Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attend an Episcopal Church. I tithe but it’s not 10% of my income.
We are asked the pledge an amount every year but the amount is up to us, it’s not questioned it just helps them budget.
We are also told that giving our time is part of tithing too. Someone may not be able to help financially but if they help in the Sunday school weekly or take on another ministry that is a donation of your time.
Donating to charities outside Church is welcome too, I support animal charities in addition to the Church, it all counts.

That's not tithing. Tithing is 10%.

Don't keep repeating yourself. The meaning of the word has morphed over time. Deal with it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give a couple bucks every month. But otherwise I'm not paying for the catholic church to protect child rapists and pay out millions in insurance and settlements. We give plenty to other charities.

Why give at all if you think that's where your money's going?

I pay my share to keep the lights on and the maintenance man paid. The church say how much it costs and I divide it by the number of families. Keeps my conscious clean.

What about your unconscious?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jewish temples don’t do this. So no.

They do charge for seats and membership fees.

Mostly they're not charging for "seats" -- typically anyone who wants to can go to any synagogue any time to pray. Attendance goes WAY up over the weekly average for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, so many congregations do require memberships and/or one-off ticket purchases then, though even there, at my synagogue (Adas Israel), there are several services that are open to the public with no ticket or membership needed.

For any non-Jews wondering, the membership dues arose in part because you can't take a collection at the services when regular members are most likely to be there (Saturday mornings and Friday nights) due to restrictions on carrying money and doing business on Shabbat. I saw a Catholic poster above saying they give $5 or $10 when the plate is passed; if everyone does that every week they're there, it adds up to a lot. Synagogues can't raise money that way, so they go another route.

Anonymous wrote:I attend an Episcopal Church. I tithe but it’s not 10% of my income.
We are asked the pledge an amount every year but the amount is up to us, it’s not questioned it just helps them budget.
We are also told that giving our time is part of tithing too. Someone may not be able to help financially but if they help in the Sunday school weekly or take on another ministry that is a donation of your time.
Donating to charities outside Church is welcome too, I support animal charities in addition to the Church, it all counts.

That's not tithing. Tithing is 10%.

Anonymous wrote:No.

I’m Catholic and tithing is a Baptist/protestant thing.

Don’t Catholics come around with a basket to collect coins and bills? It’s all anonymous and not required. I think it goes to charity.

The Mormons strong arm tactics work as they are the richest religious organization in the United States. Another rich one is the Cult of Scientology.

Anonymous wrote:Jewish temples don’t do this. So no.

They do charge for seats and membership fees.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give a couple bucks every month. But otherwise I'm not paying for the catholic church to protect child rapists and pay out millions in insurance and settlements. We give plenty to other charities.

Why give at all if you think that's where your money's going?

I pay my share to keep the lights on and the maintenance man paid. The church say how much it costs and I divide it by the number of families. Keeps my conscious clean.

That makes sense. I also take that into account when I donate to my church. Also, aside from the rector, many ministers at my Anglican church have regular day jobs, which keeps costs down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed a lot of Hindu temples popping up all over the DMV and most look pretty grand too.. Asked a Hindu friend if they have the concept of tithing and he said no, all contributions are voluntary! Imagine being able to buy property at current prices and build all these beautiful temples while raising funds without having to resort to arm-twisting or emotional blackmail! Impressive!

I don't have to imagine. It's like going to my Anglican church, where giving is entirely voluntary. Or going to church with the other posters in this thread, the majority of whom have said they attend but don't tithe.

Of course, but a lot of those churches have been around forever, likely having acquired property at dirt-cheap prices. They also have a larger base to depend on. Anyways, not trying to put down anyone. Just an observation as an atheist who finds these things 'interesting'.

My church hasn't been around forever and doesn't own its building. Giving is still voluntary, and we are not manipulated into giving. I grew up in a different protestant denomination, and I never experienced whatever you're talking about.

Good for you/your church. That's the way it should be. I never went to church growing up and all this tithing/donation is hearsay to me. Just based on the posts on this forum, you can see for yourself how much people are 'forced' to give.

