• Residents in the South Gave Largest Portion of Income to Charity in 2005; Residents in the Northeast Gave Smallest Portion of Income to Charity, and Spent Smallest Portion of Income on Other Expenses in 2005

• Church Giving Increased in 2005; Giving to Benevolences Posted Visible Gain

• Denominations Spent 2.2¢ on Overseas Missions of Each Dollar Given to Congregations in 2005

New empty tomb, inc. Analysis of Giving Data Available Oct. 15, 2007
The State of Church Giving through 2005: Abolition of the Institutional Enslavement of Overseas Missions

Key Findings (Detailed Findings below)

The State of Church Giving through 2005 will be released by empty tomb, inc. on October 15, 2007. This edition is seventeenth in the series.

Subtitled “Abolition of the Institutional Enslavement of Overseas Missions,” the report provides an update on church member giving data through 2005, the latest data available based on aggregated congregational reports. The new book also analyzes data obtained from the 2005 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The report also explores congregational and denominational structures and their impact on the support of overseas missions.

Findings address various issues including the following.

Analysis of 2005 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey Charitable Giving as a Percent of Income

According to the empty tomb, inc. analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey data:

• Residents in the South region of the U.S. gave the largest portion of income to charitable causes in 2005, the latest year for which data was available. In the empty tomb, inc. analysis of 1987-2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey data, the South had the highest average of giving to charity as a portion of income in the 1987-2005 period.
• Residents in the Northeast gave the smallest portion of income to charitable causes in 2005, even though the Northeast spent the lowest portion of income on expenses. The Northeast’s giving level was statistically significant at the .05 level compared to each of the other three regions. Of the four regions in the U.S., the Northeast posted the lowest average portion of income spent on charitable giving in the 1987-2005 period.
• The Midwest was second in giving as a portion of income to charity in 2005. Although in 2004 residents in the Midwest gave the highest portion of income to charity, the Midwest ranked second in the 1987-2005 period overall.
• The West, where residents spent the highest portion of income on living expenses of the four regions, was third in the portion of income given to charity in 2005. In the 1987-2005 period, the West gave the second highest portion of income to charity in some years, but was third in the overall average for the period.

          For a listing of states in each region, see the U.S. Census in Regions [PDF]

Did Benevolences Continue a Long Slow Decline in 2005?

Benevolences as a Portion of Income Increased at the Second Decimal in 2005, Only the Second Time in the 1968-2005 Period.
The empty tomb, inc. analysis series includes 1968-2005 data for a composite set of denominations. The analysis is based on actual congregational reports, aggregated by the individual denominations. The set includes just over 100,000 of the estimated 350,000 religious congregations of any type in the U.S.

In these denominations, giving was up from 2004 to 2005 as a portion of income. Benevolences increased visibly at the second decimal in 2005, for only the second time in the 1968-2005 period.

Are National Christian Denominations Emphasizing Overseas Missions?

Denominations Spent 2.2¢ of Each Dollar Donated to the Congregation on Overseas Missions in 2005
The empty tomb, inc. original survey of 34 denominations about their financial support for overseas missions was extended through 2005.

On average, these denominations spent 2.2¢ of each dollar donated to their congregations on overseas missions. This amount was up slightly from 2004.

Do Church Members Have the Potential to Impact Global and Domestic Need?

Potential Giving at 10% Would Result in $168 Billion Additional
The annual series analysis of potential giving at the tithe, or ten percent of income, calculated that an additional $168 billion could have been available in 2005 for use by churches in the U.S., had giving been at the ten percent level, rather than the 2.58% reported.

Do Catholics Have Potential to Increase Giving?

Roman Catholic Giving Potential in Eight Archdioceses
Although Catholic church structures do not publish giving data, a standard estimate is that Catholic giving to their congregations is about 1.2% of income. The empty tomb report calculates the difference between that level of giving and ten percent giving for eight Roman Catholic Archdioceses in the U.S. The result suggests an additional $56 billion could have been available in these archdioceses alone.

What Is Meant by the Term “Institutional Enslavement of Overseas Missions”?

