Generosity has long been a cornerstone of evangelical faith, yet recent data reveals a concerning decline in financial giving among evangelical Protestants. The Giving Gap: Changes in Evangelical Generosity sheds light on these trends, examining the significant drop in donations to churches, charities, and ministries over the past three years.
The study underscores the strong link between spiritual engagement and generosity: regular Bible study, prayer, and church attendance correlate with higher giving levels. However, as spiritual engagement wanes, so does financial support (see particularly p. 31). David Long, the Stewardship Director of the Southern Union, shared this report with us. We encourage you to read this comprehensive report which offers valuable insights into the shifting patterns of evangelical generosity and their implications for churches, nonprofits, and ministries. It invites reflection on how faith communities can address these challenges and reinvigorate the spirit of giving.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Sixty-one percent of all evangelical Protestant adults made a financial donation to a local church in the past 12 months, while 50% gave to an organization outside of a church. Forty-two percent gave to both church and charity, while 31% gave to neither.
- Eleven percent of evangelicals gave to a political cause, party, or candidate in the last 12 months (political giving is not considered in the 31% who gave nothing to church or charity).
- The proportion of evangelicals who gave money fell sharply from 2021. The proportion giving to a church fell from 74% to 61%, and the percent who gave to a nonprofit or ministry outside of church fell from 58% to 50%. The proportion who supported neither one rose from 19% to 31% in the past three years.
- There is a very strong correlation between regular engagement in spiritual activities and giving. Evangelicals who regularly read and study the Bible, pray, attend worship, and attend small group are about twice as likely to give to charity as those who infrequently or never do these things, and nearly three times more likely to give to church.
- Not only are fewer evangelicals giving, but those who are still giving are donating less than in 2021. Among evangelical donors to church, the average amount given over the past 12 months was $2,503. This is down 15% from an inflation-adjusted average of $2,953 in 2021.
- Among charitable donors, the average given in the past year is $1,151, which is down 5% from $1,210 (inflation adjusted) three years ago.
- Among those who gave to church or charity (or both), the average given is $3,053, which is a 15% drop from $3,572 (inflation adjusted) in 2021.
- Generosity is the proportion of household income given away. The average donor gives 2.8% of household income to church (down from 3.2% in 2021). An average of 1.1% of household income is given to charity outside of church (down from 1.4%). Between church and charity, the average evangelical donor’s generosity is 3.3% of household income, which is down from an average of 4% three years ago.
- Not only are people who are fully engaged spiritually more likely to give, but they average much higher giving. Average total generosity among donors is 5.1% of household income when spiritual engagement is Full. This drops to 3.6% when it is High, 3.1% at Moderate, and just 1.8% when spiritual engagement is Low/None.
- Today, the average evangelical donor sends 68% of their donations to a local church, with 32% going to charities or ministries outside of church.
- There is also a high correlation between church and charitable giving. The more generous evangelicals are to church, the more generous they are to charity. The more generous they are to charity, the more generous they are to church. Giving to church and charity rises and falls in tandem.
- Because both household income and giving amounts are estimates, we consider tithing to be generosity of 8% or greater, to allow for a little play in the figures. The proportion of all evangelicals who tithe has fallen from 13% in 2021 to 10% today. The older the evangelical and the more spiritually engaged she or he is, the higher the proportion who tithe.