difference, said Hoge, a co-author of "Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches," a seminal work on church giving.
"It's almost like we just go there; we don't own the store," said Hoge, whose research team surveyed 625 congregations in five mainline denominations across the nation. He said many Catholics think "the priest will give us what we need, and we'll tell him what we want."
On the other hand, in smaller Protestant churches where tithing is a tradition, congregants encourage each other to give.
