The findings come from Lifeway Research based on responses from 1,000 Protestant pastors.
A small majority of pastors (52%) said they thought the economy was negatively impacting their church. Forty-five percent viewed the economy as “somewhat negatively” impacting their church, while 6% believed that it was “very negatively” affecting their church.
Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell attributed the statistics to “outside economic factors” including the expiration of “temporary assistance from the [Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security] Act and prices and interest rates rise.”
The CARES Act was one of several measures passed by Congress purportedly to help businesses stay afloat as the coronavirus pandemic led elected officials to force businesses to close for several months or longer. Many businesses never recovered.
McConnell added, “The souring of pastor attitudes toward the economy is more about rising expenses than declining income. Declining year-over-year giving is a factor for almost a quarter of churches, but this is a similar rate to what churches have averaged for over a decade.”
Around four in 10 pastors responded that the volume of donations their congregation received was on par with the amount given in 2021, while 32% said they received a higher amount of giving in 2022 than last year and 23% had a lower level of giving.