Church giving shifted from external charity toward internal operations

Evidence

John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, two of the leading students of church finances in America, point out that the decline in Protestant giving is not limited to a particular portion of the theological spectrum. Evangelicals give a larger fraction of their income to the church, but their contribution per member has fallen even more rapidly than the figures for mainline Protestants. Still more revealing, among both mainline and evangelical Protestants, giving for “benevolences” (that is, external charity) has fallen more rapidly (down 38 percent since 1968) than for “congregational finances” (down 12 percent since 1968). In other words, a growing slice of the shrinking pie has been consumed by internal church operations, leaving even less for ministering to the world. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 410

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the religious-decline strand of the book’s overall project and echoes any source on institutional self-focus as disengagement grows. — connects to: Charitable organizations become ends in themselves, their stated aims mere pretexts — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1732; Evangelical church attendance does not translate into broader community involvement — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 251; Zionist foundations shifted from direct donations to donor-advised funds after 2011 scrutiny (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Evangelical church attendance does not translate into broader community involvement #corroborates (0.80) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 251
• Zionist foundations shifted from direct donations to donor-advised funds after 2011 scrutiny #exemplifies (0.80)
• Charitable organizations become ends in themselves, their stated aims mere pretexts #expands (0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1732
• Da’wa has shifted from optional outreach to a religious obligation #expands (0.75)