Abolition of the Institutional Enslavement of Overseas Missions
The new report refers to the approach that many congregations and denominations take regarding the support of overseas missions as the “institutional enslavement of overseas missions.”

Other Analyses

• Comparison of Mainline and Evangelical Protestant Giving
• Giving and Membership Trends in 11 Denominations, 1921-2005
• Membership Trend, 38 Denominations, 1968-2005
  

Detailed Findings

Giving to Charity in the U.S. The new report from empty tomb, inc., analyzed the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey charitable giving data by U.S. region, age, and income brackets. Giving to “church, other religious organizations” was, at 72% of total giving, the largest recipient in every category, thus suggesting religious values as the motivational basis of most philanthropy. Of particular note, according to the study’s authors, was the fact that the Under-25 age group gave 87% of their donations to “church, religious organizations,” suggesting that religious teachings form philanthropic values in the U.S.

In terms of regional differences, the South gave the highest portion of income to charity in 2005. An analysis of Consumer Expenditure Survey data for 1987 through 2005 found that the South was consistently highest in giving to charity as a portion of income.

Another consistent pattern was that the Northeast gave the smallest portion of income to charity. In 2005, the difference between the Northeast and the other three regions was statistically significant at the .05 level. Data did not support the explanation that lower charitable giving levels could be explained by regional cost of living differences. Instead, data showed that residents of the Northeast spent the lowest portion of income on living expenses of the four U.S. regions.

Tables 31 through 37 from the CE Survey analysis by empty tomb, inc. are available at this link: http://www.emptytomb.org/05ce.html.

The new empty tomb, inc. report also compares cash contributions data from the U.S. BLS CE Survey, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form 990, and the IRS charitable deductions-based Giving USA estimate for the years 1989-2003, the last year for which all three sources had available data. In the comparison, in-kind giving was adjusted out of the Form 990 series and the Giving USA series. The 2003 level of Total Contributions varied from $88 billion (CE Survey data) to $116 billion (IRS Form 990 reports) to $142 billion (Giving USA estimate). See below: Table 26: Living Individual Charitable Giving in the United States, A Comparison of the Consumer Expenditure Survey, Form 990 Series, and Giving USA, 1989-2003.

Updates through 2005

Composite Denominations, 1968-2005. The Composite Set denominations, with 28.8 million members, included data for 1968 through 2005. These churches represented just over 100,000 of the estimated 350,000 religious congregations in the U.S. Congregations allocate donated dollars between Congregational Finances (congregational operations and building) and Benevolences (activities focused outside the congregation). In 2005, Benevolences as a portion of income rose to 0.39%, compared to 0.38% in 2004. This increase was only the second time in the1968-2005 period that the portion of income donated to Benevolences increased visibly at the second decimal.

See below: Table 1: Per Member Giving as a Percent of Income, 1968-2005.

A Set of 43 Denominations, 2004-2005: Additional denominations were added to the Composite Set, bringing membership up to 39.5 million church members. The same pattern observed in the Composite Set was evident when the data set was expanded to include 43 denominations.

Survey of Overseas Missions Support Expanded to Include 2005. empty tomb, inc. updated through 2005 the survey of 34 regarding their levels of Overseas Missions Income. Congregations spent, on average, 2.2¢ of each dollar for denominational overseas missions. Levels of overseas missions spending ranged from 9¢ per dollar in the Primitive Methodist Church in the U.S.A. and Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (General Synod), to 1¢ in some denominations including The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). See below: Table 17: Denominational Overseas Missions Income, Excluding Any Investment or Government Income, as a Percent of Total Contributions to Congregations, 33 Denominations, 2005, with footnotes of denominational comments.

Potential of Church Members in the U.S. to Impact Domestic and Global Need: Had giving been at an average of 10% in 2005 rather than 2.58%, there would have been at least an additional $168 billion available for the overseas and domestic mission work of churches. See below: Figure 17: Potential Additional Church Giving at a 2005 Average of 10%, and Illustrations of Global Need That Could Be Addressed.

