How much pastors say congregations should give to the church
Percent of pastors, 2021 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: The traditional 10 percent tithe (33%). Lowest: As much as they are willing (20%).
- The traditional 10 percent tithe: 33%
- Enough to be considered sacrificial: 21%
- As much as they are willing: 20%
Source: Barna Group, What Is a Tithe? New Data on Perceptions of the 10 Percent · Barna giving research; survey of 2,016 U.S. adults, November 12-19, 2021, alongside pastor data. Article published 2023-06-29.
Get the chart, CSV, PNG and citation
Free account: full chart, CSV and PNG downloads, ready-to-paste citation, branded share image, and a discussion question for your team.
Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: The traditional 10 percent tithe (33%). Lowest: As much as they are willing (20%). The traditional 10 percent tithe: 33%. Enough to be considered sacrificial: 21%. As much as they are willing: 20%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2021. Source: Barna Group, What Is a Tithe? New Data on Perceptions of the 10 Percent (https://www.barna.com/research/what-is-a-tithe/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
Create a free Leader Insights account to open the full chart, download CSV or PNG, copy a citation and save the statistic to your own library.
More Giving statistics
- Americans who donate to charity or church, by Bible engagement American Bible Society, 2025
- Church giving compared with last year Lifeway Research, 2025
- Congregations' income compared with expenses Lifeway Research, 2025
- Churchgoers who say their church teaches giving brings God's blessing Lifeway Research, 2022
- Familiarity with the term tithe Barna Group, 2022
- Giving so far this year compared to the church budget Lifeway Research, 2022
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.