Donors to Religious Groups Give More Than Others, Study Finds

Households that donate to a church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization

tend to give far more to charity overall — including to nonreligious groups — than those that do not, according to a new report.

The report, to be released this week by Independent Sector and the National Council of Churches, found that households that gave to a place of worship in 2000 contributed an average of $1,391 to their religious institution and $958 to other charities, such as zoos, museums, hospitals, schools, and youth groups. Households that gave only to nonreligious charities contributed $623 on average, the study found.

The study is based on a telephone survey of 4,216 adults conducted from May through July 2001 to determine household giving and individual volunteering habits in 2000.

About half of all American households surveyed donated to both houses of worship and other charities, the report found. Roughly one in 10 households made no charitable contribution in 2000; one in 10 gave only to a place of worship; 3 in 10 gave only to charities other than a religious institution.

Over all, the total gifts made by households that gave to at least one religious institution accounted for 87.5 percent of all charitable contributions in 2000, according to the survey. In every income category and in every geographic region, the average overall contribution to charity from households that gave to religious institutions was greater than the average contribution from those that did not.

In addition to giving more, people who participated in religious services also volunteered more than those who did not, according to the study. Fifty-four percent of people who regularly attended religious services volunteered, compared with 32 percent of those who did not go to services.

People who attended religious services most often did the most volunteering. The approximately one-third of Americans who attended services at least twice a month did about two-thirds of the volunteering, the study found. About half of those surveyed did not volunteer at all, according to the report.

After their own house of worship, the most popular type of charity supported by both individual volunteers and households that donated to a house of worship was health charities, including hospitals, providers of mental-health services, and nursing homes.

A report on the survey results, called “Faith and Philanthropy,” can be obtained from Independent Sector, 1200 18th Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036; (888) 860-8118. The cost is $15.95 for members and $19.95 for nonmembers.