The study used church member data and cost estimates to calculate the annual cost per church member to address various global needs. For example, evangelical Christians could “complete the task” of global evangelization for 7¢ per member per day. If all members of historically Christian churches contributed to efforts to address evangelization plus stopping child deaths globally, providing elementary education for all children around the globe, and assisting with poverty in the U.S., the daily cost per member would be 28¢.

Estimates were combined with other information to develop the daily costs per member for selected church populations to address needs on a scale that would begin to solve, rather than cope with, these challenges. See below: Table 21: Great Commission Outreach Estimated Costs, Calculated as Cents Per Member for Selected Church Populations, 2005.

The new book also highlights individual congregations that are working on increasing support of overseas missions. For example, the book presents information about the Antioch Presbyterian Church, Chongju, South Korea. This congregation reports an average of 77 cents of each dollar given to the congregation is spent on missions outside South Korea.

Roman Catholic Potential in Eight Archdioceses. The report includes an estimate of potential increased giving in eight Roman Catholic archdioceses that traditionally have a cardinal. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian communion in the United States. If giving among Catholics in these archdioceses had been at the classic tithe, or 10% of income, the total additional giving in 2005 would have been $56 billion more. The potential increases varied from $1.8 billion in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to $13.9 billion in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. See below: Table 22: Potential Additional Giving at 10% of Income, Eight Roman Catholic Archdioceses in the U.S., 2005.

Abolition of the Institutional Enslavement of Overseas Missions. The report also explores current denominational structures that impact support of congregation giving to overseas missions. The fact that many congregations and denominations emphasize overseas missions in order to gain support for their general activities is referred to as the “institutional enslavement of overseas missions.” The new book discusses the fact that, although the church in the U.S. exists in what might be termed miraculous circumstances, many church leaders have described the practice of the church as lukewarm. The impact of such behavior on society at large is explored. The report also considers signs of hope, changes in traditional approaches that may allow the abolition of the institutional enslavement of overseas missions by denominational and congregational structures.

Other Analyses

Evangelical and Mainline Protestant Giving Patterns. The series’ comparison between evangelical and mainline Protestant giving patterns is updated through 2005. See below: Table 10: Percent Change in Per Member Giving as a Percent of Income, Seven NAE and Eight NCC Denominations, 1968 to 2005. Seven denominations affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and eight denominations affiliated with the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) are included in the analysis. Giving as a percentage of income was higher in the NAE-affiliated denominations. However, between 1968 and 2005, the rate of decline was faster in the NAE-affiliated denominations, compared to the NCC-affiliated denominations, for Total Contributions and Congregational Finances. The NCC-affiliated denominations, however, decreased faster in the portion of income directed to Benevolences.

Giving and Membership in Eleven Denominations, 1921-2005. The series’ ongoing analysis of eleven denominations that have provided data for 1921 through 2005 was updated. Per member giving as a portion of income was lower in 2005 than in either 1921, the first year of the analysis, or in 1933, the depth of the Great Depression. See below: Figure 6: Per Member Giving as a Percent of Income in 11 Denominations, and U.S. Per Capita Disposable Personal Income, 1921-2005.

Trends in Membership. The new report analyzes trends in giving and membership, based on the 1968 through 2005 data. A group of 38 denominations, including some of the fastest growing Protestant denominations, and the Roman Catholic Church, represented 45% of the U.S. population in 1968, but had declined to 38% of the U.S. population in 2005. That change represented a decline of 16% from the 1968 base in the portion of U.S. population that these denominations represent. Giving trends also suggest the portion of income donated to the church may continue to shrink in future decades.

Availability. The new book, The State of Church Giving through 2005: Abolition of the Institutional Enslavement of Overseas Missions by John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, will be released by empty tomb, inc. on October 15, 2007. The book will be available through Internet booksellers. The new book can also be ordered through bookstores or directly from empty tomb, inc. at www.emptytomb.org. The list price is $30.00.

NOTE 1: Tables and Figures follow.
NOTE 2: Members of the working media can request a review copy of The State of Church Giving through 2005 by emailing <research@emptytomb.org>, subject heading, “Review Copy.” Please include name of journalist, name of media, and mailing address. Copies are mailed by U.S. mail unless other arrangements are made.

