There are an estimated 10 million tithers in America that donate more than $50 billion annually to religious and charitable causes. A new 5-year constituency study released by the State of the Plate gives an inside, in-depth look at the financial, giving, and spiritual practices of 4,413 people who donate 10 percent or more each year.
Survey participants came from all 50 states, all types of churches, and all income levels. The full report, “20 Truths about Tithers,” provides 27 pages of valuable information on this important group of givers for the media, pastors, church, and non-profit leaders.
While many who donate 10% or more may not consider themselves “tithers” because of its connection to Old Testament teaching, this practice has been observed by many devoted Christians for centuries and is still voluntarily practiced by millions today.
Notable State of the Plate findings:
- 77% of those who “tithe” give 11%–20% or more of their income, far more than the baseline of 10%.
- 97% make it a priority to give to their local church.
- 70% “tithe” based on their gross income, not their net.
- 63% started giving 10% or more between childhood and their twenties
- Tithers carry much less debt than most people and are financially better off than Christian non-tithers—80% of “tithers” have no unpaid credit card bills; 74% have no car payments; 48% own their home; and 28% are completely debt-free.
What do you think about these tithing findings?
I’m almost 70 years old, and have tithed since I was a girl. I consider tithing to be a covenant relationship between me and God. Wealth has never been a goal, but being faithful, including tithing, has been and is the basis of my life journey.
Thanks so much for your comment, Pat! Thanks for reading ChurchTechToday. Blessings on your life. – Lauren
Tithers don’t tithe because they are financially blessed. They’re financially blessed because they tithe. It’s a truth that’s repeated over and over in Scripture. If you’re faithful in the little things, you’ll be faithful in larger things. If you won’t give 10% to God when you don’t have much money why would he trust you with more? Matthew 23:23
Give it to poor and not to the wealthy church .
But don’t twist it another way either.
Those who tithe have a different set of financial values, which keep us out of debt generally.
I think you may find _many_ tithers among those we would not consider ‘better off’ financially, and in the lower income brackets. Yet they may make choices to manage their money differently than non-tithers, even with the limited resources they have.
Hi Margie, I think you’re onto something here. Many people scrimp and save in order to be able to meet their physical needs and still tithe–even on limited resources. Thanks for sharing your two cents!
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These statistics are great, but they aren’t surprising to me (for the most part). My only concern with them is that people twist the final statistic to say that those who tithe are better off financially because they tithe. Logically though, it’s the other way around. Those who are better off financially are more likely to give.
Thanks for your comment. I hear you about your concern to twist these stats into the “prosperity gospel.” That definitely isn’t the case with Dr. Kluth, but as with any data, anything can be repackaged. Bottom line: people who have less debt seem to give more. That’s not rocket science.