Beyond the Ordinary

Do Religious Americans Give More to God in Order to Give Less to Caesar?

by Andrew Whitehead

Tax season is in full swing and by Tuesday, April 15^th, everyone must file their taxes for 2013. Many retailers have been offering an assortment of deals to those who receive tax refunds to lure them into their stores or onto their websites. Some vendors have even teamed up with online tax software. Every spring, Americans are interested in discovering if they will receive a refund, and how big that refund will be.

 One important aspect of each tax return is the charitable giving each taxpayer made to various non-profit organizations. For some individuals, charitable giving is an avenue through which they can decrease their taxable income. Most non-profit groups highlight that all contributions are tax deductible. Among all non-profit groups religious organizations, and especially congregations, are common recipients of Americans’ charitable giving. A recent study shows that about 73 percent of all charitable giving goes to non-profit groups with religious ties and around 40 percent of all household giving goes directly to congregations.

How many of those who are giving to congregations do so with an eye toward the tax incentives available to them? Data from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey provide insight into this rather complicated relationship.

 Do religious Americans give more to God in order to give less to Caesar? For the most part, no, they do not. Over 60 percent of worshipers claim that the tax benefits they receive for their contributions do not influence their decisions about giving to their congregation.

However, over a third of worshipers respond that the tax incentives they receive influence their decisions about giving to their congregation to some extent. Which worshipers are most likely to be in this group?

 According to the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, worshipers with higher incomes and more education are most likely to report that tax incentives influence their decisions about giving to their congregations. In the figure below we see that as yearly income increases, greater numbers of worshipers report that tax incentives influence their giving decisions to some extent. 

Education also influences which worshipers take tax incentives into account when deciding how much to give to their congregation. Close to half of worshipers with a graduate degree state that tax incentives influence their giving decisions. 

Many times higher income and increasing levels of education signal individuals’ socio-economic status. High earning, highly educated individuals are probably most aware of the tax incentives attached to charitable giving and they are also in a position to benefit the most from those incentives. The standard Federal deductions for individuals in lower income brackets may be consistently more than they would ever be able to give away in charitable donations. For high earners, charitable giving may be a way to effectively lower their taxable income.

 Somewhat surprisingly, religious beliefs, affiliation, and behaviors do not predict whether tax incentives influence worshipers’ decisions about giving to their congregation. This means that the effects of education and income are the same whether someone attends religious worship services regularly or not, reads the Bible literally or as a book of fables, or is in a Catholic parish or a very conservative or extremely liberal Protestant congregation.

 While most of the people in the pews across the United States do not consider tax incentives when giving, a sizable minority does. And for these worshipers, found in congregations across the denominational spectrum, giving more to God in order to reap the tax incentives is a winning proposition. 

Taking the fear out of doubt may lead to healthier congregations

by David Briggs

I have attended weekend retreats the past couple of years with more than 100 men from neighboring churches. For the most part, they are good experiences, filled with worship, prayer and fellowship.

But there are times when I feel a little bit worse than I did before – those times when the retreat directors show films they created or give presentations that explicitly or implicitly give the impression that with enough faith all your struggles will go away.

If only it were that simple.

But for many of us, including the most religiously observant Americans, the journey to spiritual understanding comes with peaks and valleys.

Three quarters of U.S. worshipers said they at least sometimes have doubts about the things they have learned in their faith, according to a random sample of 834 respondents to the 2008-2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey. Sixty-three percent said they sometimes doubted whether solutions to their problems could be found in the Bible.

But having doubts should not be equated with a lack of faith.

In analyzing the US CLS results, researcher Ida Smith found worshipers with low levels of doubt were more likely to attend worship frequently, spend time in devotional activities, participate in congregational activities and experience growth in their faith.

