Only 13% of evangelicals tithe, and half give away less than 1% of their income to the church.
While a majority of evangelicals say tithing — giving 10% of one’s income to the church — is a biblical commandment, only an estimated 13% engage in the practice, while half give away less than 1% of their income annually.
The study, “The Generosity Factor: Evangelicals and Giving”, reflects data collected from 1,000 American evangelical Protestants and highlights how and where evangelicals give money. It also reveals significant differences in giving among age groups.
The study found that the average evangelical gave $1,923 to the Church and $622 to charity over the past 12 months, for a total of $2,545 in giving. At the median mark, however, evangelicals only gave $340 to the Church and $50 to charity, for a total of $390.
The study found that people who were more engaged with their church and faith tended to give more to their church, and vice versa.
Researchers pointed out that evangelical giving isn’t more generous than that of other Americans. They cited a 2017 Grey Matter Research paper called Americans Are Far Less Generous Than They Think They Are, which found that the average donor gave 3.2% of their income to the Church and/or a charity.
The study suggested a weakened economy and crowdfunding as factors for the low giving numbers.