The University of Pennsylvania's "Called to Serve" study by Ram Cnaan and colleagues — the largest study of LDS giving to date — surveyed 2,644 active Mormons across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Utah, and California.
Penn's direct finding: "Taken together, an average Latter-day Saint pays full tithing and donates $1,821 to social and community causes." That $1,821 breaks down as $1,171 to social causes outside the church plus $650 to social causes through the church.
For comparison, Giving USA data (reported by The Conversation) measures average household charitable giving by religion: Jewish households $2,526, Protestants $1,749, Muslims $1,178, Catholics $1,142. Active LDS at $1,821 ranks second only to Jewish households — and ahead of Protestants, Muslims, and Catholics — even before tithing is counted.
Tithing is on top. 88% of LDS respondents in the Penn study reported paying a full 10% tithe — compared to roughly 4% of the U.S. population overall. On a $60,000 income that's an additional $6,000 per year, bringing total annual giving to roughly $7,800.
Combined with 430 hours/year of volunteer service documented in the same Penn research, active LDS members rank near the top on every measure of generosity — time and money.
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