Pennies for heaven.

American Catholics have a lot of money. Yet from all reports the Catholic church in the United States is strapped for cash. Headlines tell the story: "Rising Costs, Low Contributions Spell Red Ink for U.S. Dioceses" (National Catholic Reporter, February 2, 1990); "Catholic Parishes Face Squeeze as Donations by Members Fall Off" (Wall Street Journal, January 8, 1990). Both articles speak of skyrocketing costs and stagnant revenues, a combination that is a fair definition of a fiscal fiasco. Yet American Catholics with an average 1991 household income of $41,044 are fiscal giants, albeit sleeping fiscal giants.

All discussions of income begin with a measure of average income for American households. With 95.7 million households, the total 1991 American household income was $3.628 trillion. The Bureau of the Census estimates the 1991 average American household income at $37,922. Independent Sector, a Washington, D.C. think tank, in a study of giving and volunteering conducted by the Gallup Organization, reported respondents' 1991 income at $36,797. The congruity between Bureau of the Census and Independent Sector data makes the estimates of household income by denomination from the Independent Sector study a useful reference in establishing Catholic household income.

Catholic respondents to the Independent Sector research gave their 1991 household income as $40,903, a household income that was approximately 8 percent greater than the average for all Americans. This is similar to the 1990 Catholic household income of $40,435 reported by The National Survey of Religious Identification (a project of the The Graduate School of the City University of New York). Adjusted for average income growth, in 1991 the average Catholic household made $41,044. With approximately 18,193,790 households registered in Catholic parishes, that means Catholics made $746.7 billion during 1991, or 21 percent of the aggregate American household income.

It is commonplace in Catholic circles to lament the lackadaisical giving habits of members. And with good reason. The average Catholic household is a sleeping giant when it comes to putting money in the collection basket. I reviewed the actual contribution records of 329,757 registered Catholic households in 278 randomly selected parishes in forty states. During 1991, Catholics gave, on average, $280.15 to the Sunday collection. This varies by region [see table above].

The average Catholic donation of $280 represents .7 percent of household income for the average Catholic household. Catholics gave $5.096 billion in recorded contributions in the Sunday collection during 1991. This estimate is the result of multiplying the average donation of $280.15 by 18,193,790 Catholic households. The entire Sunday collection including anonymous cash donations for 1991 is estimated to be $5,479 billion. The 1992 edition of Giving and Volunteering in the United States estimates that Catholic households gave an average of $575 for all charitable contributions in 1991. Thus the total donations of 18 million Catholic households in 1991 amounted to $10.461 billion or 1.4 percent of household income.

Catholic giving at 1.4 percent of income is lower than virtually all Protestant denominations. Lutherans are about as fiscally blessed as Catholics with an average household income of $40,502. They gave 1.8 percent of household income to charity. Had Catholics matched that rate, their total contribution would have been $13.441 billion. Had Catholics only contributed at the rate of Lutherans, Catholic donations to religious charities would have realized an additional $1.877 billion. Presbyterians make somewhat more money than Catholics, with an average income of $2,333 and they give 2.1 percent to charity. Evangelical Protestants, Mormons, and Jews give substantially more to charity. The average gift to charity for all religions is 1.9 percent of household income. Catholics are dead last in the giving sweepstakes.

Catholic giving is .5 percent below the average for all households. Were Catholics to become simply average givers, Catholic donations to religious charities would climb by $2.333 billion. Clearly, a lot of the Catholic church' s financial problems would be solved if Catholics were only a little more ordinary.

Joseph Claude Harris is director of marketing for the Renton Coil Spring Company in Renton, Washington. This article is based on a Lilly-funded study "Estimate of Catholic Contributions to the Sunday Offertory Collection during 1991." Copies of the study are available from Joseph Claude Harris, 2610 38th Avenue S.W., Seattle, WA, 98126 ($12.50 prepaid, 106 pp. ).

Average Catholic Household Gift

      by Geographic Region
New England/Mideast   $205.51
South                 $304.56
Great Lakes           $309.73
Plains                $340.97
Mountains/Far West    $242.44
UNITED STATES         $280.15