But even worshipers with high levels of doubt showed strong commitment to their faith, Smith found in her study on “Doubting Thomases: Characteristics of High Doubters Versus Low Doubters.” Smith, a researcher with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the congregational life survey, presented her findings at the recent annual meeting of the Religious Research Association and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

For example, 95 percent of high doubters believe there is a life beyond death, 93 percent said Jesus will return to Earth some day and 92 percent said Jesus was raised from the dead after his crucifixion.

While 79 percent of low doubters said they attended worship weekly or more, 74 percent of high doubters reported attending with the same frequency.

And even though it was less than the 95 percent of worshipers with low levels of doubt who experienced some growth in their faith over the past year, seven in eight high doubters said they grew in their faith.

Scripture offers several prominent examples of a questioning faith, from the Book of Job to the plea of Jesus as he faced his death "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Yet the fears of expressing doubt or sharing suffering remain for many religious individuals who worry such admissions may signal a lack of faith or divine judgment.

It only becomes worse when their fears are realized. Congregants who judge others struggling in their spiritual journey can alienate churchgoers dealing with doubt, and contribute to problems from loss of social support to depression, research indicates.

Churchgoers who encounter conflict and derision when they express doubt may find this “especially painful because it may involve feelings of shame and guilt,” researchers Neal Krause and Christopher Ellison of the University of Michigan reported in an article on “the doubting process” in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. “Shame and guilt may arise because people may feel as though it is wrong to question fundamental aspects of their faith.”

In practical terms, it doesn’t seem to cut it to tell people who may be grieving for a loved one or overwhelmed caring for a spouse with dementia or worrying how they will support their family after a job loss just to have more faith.

“The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost,” Pope Francis said in an interview with the Rev. Antonio Spadaro.

And doubts, rather than something to be feared or avoided, may best be seen as part of the continuing journey into the light.  

Hell hath some fury - and potential benefits – for many Americans

by David Briggs

Which religious concept is embraced by the poor, is associated with increased giving and service attendance and may help improve work satisfaction?

And is in general more likely to be rejected by Americans as their incomes rise?

The answer is Hell, which still retains much of its fury – along with potential social benefits and ills – in the modern age, according to a growing body of research.

The idea of a place of eternal damnation may not have the popularity of a place such as heaven, but some seven in 10 Americans believe in the existence of Hell.

And the more religiously engaged people are, the more likely they are to believe in Hell. Nearly eight in 10 Christian worshipers said they believe in Hell, according to the 2008-2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey.

Other significant factors predicting belief in Hell include:

Race: Fifty-nine percent of blacks, compared to just 42 percent of whites, strongly agreed with the statement, “I believe there is a Hell where people experience pain as punishment for their sin,” according to the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study.

Education: Fifty-nine percent of high school graduates, but just 35 percent of Americans who have done postgraduate work, “absolutely” believe in hell, according to the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey.

Religious tradition: Nearly eight in 10 evangelical Protestants, but just 48 percent of Catholics and 44 percent of mainline Protestants, said they “absolutely” believe in Hell, the Baylor survey found.

Income: Belief in Satan, Hell and demons declined nearly every step up the wealth ladder, with people having household incomes of more than $150,000 being the least likely to express certainty about the existence of Hell, sociologist Joseph Baker found in analyzing data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey.

Hell and Satan can be mixed blessings for religious individuals, research indicates.

A strong belief in demons was consistently linked with lower levels of psychological well-being in young adults, researchers Fanhao Nie and Daniel Olson of Purdue University found in analyzing data from the National Study of Youth and Religion. They reported their findings at the recent annual meeting of the Religious Research Association and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

There are also more positive outcomes associated with belief in Hell, however.

Analyzing data from the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey, Baylor University researcher Brandon Martinez found a strong positive correlation between belief in supernatural evil and church attendance, tithing and sharing faith.

Believing in the devil, Hell and demons also appeared to be a powerful predictor of self-perceived religiosity, with the odds of considering oneself “very religious” being 32 percent greater for each step up a scale measuring belief in supernatural evil, Martinez reported in an article on “Is Evil Good for Religion?” in the Review of Religious Research.

