Exactly how much money should Catholics be dropping into the collection basket each Sunday? 

For many Catholics, especially those serious about fulfilling their duty to the Church while adhering to a household budget, a concrete, dollar-figure answer is important. It’s easy to assume that Catholics are simply obliged — as biblical precepts suggest — to give 10% of their income to the Church. 

As Christopher Warner and his wife discerned how much money God was calling their family to give away, they came to understand that any Catholic’s financial generosity must be “ordered, rational, and rooted in vocation” — and not simply governed by a rigid percentage. Warner, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic deacon for the Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago, wrote the book Catholic Money: A Father Teaches His Son About Family Finances.

“For our family, discernment around giving began with rejecting the idea that there is a single obligatory percentage — such as 10% — that applies to every household in every season of life,” Deacon Warner, who lives in Michigan but is studying temporarily in Austria, told the Register in written comments.  

“We also learned not to treat money as ‘magic.’ Paying God first as a rigid formula can obscure the real point, which is love and responsibility. Financial management is simply one way we practice charity — first toward our spouse and children and then outwardly to the poor and the Church.”

10% Tithe? What the Church Really Teaches

The Old Testament precept of a fixed 10% gift — found primarily in the Books of Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy — is not, and has never been, a strict mandate for Catholics. That said, the Church’s Code of Canon Law states that the Christian faithful are “obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers” (Canon 222). 

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with using 10% as a guideline, Deacon Warner noted that Church Fathers like Sts. Augustine and John Chrysostom exhorted the rich to give away even more than 10% of their income. 

And while generous giving is a Christian duty, the poor and those who are burdened by debt or raising children should not feel guilty about giving less, Deacon Warner said. Parents, for example, do not have a moral obligation to give away much of their money if doing so compromises their primary responsibility to care for and educate their children in the faith, which is “not a failure of generosity, but an authentic work of the Church.”

“Our children are not obstacles to charity; they are entrusted to us by God and are themselves part of the Body of Christ,” he explained. 

Spiritual Growth, Not Just Donations

Many parishes and dioceses, rather than speaking about “donations” or “tithing,” have long ago adopted the language of “stewardship” over the gifts given by God — which naturally include, but are not limited to, financial assets. 

Many lay Catholics, and even pastors, still hear the word “stewardship” and think only of fundraising, said Eric McArdle, president and CEO of Catholic Stewardship Consultants (CSC), which works with parishes and dioceses around the country to develop a generous culture. True stewardship, however, is about “our need to give back to God because of what he has given to us, not about the parish’s need to get from parishioners,” McArdle said. 

He added that CSC offers counsel and strategies to help parishes encourage people to discern for themselves the time, talent and treasure that God is calling them to offer and take “realistic, manageable steps” to make it happen. 

“We’re focusing on the individual parishioner and their relationship with God and trying to be more proactive in helping them grow as disciples of Jesus ... where he wants them to take a step, a realistic step, that they can live out over the course of the next year,” McArdle explained. 

“If a parish just focuses on tithing and trying to get people to give and give at 10%, they’re very likely to be unsuccessful,” he continued. 

“[Instead], look at stewardship in its holistic understanding and the spirituality of it and how it touches on … every single area of our life.”

Trends and Dispositions

Dan Cellucci, president of the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI), a Pennsylvania nonprofit that works with parishes and dioceses to help them grow and evangelize, explained that CLI’s “Disciple Maker Index,” which claims to be the largest study of parish life in the world, has for years asked parishioners how they give of not just their “treasure,” but also their time and talent. 

Only about 1%-2% of all U.S. Catholics — regardless of their level of participation in Church — practice a 10% tithe, according to data. Those Catholics who “profess to having Jesus [at the] center of their life” tend to give far higher amounts, Cellucci said. There’s a big opportunity to increase volunteerism across almost all demographics of Catholics, he added. 

Moreover, there are generational differences when it comes to financial generosity among Catholics. Many older practicing Catholics are in a season of life “where they have more liquid disposable income. But they also grew up in a generation that had more of a dutiful expectation to give,” Cellucci explained. 

“The philanthropic trends of millennials and Gen Z are not tracking the same. There’s a lot more GoFundMe-type giving, or giving to my friend who’s in need, versus giving to an institution like a parish or a diocese.”

Cellucci said one of the things learned from the parishes that are doing stewardship well is that they don’t speak about “scarcity,” but rather “cast a vision,” invite people to be a part of it, and then candidly communicate what is required, financially, to realize the vision. Open communication is key, as many parishioners are unaware just how much money it really takes to keep a parish running, he added. 

“Stewardship is not just a strategy; it’s not just finance. ... On this topic, we have a tremendous opportunity for catechesis and formation of all of our people. I hope that we seize it as a Church,” Cellucci said. 

“If we’re not cultivating people’s hearts toward the Lord and toward a deeper sense of vocation and connection to the Church universal, we’re going to miss the opportunity to not only secure people’s financial support, but to really change their lives.” 

Stewardship as a Way of Life

The Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, is often held up as the gold standard when it comes to stewardship culture. Developed beginning in the 1980s, Wichita’s strong culture of tithing supports a notably fruitful Catholic ecosystem, including tuition-free Catholic schools. 

Father Jarrod Lies, Wichita’s vicar for stewardship and evangelization, explained that the diocese’s success is not built on a series of disconnected fundraising programs but on a diocesan-wide “culture of stewardship” that provides the "fertile soil" for generosity to grow organically. Parishioners diocese-wide are explicitly asked to give at least 8% of their gross income to their parish and 2% to charities of their choice. 

As impressive and distinct as Wichita’s stewardship model is — and McArdle, for his part, confirmed that no other U.S. diocese has yet managed to implement something so successful — it’s important that dioceses and parishes discern a system that works best for them, rather than simply attempting to replicate Wichita. 

The Diocese of Colorado Springs, Colorado, for example, working with CSC, has made major strides in recent years in implementing a stewardship way of life, leading to significant growth in personal and communal prayer, increased ministry commitments, year-over-year offertory increases, and large OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation) numbers. 

“We're not trying to help the Diocese of Colorado Springs or any other diocese become another Wichita. We’re trying to help them become the diocese God is calling them to be,” McArdle said. 

Abundance Comes and Goes

Deacon Warner stressed that in Catholic parishes — like in biological families — not every member contributes in the same way, or at the same time: With respect to members’ seasons of life and differences in vocation, some contribute money, while others offer time, prayer or expertise. 

That said, even cash-strapped families are called to bring a “gift to the altar” of what they can, and, beyond that, it is good for children to see their parents being generous to the Church, even in financially hard times. 

Deacon Warner added: “There is no shame in being on the receiving end of charity. Abundance is something that can come and go with the seasons of life.”

Alan Holdren contributed to this story.