Tithing In Canada: Churchgoers Divided Over Donating Percentage Of Their Income

This feature was produced by Rachel Phan, a student in Ryerson University's School of Journalism, in partnership with The Huffington Post Canada.

Wes Prang is a devout Christian who has given everything to his faith. Despite living on only $339 a month, Prang often used to give money to his church. He did this because he was told that it would make him a "good Christian."

It nearly ruined his life.

“I didn’t have a job, I was diagnosed as disabled and I was living on unemployment,” he said. “I had a monthly income of $339 a month, but I was tithing and I continued to tithe when my rent went up but my cheque did not.”

GRAPHIC: WHICH RELIGIOUS GROUPS TITHE?

Tithing — which literally means “one-tenth”— is a practice in which parishioners give 10 per cent of their net income to their churches, regardless of financial status. An Old Testament concept, the tithe served as a tax in ancient Israel.

Today, Christians give an average of 2.43 per cent of their income. Evangelicals are among the most generous, donating an average of four per cent. Conservative Christians, like Baptists, are also more likely to tithe than Catholics.

Statistics from the United States and Canada suggest that only a small minority of Christians tithe the full 10 per cent. For those who do, the pressure to give, combined with the inability to pay the full amount, has led to a crisis of faith and feelings of guilt and shame for some. Others say they feel like “bad Christians” for not tithing.

While some tout the importance of the tithe in Christian life, others are unsure. Both the economic impact of the tithe and the exploitation of churchgoers for personal and financial gain by leaders of “megachurches” have fueled anti-tithing sentiments, according to people interviewed for this story.

Prang, an American from Olympia, Wash., had been a member of his conservative Baptist church since he was five years old. He began tithing in his early 20s because his pastor stressed that tithing every Sunday was essential to salvation.

“We were taught that we should not burden the church with financial troubles, but somehow it was okay for the church to go into debt and insist that we give more to bail them out,” he said.

“I’ve heard ‘Give ‘til it hurts!’ more than once.”

He said parishioners at his church were explicitly instructed to tithe even though they couldn’t afford it.

Rev. Cheryle Hanna of Toronto’s Yorkminster Park Baptist Church spoke out against corrupt churches for shaming parishioners.

“That is awful and just ridiculous. That’s legalistic, that’s controlling and it’s not of God,” she said.

“That wouldn’t be consistent with what we teach about generous, faithful and joyful giving.”

She said tithing, while mandatory at her church, should not be done if the parishioner feels “bitter” or “angry” about it.

“Tithing is a way of being very practical in our expression of putting God first,” Hanna said. “I heard a man say once, ‘Well I tip the waiter 15 per cent, how can I give God any less?’”

In most churches, tithing is a voluntary practice, although it is still strongly encouraged.

For some devout Christians, donating to the church should be a no-brainer since the Bible instructs followers to “obey God” and bring “the tithe to the storehouse.”

“Tithing is mandatory whether it’s a recession or not — it shouldn’t matter,” said Angela Tang, an Anglican Episcopalian from a missionary family. “I believe that I should give 10 per cent back to God because everything I got came from him anyway.

“I believe that tithing should be observed because the Bible says so.”

Meagan Gillmore, a self-proclaimed Jesus-following Baptist from Brantford, Ont., tithes regularly even though her main source of income is from the Ontario Disability Support she receives for being legally blind.

“Scripture tells us to be obedient — Jesus Christ is very clear about that when he said, ‘If you love me, you will do as I say.”

Gillmore admitted that there are “a lot of things” she cannot afford because of tithing, but that she is disciplining herself to make it a lifelong habit. Like many Christians, Gillmore makes sacrifices to be able to afford the tithe.

“You need to be generous because God has given you something that doesn’t just belong to you. You need to tithe.”

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Rachel Phan