The 2010 Baylor Religion Survey found people who “absolutely” believe in Hell were more likely to report being satisfied with their jobs, to be motivated by their faith to pursue excellence and to say that the organization they work for has a great deal of personal meaning to them.

Several powerful biblical passages heralding rewards to poor people of faith and divine punishment to those who ignore their suffering also seem to offer special comfort and hope to disadvantaged groups.

Yet the millennial-old warnings not to place too much faith in the comforts of this age – lest one end up like the rich man in the Gospel of Luke, condemned to eternal torment while the beggar outside his gate is carried by angels to Abraham’s side – appear less compelling for Americans as they advance in wealth and social class.

With a major exception, Baker found in his study on “Who Believes in Religious Evil?” reported in the Review of Religious Research.

While social class had a more pronounced influence predicting lower belief in Satan, Hell and demons among those not participating in organized religion, its influence was “neutralized” for those people with a high level of religious activity, Baker found.

Hell still seems to matter for most Americans with an active faith.

Faith vs. Science in the Pews?

by Andrew Whitehead

Earlier this week the news-cycle and various social media outlets like Twitter were abuzz concerning the debate between Bill Nye (the science guy) and Ken Ham, the founder of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky (video of the debate can be found here).

 Many billed the debate as a representation of the oppositional nature of two worldviews, science and faith. Others however, like sociologist Jonathan Hill, have pointed out that not only is there a significant amount of diversity within the science and faith camps concerning the origin of the universe, many individuals are quite unsure about what they believe and do not believe these beliefs are particularly important.

 Are most worshipers in the United States firmly on one side or the other? Are all religious individuals young-earth creationists like Ken Ham? Using the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, we can investigate how the people in the pews approach the issue of science vs. faith.

 Two questions on the 2008/2009 US CLS pertain to the science vs. faith discussion. The first asks how often the conflict of faith and science has caused doubts about their religious faith. In Figure 1 we see that very few worshipers report that the conflict often causes doubts (6%) while a third say it sometimes does (36%) with a majority saying it never causes doubts (58%). It seems that for most worshipers, there is no perceived conflict and even for those who perceive one, it only sometimes influences them.

 The second question asks if worshipers’ believe the universe was created 6,000 years ago (as many young-earth creationists accept). In Figure 2 we see that only 14 percent of worshipers believe it to be true, while 4 in 10 do not believe the universe was created 6,000 years ago and 46 percent are unsure. Here we find that a majority of worshipers do not hold young-earth creationist views, with many of those people unsure what they believe.

 These data suggest that most worshipers in the United States are not firmly on one side or the other concerning the creation debate, and any sort of perceived conflict between science and faith does not influence their religion.

Nevertheless, are certain types of worshipers more likely to doubt or believe the universe was created 6,000 years ago? The following figures display some of the categories of worshipers that differ statistically from one another concerning these two questions.

Conservative Protestants are more likely than Mainline Protestants and Catholics to report the conflict of science and faith never causes them to doubt. They are also more likely to believe that the universe was created 6,000 years ago (23%). 

Unsurprisingly, worshipers who identify as biblical literalists, those who believe the Bible should be taken literally word for word, are more likely to never have doubts as well as much more likely to believe that the universe was created 6,000 years ago (26%). It is important to notice, however, that even among biblical literalists there is significant variation. Close to half (45%) are unsure about the age of the universe and slightly more actually do not believe in young-earth creationism (29%).

 What keeps worshipers from experiencing doubt concerning the conflict between science and faith? It appears that having more friends in the same congregation helps, as well as spending either a lot or no time in private devotional acts.

Worshipers who report having little contact with others in the congregation are much more likely to say the conflict of science and religion often causes doubt. Those with most of their closest friends in their congregation are much less likely to often doubt. Perhaps worshipers with most of their friends in their same congregation are faced with very few chances where their beliefs about science and faith are challenged.

