Report: Church Giving Dropped $1.2 Billion in 2010 Recession

Religion Today | Published: Mar 26, 2012

Report: Church Giving Dropped $1.2 Billion in 2010 Recession

March 27, 2012

Though membership in U.S. churches remains relatively stable, the effects of the recession have caused giving to drop by $1.2 billion, the Religion News Service reports. According to the 2012 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, the almost $29 billion contributed by church members represented a 2.2 percent decrease in terms of per capita giving. The $1.2 billion decline in 2010 was nearly three times as large as the $431 million in losses reported in 2009, and provided "clear evidence of the impact of the deepening crises in the reporting period," said the Rev. Eileen Lindner, the Yearbook's editor. The data was collected from 228 U.S. denominations in 2011.

Report: Church Giving Dropped $1.2 Billion in 2010 Recession