Giving to Religion is Closely Tied to Participation
August 17, 2009 by O'Meara Ferguson
Filed under Daniel Conway
From Dan Conway’s The Good Steward, July 2008
What does weekly Mass attendance have to do with weekly giving? Would Catholics’ financial support for the parish or diocese increase if they were more involved in the Church’s prayer and work?
Independent research into giving to religious organizations of diverse Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths suggests that active involvement is the single most important factor in giving to faith-based causes or organizations. This represents a significant challenge at a time when research conducted by Indiana University’s Center On Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) shows that “religious giving and attendance at weekly services have declined in general across the nation, and younger generations attend services less frequently.”
According to Bill Enright, who directs the Center On Philanthropy’s Lake Institute On Faith and Giving, the decline in attendance at places of worship can be attributed to what researchers call “the loss of the Sabbath.” Because fewer people today set aside a sacred day for worship, presence and participation have declined and, proportionately, so has financial support…