Interestingly, there appears to be a slight curvilinear effect concerning devotional activity and experiencing doubt. Those worshipers who never spend time in private devotions or who daily spend time in devotional activity are most likely to never doubt. Those worshipers who occasionally spend time in devotions, once a week or so, are least likely to never doubt. In fact, it is the occasional devotion crowd that reports the highest levels of sometimes doubting, while those who spend time every day in devotions and those who never spend time in devotions are least likely to sometimes doubt.

 Finally, we see that educational attainment and gender are both significantly associated with whether or not worshipers believe the universe was created 6,000 years ago.

Male worshipers are more likely to believe young-earth creationist views are not true. Women are more likely to be unsure if the universe was created 6,000 years ago.

 Unsurprisingly, increasing levels of education are associated with greater likelihood of rejecting young-earth creationist views. Also, as worshipers’ education levels decrease, the likelihood of being unsure of when the universe was created increase.

 Debates necessarily highlight two opposing viewpoints. However, as others have pointed out and as data from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey make clear, the two viewpoints represented in the Bill Nye and Ken Ham debate are not the only two viewpoints that exist. Worshipers in the United States vary significantly in how they view science and religion, and in their beliefs about how the universe was created. It is impossible to place the people in the pews in one camp or the other.

For better or worse, clergy key reason worshipers switch congregations

by David Briggs

Americans find it difficult to stay in one place, even if that place is a house of worship.

The Portraits of American Life Study (PALS) found that among those Americans affiliated with religious congregations a third switched houses of worship between the 2006 and 2012 waves of the project.

Nearly six in 10 of the people who switched said it had nothing to do with either being dissatisfied with their old congregation, or attracted to a new congregation. Rather, for many it was that they had moved, or what study researchers Michael Emerson and Laura Essenburg of Rice University called “good old American mobility.”

About one in 10 said it was because members of their family switched congregations and they followed. Other reasons included that their congregation had moved or closed.

But there also were other reasons more related to congregational life that caused people to leave one congregation for another.

The reason most frequently cited by people who left because they were unhappy with their former congregation was the clergy, with 58 percent of those respondents dissatisfied with the spiritual leadership. More than half also cited dissatisfaction with the political and social views of the congregation, and more than four in 10 had theological issues or poor relationships with others in the congregation.

When asked what was the single most important reason they left, however, respondents said that the theology and religious beliefs of their former congregation was No. 1, followed by issues with the clergy.

If religious leadership was a key reason people left, it was also overwhelmingly a major reason people were attracted to a new congregation, the study found,

Eighty-four percent of people who said they were primarily motivated to switch because of their attraction to a new congregation cited the clergy. Some two-thirds cited the liturgy and style of worship in the new congregation, and more than six in 10 cited the programming, theology and the sense of a “bright future” in the new congregation as motivating factors.

But other motivations “pale to the clergy reason,” Emerson and Essenburg reported.

So what characteristics of congregations predict healthy relationships with clergy?

U.S. Congregational Life Survey researchers Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce provide important insights in their book, “Leadership that Fits Your Church: What Kind of Pastor for What Kind of Congregation.”

In analyzing US CLS data, Woolever and Bruce found the congregational strengths associated with a good pastor-congregation match include:

• Meaningful liturgies where many worshipers experience God’s presence, joy and inspiration and feel worship helps them with everyday life.
• Congregations where many worshipers have a strong sense of belongingand say most of their closest friends attend the same congregation.
• Empowering leadership that inspires others to action and takes into account worshipers’ ideas.
• Churches where many worshipers are committed to the congregation’s vision and are excited about the future.

It is harder to retain congregants in an age of individualism when old ties such as denominational affiliation or geographical proximity are far less likely to keep people in place.

The upside is that providing meaningful spiritual experiences in a nurturing atmosphere appear to be more valued than ever, and much more likely to lead both worshipers and congregations toward a bright future.

