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Really wish they'd stop lumping in tithes in with legitimate charitable causes. It completely distorts the data.

by spamizbad 17y ago

jmtulloss 17y ago
Why? Giving to a church is generally considered a charitable cause.
- pwmanagerdied 17y ago
  From his comment, I'd imagine he thinks that spreading lies and irrationality shouldn't qualify an entity as a charity.
  - jmtulloss 17y ago
    Churches do more than just spread their message, they also spread their money and effort around their community. I suspect that churches would have an expenditure breakdown similar to the "high administration" charities, with low costs of fund raising.
3pt14159 17y ago
My church feeds the homeless in Toronto, helps run a rehab clinic in Russia, and sends food and medical supplies to Haiti. Yes we do spend money on keeping on the lights and teaching our congregation about lessons from the Bible, but I've never even heard of the Pastor ever supporting a particular bill or politician. Maybe its because I'm Canadian.
- roundsquare 17y ago
  Your church may or may not be a great example, I'm not sure. In part, the issue revolves around if people know what their tithes are going for and why they tithe. E.g. if they know the money is going to help starving kids (or whatever charity) and they give for that reason, then it makes sense to count tithes (or a percent of tithes?). If they would give tithes no matter what because they are supposed to, then it probably doesn't make sense to count them (at least if you are trying to analyze who is the most giving based on money spent or percentage of income, whatever).
w00pla 17y ago
Really? Why? Most churches take care of homeless and the helpless and help members of their congregation (in whatever situation, including bereavement). In the USA, a lot of the top tier universities were started by churches. Surely this isn’t a bad thing? AFAIK, almost 30% of hospitals in the USA are owned by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church (which receives most of its money from abroad) basically built the education and healthcare system of Lesotho (as an example). Saying that they aren’t charities just because you have an irrational hatred towards churches isn’t a reason. If you want an echo chamber for religion bashing, you should maybe try www.reddit.com/r/atheism.
- ericb 17y ago
  My previous corporate employer engaged in many charitable activities.

Really wish they'd stop lumping in tithes in with legitimate charitable causes. It completely distorts the data.

jmtulloss 17y ago

Why? Giving to a church is generally considered a charitable cause.

pwmanagerdied 17y ago
From his comment, I'd imagine he thinks that spreading lies and irrationality shouldn't qualify an entity as a charity.
- jmtulloss 17y ago
  Churches do more than just spread their message, they also spread their money and effort around their community. I suspect that churches would have an expenditure breakdown similar to the "high administration" charities, with low costs of fund raising.

3pt14159 17y ago

My church feeds the homeless in Toronto, helps run a rehab clinic in Russia, and sends food and medical supplies to Haiti. Yes we do spend money on keeping on the lights and teaching our congregation about lessons from the Bible, but I've never even heard of the Pastor ever supporting a particular bill or politician. Maybe its because I'm Canadian.

roundsquare 17y ago
Your church may or may not be a great example, I'm not sure. In part, the issue revolves around if people know what their tithes are going for and why they tithe. E.g. if they know the money is going to help starving kids (or whatever charity) and they give for that reason, then it makes sense to count tithes (or a percent of tithes?). If they would give tithes no matter what because they are supposed to, then it probably doesn't make sense to count them (at least if you are trying to analyze who is the most giving based on money spent or percentage of income, whatever).

w00pla 17y ago

Really? Why? Most churches take care of homeless and the helpless and help members of their congregation (in whatever situation, including bereavement). In the USA, a lot of the top tier universities were started by churches. Surely this isn’t a bad thing? AFAIK, almost 30% of hospitals in the USA are owned by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church (which receives most of its money from abroad) basically built the education and healthcare system of Lesotho (as an example). Saying that they aren’t charities just because you have an irrational hatred towards churches isn’t a reason. If you want an echo chamber for religion bashing, you should maybe try www.reddit.com/r/atheism.

ericb 17y ago
My previous corporate employer engaged in many charitable activities.