Donations to religious institutions decline for second straight year [View all]

[SecularMotion]

WASHINGTON — Post-recession America is beginning to open its wallet to charities again, but is not giving as generously to religious institutions.

While charitable donations from individuals rose nearly 4 percent overall in 2011, according to the annual “Giving USA” report, donations to houses of worship and other religious bodies dropped by 1.7 percent — a decrease for the second year in a row.

The report, compiled by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and released Tuesday (June 19), shows that individual Americans gave nearly $218 billion last year, $96 billion of which went to religious organizations.

The proportion of the charitable donations going to religious groups has been falling steadily for decades, said Robert Evans, of Giving USA’s editorial review board.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/donations-to-religious-institutions-decline-for-second-straight-year/2012/06/20/gJQA9sK7qV_story.html