Take our quiz to learn more about what makes pastors and congregations click.

Be not afraid: Love, acceptance of disabled bring gifts of faith to congregations

by David Briggs

Want to put the joy of Christ back into Christmas?

Attend the annual “Our Journey to Bethlehem” service for people with disabilities and their loved ones in Cleveland.

One cannot help but feel the biblical accounts of Christ’s ministry come to life as some 20 blind, deaf and physically and mentally disabled worshipers bring up the gifts in the offertory procession, and serve as readers, liturgical dancers and Eucharistic ministers.

It is a place where people so hurting they need to cry out frequently during the service will never be asked to leave. A place where a woman with cerebral palsy, her face almost frozen in a gaping smile, will be hugged repeatedly. And a place where her sibling can share a joyful time with a 49-year-old sister severely disabled from birth.

 "It's such a welcoming feeling here. You just belong. You just feel the love and the warmth," said the woman, standing over the wheelchair of her sister. "Everybody's equal here. You feel God's warmth and love, and you see everybody loves everybody."

 And no one is left out.

 Would that this biblical tableau stretching back 2,000 years could be experienced more often in local congregations.

 Yet research, and the experiences of people with disabilities, suggests many congregations are not so welcoming.

 A 2010 survey found that while 57 percent of people without disabilities attend religious services at least once a month, just half of people with disabilities attend with the same frequency. And the percentage is even lower for people with moderate and severe disabilities.

 The gap in attendance was the same as in a 2004 study, “suggesting that not much has changed in the way of removing architectural, communications, and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities—especially people with severe disabilities—from regular attendance,” concluded the final report issued by the Kessler Foundation and the National Organization on Disability.

 In a separate survey of 416 parents of children with disabilities who were attending or have attended congregations, just 43 percent described their religious community as “supportive.”

 Almost a third of parents reported having changed their place of worship because their child had not been included or welcomed and more than half had kept their sons or daughters from participating in a religious activity because of a lack of support. In addition, more than half of parents said they had never been asked about the best way to include their daughter or son in congregational activities.  Researchers Melinda Jones Ault and Belva Collins of the University of Kentucky and Erik Carter of Vanderbilt University reported the study findings in the journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

 The lack of inclusion in religious communities is of special concern because the positive outcomes associated with religion – from being a place to develop supportive social networks to helping provide hope and optimism in challenging situations – may be particularly beneficial to people with disabilities who face discrimination and prejudice in other areas of their lives.

 The more frequently children with special needs attended religious services,  the higher parents rated their family lives together, researcher Andrew Whitehead found in analyzing data from the 2011-2012 National Study of Children’s Health.

 Religious service attendance is significantly and positively associated with “family functioning,” including coping with the day-to-day demands of raising children with special needs, Whitehead, director of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, reported at the recent annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association in Boston.

 The pain and loss of exclusion, however, is not limited to the disabled community.  A theological history associating suffering with sin has left many people facing challenges in life reluctant to seek social support in congregations for fear of being judged as less than faithful.

 And just as small signs of inclusion, such as including women and men of differing ages and racial and ethnic groups in prominent roles in services send a message that all are welcome, so, too, does excluding people with disabilities because they may read a little slower or require special attention contribute to a hardening of hearts.

 And a loss of joy.

 The journey to Bethlehem service in Cleveland doesn’t always start on time, and not everyone sits and stands in unison. But it is one joyous celebration.

 Worshipers get the up-tempo, not the mournful, version of "Amazing Grace" and people boom out, rather than mumble, "Merry Christmas" in response to the celebrant's prompt.

 "I feel Jesus inside of me," one of the liturgical dancers, a 53-year-old man, told me at one of the services. "We're all of us Jesus."

 If you and I have the eyes to see and the ears to hear the unconditional love that is present in welcoming all people in a spirit of mutual respect and dignity, what can we do to make our congregations more welcoming places for people with disabilities and their families?

