News: Catholics Contribute Less than 1/2 that Protestants Do to Church

“...Catholics do not feel a sense of ownership for their Church, to the same degree that Protestants do.”

In 2003, American Catholics gave 1.2% of their incomes to the Church, while Protestants gave 2.6% of their incomes to their Churches. A number of reasons are offered for this discrepancy, but the principal reason seems to be that Catholics do not feel a sense of ownership for their Church, to the same degree that Protestants do.

The conviction holds among Catholics that they are merely customers and the priests really own the Church. Moreover, the average Catholic parish contains more than 10 times the number of members than.the average Protestant Church contains. The smaller number allows for more personal interaction and congregants encourage one another to support their Church financially.