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Americans donate billions to charity, few tithe to churches

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Barna.org: Americans give away enormous sums of money every year. The annual survey of religious behavior conducted by The Barna Group shows that Americans continued that pattern of generosity in 2004, but that even though their giving to non-profit organizations and churches is significant, it is not increasing.

In 2004, nearly four out of every five adults (83 percent) donated money to one or more non-profit organizations. That is similar to the percentage that has donated funds throughout the past decade. Barna’s national study found that the people least likely to donate any money at all were those under the age of 25, people who never attended college, residents of the Northeast, atheists and agnostics, Asians and Hispanics. A quarter or more of the people from each of those segments failed to give away any money in 2004.

The average amount of money donated per person was $1,232. That suggests that the typical individual gave away about 3 percent of their income.

Churches receive the largest share of the money donated each year. In 2004, two-thirds of all adults (65 percent) donated some money to a church or other place of worship.

The people most likely to have given money to a religious center in the past year were Protestants (76 percent), upscale adults (77 percent), political conservatives (80 percent), born again Christians (85 percent), and evangelical Christians (97 percent). Those least likely to support church work included atheists and agnostics (18 percent), residents of the Northeast (55 percent) and Asian-Americans (43 percent).

The average amount of money donated to churches was $895 per donor in 2004. The most generous donors, however, were evangelicals, who averaged $3,250 in church giving.

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