The many paths of the road to heaven

by David Briggs

“I want to know one thing, the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore.”  
--Methodism founder John Wesley

In attending the annual convention of the End-Time Handmaidens some 15 years ago, what made an immediate impression was the intensity of the faith of followers who believed the Second Coming was near.

For 16 hours a day, they prayed and swayed, at times singing of the day they will "dance on streets that are golden,” at other times keening in lament for those who will not be with them.

The promise of heaven, and who would get in and who was in danger of being left behind, was a matter of the greatest urgency for those women in white-and-gold robes gliding through a hotel ballroom in Washington.

These days, it often seems, both in public and religious circles, more voices are being raised questioning traditional beliefs in heaven.

Authors hostile to religion such as Richard Dawkins have made best-seller lists by attacking beliefs in God and in eternal life as a delusion. Both some liberal religious leaders focusing on social and political change and some conservative voices assuring believers of Earthly prosperity have shifted attention from the next life to this one.

Yet, in the hearts and minds of most Americans, hope in heaven has remained consistently strong.

In the 1976 General Social Survey, 72 percent of respondents said they believed in a life after death. The percentage holding that belief was unchanged in the 2012 survey.

Among worshipers, the belief is even stronger. The 2008-2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey found 94 percent of respondents believed in heaven. Beliefs were high among all groups, with 99 percent of conservative Protestants, 96 percent of Catholics and 87 percent of mainline Protestant worshipers affirming their faith in heaven.

Belief in heaven could even be said to have become more expansive as people have greater contact with individuals from diverse faith backgrounds.

More than four in five respondents to the 2006 Faith Matters Survey said they believed a good person who is not of their faith can go to heaven or attain salvation.

That does not mean religious leaders from different traditions have the same attitudes toward heaven.

In a Baylor University study of pastors in three cities, 83 percent of Assemblies of God clergy strongly agreed with the statement, “If I remain faithful, my trials on Earth will be rewarded in heaven.” Just 43 percent of United Methodist clergy and 20 percent of Episcopal leaders expressed the same beliefs.

However, it does not appear there will be dramatic changes in beliefs in heaven anytime soon as younger generations also hold strong beliefs in heaven. In the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey, about a third of respondents ages 18 to 29 said they were very certain they will get into heaven, while just 23 percent of respondents ages 70 and older had the same level of confidence.

Research has indicated that in general the belief in a loving God who cares for individuals throughout this life and into eternity can help sustain many individuals even in their darkest times.

For the End-Time Handmaidens, heaven is a promise to be embraced with joy and a burden to reach out to “lost souls.” For many other Americans, heaven is the promise of hope that allows them to face the challenges of this life with a spirit that overcomes despair and enables them to be a source of love for others.

The path to hell may at times be paved with the best of human intentions, but it also could be said following a path to heaven paved by faith may help believers love their neighbors as themselves in this life.

Heavenly Books

by Ida Smith

This week, as I was browsing the New York Times nonfiction best sellers list, I couldn’t help but notice “Heaven” in the title of four books in the top 20.  Number 20 was “Waking Up in Heaven,” a book about what happened during nine minutes of unconsciousness.  Number 17 was called “When Will the Heaven Begin?” a book where a sister remembers the visions of heaven as experienced by her brother who died at the age of 18.  “Heaven is for Real” tells the story of a five- year-old boy’s encounter with Jesus and angels while having surgery after his appendix ruptured.  It was number 11 on the list.  The number one book this week was written by a neurosurgeon who recounts his near death experience during a coma in the book entitled “Proof of Heaven”. 

What do Americans think of heaven?

A Baylor study from 2007 found that 82 percent either “probably” or “absolutely” believe in heaven.  Pew found in the US Religious Landscape survey (2007) that 74 percent of Americans believe in heaven.  An equal number believe in life after death.  The General Social Survey (2010) found 71 percent of Americans believe in life after death. 

