August 2018 – LifeWay Research surveyed 1,010 Protestant or nondenominational churchgoers and 1,000 senior pastors of Protestant congregations on the subject of tithing. Eighty-three percent of churchgoers polled were in agreement that tithing is a biblical command that still applies today. Yet, only 72% of pastors polled felt the biblical tithing command is applicable for today.
While most poll participants understood the biblical tithe to be 10% of a person’s pay, only 56% stated that the tithe should come from a believer’s gross income, while 17% felt net income should be tithed.
The largest area of disagreement revolved around where to give tithes. Only 47% of church attendees believed that giving solely to the church constituted tithing. Monetary gifts to ministries, secular charities, or individuals were offered as other disputed forms of tithing. Accordingly, of the pastors surveyed, one in five stated they had never made tithing a primary focus of a sermon.
