Christmas Giving Rises as Most Protestants Boost Donations

More than 80 percent of Protestant churchgoers increase giving to help others during the Christmas season, a new study from Lifeway Research found.

“Many Americans traditionally give presents to others at Christmas, so we wondered if they also gave to charities during this season,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, says. “There is no shortage of opportunities and numerous requests for donations at Christmastime, and most churchgoers do give charitably at this time of year.”

Evangelicals were found to be more likely than non-evangelicals to give financially to their church’s efforts to help those in need at a rate of 52 percent to 45 percent. Baptists also were more likely to donate to their churches’ efforts to help those in need than Methodists or Lutherans.

Half of churchgoers give to help needy

In general, nearly half of churchgoers (49 percent) reported contributing to church efforts to help the needy. Some 37 percent reported giving more to their church’s missions offering, while 29 percent gave directly to a needy person. Just over a quarter said they gave a bit more money to their church’s general fund. A minority of Protestant churchgoers, 13 percent, said they didn’t give any extra donations during the Christmas season.

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“Since almost all Protestant churchgoers attend at Christmastime, it is not surprising that they participate in financial giving opportunities at their church the most,” McConnell said. “And in the giving spirit, gifts in which the church helps others are far more popular than things that benefit the operation of the church itself.”

Although giving a physical gift is seen as less efficient than providing a financial gift, McConnell suggested that donors who give items to a cause this Christmas tend to feel more invested in what they donate.

“Donating items to charitable causes at Christmastime may not be as efficient as financial gifts to the charity, but it is a fun way for people to be involved in the cause,” he told the Christian Post.

“Donors spend time as well as money purchasing items, so they likely are thinking longer about those they are helping. They also often are rewarded by seeing the collective donations of everyone, which affirms that they were part of something bigger than their own gift.”

–Alan Goforth