How did U.S. Congregational Life Survey respondents answer similar questions about heaven and life after death? 

The majority of respondents (94%) said “yes”, they believe in heaven.  More Catholic and conservative respondents believe in heaven (96% and 99%, respectively) while 87% of mainline congregants believe in heaven.   The majority of respondents (88%) believe there is a life beyond death.  Nearly seven out of ten respondents (66%) do not believe in reincarnation.  The table below compares religious traditions.

Those who believe in life after death are generally more involved in church life. Usually, they:

• attend worship weekly or more often
• are more likely to be a member of a congregation
• are involved in Sunday or church school,
• are more likely to believe that worship helps with everyday life
• are involved in devotional activities weekly or more often
• are more likely to have said they grew spiritually in their faith over the last year
• believe the Bible is the word of God
• are more likely to say their spiritual needs were being met
• are more likely to have said they had a conversion experience
• are more likely to say they were at ease expressing their faith
• are more likely to invite family or friends to attend worship
• have a high school education or less

 These characteristics are especially true for mainline Protestants.  Also, for mainline Protestant worshipers, those with a strong sense of belonging, those who tithe, and those who value sharing in Holy Communion are more likely to believe in life beyond death. For Catholics, those who believe in life after death are involved in devotional activities, report that they had grown spiritually in their faith, and are at ease expressing their faith.  For conservative Protestants, those who believe worship services help you with everyday life and those with a high school education or less are more likely to believe in life after death. 

 What are your beliefs concerning the afterlife?  Are they similar or different from others in your religious tradition? It might be interesting to read any of these books on the list to see if it shapes or changes your opinion. 

 

Happy Holidays from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey Team!

by Andrew Whitehead

As we all continue to count down the days to December 25^th, we here at the U.S. Congregational Life Survey office want to wish all our readers a joyous and peaceful holiday season.

 For a bit of fun, we thought it would be interesting to discover what worshipers thought about various aspects of Christmas. While the U.S. Congregational Life Survey can provide insight into a host of fascinating topics like religious giving, caring for war veterans, private religious behaviors, the importance of congregational location, belief in evil, the paranormal, or God, it does not contain any measures of worshipers views toward the Christmas holiday. To do so, we are forced turn elsewhere.

There are two symbols of this holiday season that are ever-present in American culture: Christmas trees and Santa Claus. Using the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey we can assess the extent to which Americans believe in Santa Claus and participate in the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree.

 Comparing a number of religious traditions with those who do not claim a religious affiliation, an interesting pattern emerges concerning who puts up a Christmas tree, and who does not.

While nine in ten Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics report putting up a Christmas tree, only seven in ten unaffiliated Americans do so. This means that while a clear majority of Americans celebrate Christmas by decorating a tree, significantly more religiously affiliated individuals do so.

 But what about belief in the man who places the presents under the Christmas tree? Respondents were asked about the age at which they stopped believing in Santa Claus. Among all those who reported believing in Santa at one time in their life, we see that there are yet again some differences between those who affiliate with a religious tradition, and those who do not.

 

It appears that a very similar pattern exists across the Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, and Catholic religious traditions concerning the ages at which respondents report they stopped believing in Santa Claus. For the unaffiliated, however, a larger percentage report not believing in Santa Claus at an earlier age, about 4 or 5, than the Christian religious traditions.

 While similar stories emerge for each of the religious traditions concerning putting up Christmas trees and the ages at which they stopped believing in Santa Claus, examining whether or not respondents ever believed in Santa Claus tells a slightly different story.

Here we find that Evangelical Protestant respondents are more similar to the unaffiliated than to the other Christian religious traditions. Small numbers of Mainline Protestants and Catholics report that they never believed in Santa Claus while over twice as many Evangelicals and unaffiliated respondents report never believing in Santa Claus.

