Read Anywhere and on Any Device!

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!

Create Free Account

Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money

Christian Smith

3.9/5 ( ratings)

Passing the Plate shows that few American Christians donate generously to religious and charitable causes -- a parsimony that seriously undermines the work of churches and ministries. Far from the 10 percent of one's income that tithing requires, American Christians' financial giving typically
amounts, by some measures, to less than one percent of annual earnings. And a startling one out of five self-identified Christians gives nothing at all.

This eye-opening book explores the reasons behind such ungenerous giving, the potential world-changing benefits of greater financial giving, and what can be done to improve matters. If American Christians gave more generously, say the authors, any number of worthy projects -- from the prevention
and treatment of HIV/AIDS to the promotion of inter-religious understanding to the upgrading of world missions -- could be funded at astounding levels. Analyzing a wide range of social surveys and government and denominational statistical datasets and drawing on in-depth interviews with Christian
pastors and church members in seven different states, the book identifies a crucial set of factors that appear to depress religious financial support -- among them the powerful allure of a mass-consumerist culture and its impact on Americans' priorities, parishioners' suspicions of waste and abuse
by nonprofit administrators, clergy's hesitations to boldly ask for money, and the lack of structure and routine in the way most American Christians give away money. In their conclusion, the authors suggest practical steps that clergy and lay leaders might take to counteract these tendencies and
better educate their congregations about the transformative effects of generous giving.

By illuminating the social and psychological forces that shape charitable giving, Passing the Plate is sure to spark a much-needed debate on a critical issue that is of much interest to church-goers, religious leaders, philanthropists, and social scientists.

Language: English

Pages: 288

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Release: September 29, 2008

ISBN: 0195337115

ISBN 13: 9780195337112

Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money

Christian Smith

3.9/5 ( ratings)

Passing the Plate shows that few American Christians donate generously to religious and charitable causes -- a parsimony that seriously undermines the work of churches and ministries. Far from the 10 percent of one's income that tithing requires, American Christians' financial giving typically
amounts, by some measures, to less than one percent of annual earnings. And a startling one out of five self-identified Christians gives nothing at all.

This eye-opening book explores the reasons behind such ungenerous giving, the potential world-changing benefits of greater financial giving, and what can be done to improve matters. If American Christians gave more generously, say the authors, any number of worthy projects -- from the prevention
and treatment of HIV/AIDS to the promotion of inter-religious understanding to the upgrading of world missions -- could be funded at astounding levels. Analyzing a wide range of social surveys and government and denominational statistical datasets and drawing on in-depth interviews with Christian
pastors and church members in seven different states, the book identifies a crucial set of factors that appear to depress religious financial support -- among them the powerful allure of a mass-consumerist culture and its impact on Americans' priorities, parishioners' suspicions of waste and abuse
by nonprofit administrators, clergy's hesitations to boldly ask for money, and the lack of structure and routine in the way most American Christians give away money. In their conclusion, the authors suggest practical steps that clergy and lay leaders might take to counteract these tendencies and
better educate their congregations about the transformative effects of generous giving.

By illuminating the social and psychological forces that shape charitable giving, Passing the Plate is sure to spark a much-needed debate on a critical issue that is of much interest to church-goers, religious leaders, philanthropists, and social scientists.

Language: English

Pages: 288

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Release: September 29, 2008

ISBN: 0195337115

ISBN 13: 9780195337112

More books from Christian Smith

The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture

3.8/5 ( ratings)

Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers

Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood

3.6/5 ( ratings)

Moral, Believing Animals: Human Personhood and Culture

3.8/5 ( ratings)

The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation

3.6/5 ( ratings)

Young Catholic America: Emerging Adults In, Out Of, and Gone from the Church

4.1/5 ( ratings)

Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social Movement Activism

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Christian America?: What Evangelicals Really Want

3.5/5 ( ratings)

Nuclear Rising: A post-apocalyptic action adventure

Building Catholic Higher Education

4.5/5 ( ratings)

Bankerzzz

4.5/5 ( ratings)

Natalie Note

3.5/5 ( ratings)

A Dad's Legacy

Young Catholic America: Emerging Adults In, Out of, and Gone from the Church

Latin American Religion in Motion

Précis Clinique Des Affections Des Voies Urinaires Chez l'Homme, Vol. 1: Anatomie, Urologie, Affections de l'Urèthre (Classic Reprint) (French Edition)

Little Chris And His Big Imagination Go To The Beach

Photovoltaic Notes and the NEC For Grid Direct Systems

The Sacred Project of American Sociology

Rate this book!

Write a review?