The Influence of Religion: New Data on Giving and Volunteering

June 27, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute

ALSO SEE:
Donors to Religious Groups Give More Than Others, Study Finds

HOW DONORS TO RELIGION COMPARE WITH THOSE WHO GIVE TO SECULAR CAUSES ONLY
	Households that give to religious congregations		Households that give to both religious congregations and secular organizations
	All households that give	Those that support religious institutions only	All	Amount to religious congregations	Amount to secular congregations	Households that give to secular organizations only
Average annual contribution	$2,104	$1,154	$2,247	$1,391	$958	$623
Percentage of total giving	87.5%	6.3%	81.2%	47.0%	34.2%	12.5%
Percentage of total giving by households that give to religious institutions	100.0%	7.2%	92.8%	53.7%	39.1%	n/a
Percentage of total giving by households that give to both religious and secular organizations	n/a	n/a	100.0%	57.9%	42.1%	n/a

HOW VOLUNTEERS AT RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS COMPARE WITH THOSE WHO VOLUNTEER AT SECULAR GROUPS ONLY
			Volunteer at both religious institutions and secular organizations
	All volunteers at religious institutions	Volunteer at religious institutions only	All	Volunteer at religious institutions	Volunteer at secular organizations	People who volunteer at secular organizations only
Average hours per month people volunteer	16.4 hours	10.4 hours	23.0 hours	9.3 hours	13.7 hours	14.1 hours
Distribution of total volunteer hours	47.1%	15.6%	31.4%	12.7%	18.9%	n/a
Distribution of all volunteers at religious institutions	100.0%	33.3%	66.7%	27.1%	39.7%	n/a
Distribution of all volunteers at both religious institutions and secular organizations	n/a	n/a	100.0%	40.5%	59.4%	n/a
SOURCE: Independent Sector