 While the unaffiliated and Evangelicals may differ on many of the religious beliefs that surround Christmas, it appears that never believing in Santa Claus may be just one case where they are more similar than different.

 So no matter when you stopped believing in Santa, or if you still need to put up your Christmas tree, we at the U.S. Congregational Life Survey want to wish you all a merry Christmas, a happy holidays, and a wonderful new year.

Does Tithing Predict Less Giving to Non-Religious Charities?

by Andrew Whitehead

One hallmark of the Christmas shopping season is the red kettle and ringing bell of a Salvation Army volunteer at the entryway of a department store. After the crush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday on December 3^rd was another attempt to focus Americans toward giving rather than purchasing and early numbers suggest it was quite successful.

 Despite Americans’ propensity to consume during this time of year, many also see the holidays as a time to give to those less fortunate. In 2012, Americans gave more than $316 billion to charity. Seventy-two percent of that number, around $223 billion, came directly from individuals. And among American individuals who also claim a religious affiliation, 65% give to charity.

 But are religious individuals giving only to religious causes? One commenter seems to think so: “Most religious people are equally generous; they only give more than non-religious people because they give to religious organizations.”

 This raises a number of interesting questions. Do the people in the pews give much more to religious charities compared to non-religious charities? Does their level of giving to their own congregation influence how much they give to both religious and non-religious charities?

 Data from the 2008/2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey provides a picture of the giving habits of worshipers.

 First, we see that over 90% of worshipers do tend to contribute at least something to their place of worship every year. Around 44% of worshipers report giving at least 5% or more of their yearly income to their congregation.

When asked about their giving to both religious and non-religious charities, we find in the figure below that many respondents report giving each year.

Around 85% of worshipers report giving at least something to religious charities in the last year while around 87% of worshipers report giving at least something to non-religious charities. Most of the time, similar numbers of worshipers give comparable amounts to both religious and non-religious charities.

 But how does giving to one’s congregation influence giving to charity? Do religious individuals who give more to their congregation give less to charity? Is it a zero sum game?

 In the figure below we see the relationship between how much people report giving to their congregation, and how much they report giving to religious charities.

Here we find that worshipers who do not contribute financially to their congregation, tend to not give to religious charities either. In fact, almost 45% of worshipers who do not give to their place of worship also do not give to religious charities. This figure highlights how worshipers who are giving to their congregations tend to give to religious charities outside their congregation as well.

 It could be, however, that worshipers who give to their congregation give less to non-religious charities compared to religious charities. The data, however, does not bear this out.

 

Worshipers who give to their congregation also give to non-religious charities. For those who give 10% or more to their congregation, 89% give at least something to non-religious charities throughout the year. Over 90% of those who give between 5% to 9% to their congregation give to non-religious charities. Yet again, it is those who do not contribute to their congregation financially that are least likely to give to non-religious charities in the past year.

 Further analysis using techniques that control for other determinants of giving like age, education, income, gender, marital status, religious service attendance, theological views, and private religious habits provide an even better picture of how tithing to one’s church influences giving to both religious and non-religious charities.

 It appears that older worshipers, married worshipers, and worshipers who report higher levels of yearly income give more to both religious and non-religious charities, even when controlling for how much they tithe to their congregation.

 However, worshipers who give more to their congregation, actually give less to religious charities. It could be that worshipers who tithe more give less to religious charities because they feel their tithing in some way satisfies a requirement to give to religious causes.

Does the same hold true for non-religious charities? No, it does not! The level to which worshipers give to their congregation has no bearing on their level of giving to non-religious charities.

 Thankfully, as far as non-religious charities are concerned, the negative relationship between tithing and giving to religious charities does not hold true. Worshipers who give to their congregation do not then give less to non-religious charities.

 So, while a majority of giving in the United States does go to religious organizations, worshipers that tithe are no less likely to give to non-religious charities. In fact, worshipers’ generosity to charity does not appear to be bound by the charity’s religious, or nonreligious, identification.