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Tables and Figures from the new empty tomb, inc. report, The State of Church Giving through 2005: Abolition of the Institutions Enslavement of Overseas Missions

Table 1: Per Member Giving as a Percent of Income, 1968-2005

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 15

Denominations included in the Composite Data Set: American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.; Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (General Synod); Brethren in Christ Church; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Church of God (Anderson, IN) (through 1997); Church of God General Conference (Oregon, IL and Morrow, GA); Church of the Brethren; Church of the Nazarene; Conservative Congregational Christian Conference; Cumberland Presbyterian Church; Evangelical Congregational Church; Evangelical Covenant Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Evangelical Lutheran Synod; Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches; Fellowship of Evangelical Churches; Free Methodist Church of North America; Friends United Meeting (through 1990); General Association of General Baptists; Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; Mennonite Church U.S.A. (through 1999); Moravian Church in America, Northern Province; North American Baptist Conference; The Orthodox Presbyterian Church; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Reformed Church in America; Seventh-day Adventist Church, North American Division; Southern Baptist Convention; United Church of Christ; Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Table 17: Denominational Overseas Missions Income, Excluding Any Investment or Government Income, as a Percent of Total Contributions to Congregations, 33 Denominations, 2005

Denomination		2005 Overseas Missions Income (Line 4)	2005 Total Contributions	Overseas Missions Income as % of Total Contributions	Cents of Each Dollar to Denom. Overseas Ministries
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection		$399,514	$5,383,333	7.4%	7¢
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.		$11,096,481	$336,894,843	3.3%	3¢
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (General Synod)		$4,516,302	$50,921,233	8.9%	9¢
Brethren in Christ Church		$1,920,000	$39,800,056	4.8%	5¢
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)		$4,222,777	$503,045,398	0.8%	1¢
Christian and Missionary Alliance	9	$20,545,803	$419,442,594	4.9%	5¢
Church of the Brethren	10	$2,270,134	$97,940,974	2.3%	2¢
"Church of God General Conference (Oregon, Ill. and Morrow, Ga.)"		$80,000	$4,496,822	1.8%	2¢
Church of the Lutheran Confession		$203,836	$6,551,799	3.1%	3¢
Church of the Nazarene		$52,753,682	$765,434,742	6.9%	7¢
Churches of God General Conference		$1,342,056	$32,249,551	4.2%	4¢
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference	11	$166,875	$59,346,227	0.3%	0.3¢
Cumberland Presbyterian Church		$293,346	$54,148,837	0.5%	1¢
The Episcopal Church	12	$15,371,967	$2,180,974,503	0.7%	1¢
Evangelical Congregational Church		$725,089	$21,408,687	3.4%	3¢
Evangelical Covenant Church		$9,008,719	$291,847,011	3.1%	3¢
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America		$26,084,001	$2,517,394,789	1.0%	1¢
Evangelical Lutheran Synod		$222,204	$13,831,771	1.6%	2¢
Fellowship of Evangelical Churches		$785,676	$18,426,832	4.3%	4¢
Free Methodist Church of North America		$10,720,240	$154,525,029	6.9%	7¢
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod	13	$17,175,578	$1,296,818,738	1.3%	1¢
Moravian Church in America, Northern Province	14	$482,157	$17,835,255	2.7%	3¢
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church		$1,856,529	$40,736,400	4.6%	5¢
Presbyterian Church in America		$25,890,591	$586,824,356	4.4%	4¢
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	15	$31,618,000	$2,814,271,023	1.1%	1¢
Primitive Methodist Church in the U.S.A.		$497,845	$5,541,336	9.0%	9¢
Reformed Church in America	16	$10,727,347	$310,909,691	3.5%	3¢
Seventh-day Adventist, North Am. Division	17	$52,130,967	$1,273,399,341	4.1%	4¢
Southern Baptist Convention		$259,394,000	$10,721,544,568	2.4%	2¢
United Church of Christ		$7,652,371	$908,726,794	0.8%	1¢
The United Methodist Church	18	$127,600,000	$5,861,722,397	2.2%	2¢
The Wesleyan Church		$9,769,938	$280,214,570	3.5%	3¢
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod		$8,794,293	$300,844,064	2.9%	3¢
Total/Average for 33 Denominations		$716,318,318	$31,993,453,564	2.2%	2¢

