Where does the money in your offering plate go? [View all]

[MineralMan]

Last edited Mon Aug 20, 2012, 08:45 PM - Edit history (1)

I had that question when I was 18. So, I asked the pastor of the Presbyterian Church I attended. I asked him if he could break down the dollar and let me know how it was divided up. His response was to tell my that I was being impertinent. My response was to stop putting any more dollars in the offering plate on Sunday. As a teenager, I was donating from my own part-time wages, which were sparse, at best.

My impertinence eventually led me to understand that that church, and I assume most others, were businesses, and that the members were not allowed to know how the offering money was spent. Eventually, I gave it all up and found that disbelief was equal to belief.

So, if you are a member of an organized church - one with a national or global scope - where does the dollar you put in the offering plate go? How is it divided? How much of your donation goes to support things you want to support, and how much goes out of your local area and may be used to support things you do not support? Do you know? Has that information been revealed to you? If so, please show us the breakdown, if you've a mind to. I think it would be very interesting.

Since I am not longer associated with any religious organization, I make my donations directly to organizations that are doing things I support. I find it difficult to voluntarily donate to organizations which support things I do not. My taxes sometimes go to support things I do not agree with, but they are not voluntary. My personal donations, however, are voluntary. I insist that I know how they are distributed. As DUers, do you know where your voluntary donations to religious or other organizations go? If not, perhaps it would be a good idea to find out. If the organization tells you that you are being impertinent to ask, I suggest you reroute your donations more carefully.