I see the people being "forced" to give are LDS and Jewish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed a lot of Hindu temples popping up all over the DMV and most look pretty grand too.. Asked a Hindu friend if they have the concept of tithing and he said no, all contributions are voluntary! Imagine being able to buy property at current prices and build all these beautiful temples while raising funds without having to resort to arm-twisting or emotional blackmail! Impressive!

I don't have to imagine. It's like going to my Anglican church, where giving is entirely voluntary. Or going to church with the other posters in this thread, the majority of whom have said they attend but don't tithe.

Of course, but a lot of those churches have been around forever, likely having acquired property at dirt-cheap prices. They also have a larger base to depend on. Anyways, not trying to put down anyone. Just an observation as an atheist who finds these things 'interesting'.

My church hasn't been around forever and doesn't own its building. Giving is still voluntary, and we are not manipulated into giving. I grew up in a different protestant denomination, and I never experienced whatever you're talking about.

Good for you/your church. That's the way it should be. I never went to church growing up and all this tithing/donation is hearsay to me. Just based on the posts on this forum, you can see for yourself how much people are 'forced' to give.

Anonymous wrote:I attend an Episcopal Church. I tithe but it’s not 10% of my income.
We are asked the pledge an amount every year but the amount is up to us, it’s not questioned it just helps them budget.
We are also told that giving our time is part of tithing too. Someone may not be able to help financially but if they help in the Sunday school weekly or take on another ministry that is a donation of your time.
Donating to charities outside Church is welcome too, I support animal charities in addition to the Church, it all counts.

It's a common misconception that "tithe" is synonymous with "donation." Tithe literally means one tenth of your annual income. So if you don't give 10% of your income, you're not tithing.

I'm a Catholic. When I go to a service, I give them something like $5 or $10. That's it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Jewish concept of a tithing obligation is to give a tenth or more of one's income to charity. That is typically understood to include not only official "charities," but also individual poor people whom one wishes to help. It is not focused in any way on the synagogue specifically.

Synagogue dues are common, and that is a separate concept. Depending on the exact circumstances, synagogue dues and donations may count towards the above tithing obligation.

I’m curious about synagogue dues, how they’re assessed (or whatever the correct term is). Also, if other churches have specific amounts like this I’d love to hear from you. It sounds more like a “here is what it costs to keep the lights on” amount.

I was on the board of my synagogue and we accessed dues to maintain our building, pay our clergy and office staff and support programs

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed a lot of Hindu temples popping up all over the DMV and most look pretty grand too.. Asked a Hindu friend if they have the concept of tithing and he said no, all contributions are voluntary! Imagine being able to buy property at current prices and build all these beautiful temples while raising funds without having to resort to arm-twisting or emotional blackmail! Impressive!

I don't have to imagine. It's like going to my Anglican church, where giving is entirely voluntary. Or going to church with the other posters in this thread, the majority of whom have said they attend but don't tithe.

Of course, but a lot of those churches have been around forever, likely having acquired property at dirt-cheap prices. They also have a larger base to depend on. Anyways, not trying to put down anyone. Just an observation as an atheist who finds these things 'interesting'.

My church hasn't been around forever and doesn't own its building. Giving is still voluntary, and we are not manipulated into giving. I grew up in a different protestant denomination, and I never experienced whatever you're talking about.

I gave around $2000 to my church last year, which is less than 1% of our income. I plan to give 1% this year. Like a PP above, I also view volunteering as a form of giving. If I were not financially comfortable I would probably just volunteer more.

I attend an Episcopal Church. I tithe but it’s not 10% of my income.
We are asked the pledge an amount every year but the amount is up to us, it’s not questioned it just helps them budget.
We are also told that giving our time is part of tithing too. Someone may not be able to help financially but if they help in the Sunday school weekly or take on another ministry that is a donation of your time.
Donating to charities outside Church is welcome too, I support animal charities in addition to the Church, it all counts.