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 62

Notes to Table 17:

⁸ Christian and Missionary Alliance: “Since both domestic and overseas works are budgeted through the same source (our ‘Great Commission Fund’), the amount on lines 1 and 4 are actual amounts spent on overseas missions.”
¹⁰ Church of the Brethren: “This amount is national denominational mission and service, i.e., direct staffing and mission support, and does not include other projects funded directly by congregations or districts, or independent missionaries sponsored by congregations and individuals that would not be part of the denominational effort.”
¹¹ Conservative Congregational Christian Conference: The structure of this communion limits the national office coordination of overseas ministries activity. By design, congregations are to conduct missions directly, through agencies of their choice. The national office does not survey congregations about these activities. The one common emphasis of affiliated congregations is a focus on Micronesia, represented by the reported numbers.
¹² The Episcopal Church: “The Episcopal Church USA Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society does not specifically raise money to support our non-domestic ministries. Many of the activities included in our budget are, however, involved, directly or indirectly with providing worldwide mission...Many other expenditures (e.g., for ecumenical and interfaith relations; for military chaplaincies; for management’s participation in activities of the worldwide Anglical Communion) contain an overseas component; but we do not separately track or report domestic vs. overseas expenses in those categories.”
¹³ Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: “Since 1968, many of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) 35 geographic districts now sponsor mission fields directly. The money does not flow through LCMS World Mission and LCMS World Relief, but through various mission societies. In 1996, the LCMS also established the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies which includes ‘recognized service agencies’ of LCMS World Mission. They work in places where LCMS World Mission used to work (or might work today), but they direct and fund the work on their own. Millions of dollars of support from LCMS members is raised and spent by these 75+ mission societies. The Congregation Statistics Reports do not include information about missions spending other than that sent to LCMS World Mission and LCMS World Relief. The dollars that support the mission societies and the Lutheran Mission Agencies would not be included in the Congregation Statistics Reports. Nothing outside of the money that flows through the mission accounting department is verifiable, and no central accounting is made of mission societies spending. District support is only a small portion of the World Mission Support figure, with most of the budget coming from direct gifts from individuals.”
¹⁴Moravian Church, Northern Province: The Overseas Missions Income figure was estimated for the Northern Province by the Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church. The Northern Province is the only one of the three Moravian Provinces that reports Total Contributions to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches series.
¹⁵ Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): For 2005 Data: “Increase for Asia Tsunami Relief”
¹⁶ Reformed Church in America: “We do not know how much money was given to missions outside the RCA structure.” Also, the staff submitting the 2005 data wrote: “The Reported 2003 and Reported 2004 totals listed could not be substantiated.”
¹⁷ Seventh-day Adventist, North American Division: This estimate, prepared by the General Conference Treasury Department, is for the U.S. portion of the total donated by congregations in both Canada and the U.S.
¹⁸ The United Methodist Church: “The above represents total income received by the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church.” For 2005 data: “Increase due to funding received for Tsunami.”

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Figure 17: Potential Additional Church Giving at a 2005 Average of 10%, and Illustrations of Global Need That Could Be Addressed

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 58.

Table 21: Great Commission Outreach Estimated Costs, Calculated as Cents Per Member for Selected Church Populations, 2005

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, pp. 65-68

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Table 22: Potential Additional Giving at 10% of Income, Eight Roman Catholic Archdioceses in the U.S., 2005

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 68.

Table 26: Living Individual Charitable Giving in the United States, A Comparison of the Consumer Expenditure Survey, Form 990 Series, and Giving USA, 1989-2003

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 80.

Table 10: Percent Change in Per Member Giving as a Percent of Income, Seven NAE Denominations and Eight NCC Denominations, 1968 to 2005

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis, 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 30.

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Figure 6: Per Member Giving as a Percent of Income in 11 Denominations, and U.S. Per Capita Disposable Personal Income, 1921-2005

Source: empty tomb, inc. analysis 2007, The State of Church Giving through 2005, p. 36.