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{{short description|Religious donation}}
A '''tithe''' (from ] ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a (usually) voluntary contribution or as a ] or levy, usually to support a ] religious organization. Today, tithes (or ''tithing'') are normally voluntary and paid in ], ]s, or ]s, whereas historically tithes could be paid in kind, such as agricultural products. Several European countries operate a formal process linked to the tax system allowing some churches to assess tithes.
{{Multiple issues|
{{Primary sources|date=December 2020}}
{{Technical|date=December 2021}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Taxation}}
], c. 1770]]
] figure of a priest collecting the tithe (])]]
A '''tithe''' ({{IPAc-en|t|aɪ|ð}}; from ]: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory ] to government.<ref name=burg>{{cite book |title=A World History of Tax Rebellions |author=David F. Burg |year=2004 |page=viii |publisher=Taylor & Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T91k6HAODzAC&pg=PP1 |isbn=9780203500897}}</ref> Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in ], ]s or via online giving, whereas historically tithes were required and paid ], such as agricultural produce. ] linked to the tax system are used in many countries to support their ]. Donations to the church beyond what is owed in the tithe, or by those attending a congregation who are not members or adherents, are known as ], and often are designated for specific purposes such as a building program, debt retirement, or mission work.


Many Christian denominations hold ] taught that tithing must be done in conjunction with a deep concern for "justice, mercy and faithfulness" (cf. Matthew 23:23).<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Five Views on Law and Gospel |author1=Greg L. Bahnsen |author2=Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. |author3=Douglas J. Moo |author4=Wayne G. Strickland |author5=Willem A. VanGemeren |publisher=] |date=21 September 2010 |page=354}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Empire in the New Testament |author1=Stanley E. Porter |author2=Cynthia Long Westfall |publisher=Wipf and Stock |date=Jan 2011 |page=116}}</ref> Tithing was taught at early Christian ], including the ], as well as the ] in 585. Tithing remains an important doctrine in many ]s, such as the ]es, ]es and ].<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/> Some Christian Churches, such as those in the Methodist tradition, teach the concept of ''Storehouse Tithing'', which emphasizes that tithes must be prioritized and given to the local church, before offerings can be made to apostolates or charities.<ref name="Black1960">{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=E. W. |title=The Storehouse Plan |date=1960 |publisher=] |location=West Asheville, North Carolina}}</ref><ref name="CON2019">{{cite web |title=Recognizing the importance of storehouse tithing |url=https://www.nazarene.org/article/recognizing-importance-storehouse-tithing |publisher=] |access-date=18 July 2019 |language=en |date=18 April 2019}}</ref>
"Tithing" also has unrelated economic and juridical senses, dating back to the ]. See "]".


Traditional ] and practice has included various forms of tithing since ancient times. ] commonly practice ''ma'aser kesafim'' (tithing 10% of their income to ]). In modern Israel, some religious Jews continue to follow the laws of agricultural tithing, e.g., '']'', '']'', and '']''.
Some interpretations of Biblical teachings conclude that although tithing was practiced extensively in the ], it was never practiced or taught within the first-century Church. Instead the ] scriptures are seen as teaching the concept of "freewill offerings" as a means of supporting the church: {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|16:2|NRSV}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|9:7|NRSV}}. Also, some of the earliest groups sold everything they had and held the proceeds in common to be used for the furtherance of the Gospel: {{bibleverse||Acts|2:44-47|NRSV}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|4:34-35|NRSV}}. Further, {{bibleverse||Acts|5:1-20|NRSV}} contains the account of a man and wife who were living in one of these groups. They sold a piece of property but donated only part of the selling price to the church and were struck dead for lying to God.


==Ancient Near East==
It is thought that tithes were not adopted by the ], ] for over seven centuries{{Fact|date=December 2008}}. Although initially rejected, they were mentioned in councils at ] in 567 and at ] in 585. They were formally recognized under ] in 787. Tithing in Christian churches today is frequently preached from the pulpit, but denominations and sects view tithing differently.
None of the extant extrabiblical laws of the ] deal with tithing, although other secondary documents show that it was a widespread practice in the Ancient Near East.<ref>D. L. Baker, ''Tight fists or open hands?: wealth and poverty in Old Testament law'' (2009) p. 239. "This was provided by means of a tithe of agricultural produce. a. Tithes in the Ancient Near East None of the extant laws deal with tithing, though other documents show that it was a widespread practice in the ancient Near East."</ref> ] (1996<ref>WW Hallo, Origins: The Ancient Near Eastern Background of Some Modern Western Institutions (Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East VI; Leiden/New York/Köln)</ref>) recognises comparisons for Israel with its ancient Near Eastern environment; however, as regards tithes, comparisons with other ancient Near Eastern evidence is ambiguous,<ref>Menahem Herman ''Tithe as gift: the institution in the Pentateuch and in light of ...'' 1992 p. 127 "Hallo recognizes comparisons for Israel with its ancient Near Eastern environment. However, in the instance of the tithe, comparisons with other ancient Near Eastern evidence has already been shown to be ambiguous, given the lack of ..."</ref> and Ancient Near Eastern literature provides scant evidence for the practice of tithing and the collection of tithes.<ref>Bertil Albrektson, ''Remembering all the way: a collection of Old Testament studies'' (1981) p. 116. "The Tithes in the Old Testament." H. Jagersma Brussels I. Introduction "In the Old Testament as well as in other Ancient Near Eastern literature, we find only scant evidence for the practice of tithing and the collection of tithes."</ref><gallery widths="120" heights="120" perrow="6">
Some view tithing as only clearly required in the ], and consider it to be a practice that has no place in modern Christianity. Others believe that tithing is still in effect. According to traditional Judaism, the obligation to Tithe (known in the Hebrew Scriptures as "Ma'aser") continues for produce grown in the Land of Israel.
File:Kore with a dove.jpg|Lysias dedicated first-fruits to Athena. Euarchis dedicated a tithe to Athena.
File:Cuneiform tablet- account of esru-tithe payments, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 225.jpg|Cuneiform tablet: account of esru-tithe payments, Ebabbar archive.
File:Sehel-steleFamine (cropped).jpg|The Famine Stele.
File:EPMA-6577-IGI(3)46-Brea foundation decree-1.JPG|Brea fondation decree. "and his property shall be confiscated and a tithe given to the Goddess (Athena)."
File:Inscribed base for a monumental statue dedicated to Athena by a potter named Pelkon vowing to give 10 percent of his profits, Acropolis of Athens, 510-500 BCE, Epgraphical Museum Athens.jpg|"Peikon the potter dedicated this as a tithe to Athena by a vow."
File:Athéna Promachos s věnováním.jpg|Statuette of Athena Promachos with dedication: "Meleso dedicated it to Athena as a tithe". 475-470 BC
</gallery>


===The ''esretu'' – "ešretū" the Ugarit and Babylonian one-tenth tax===
==Old Testament origins==
Some specific instances of the ] tithe, taken from ''The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago'':<ref>Vol. 4 "E" p.&nbsp;369 {{cite web|url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/cad_e.pdf|title=The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago|date=1958|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312032447/https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/cad_e.pdf |access-date=29 June 2022|archive-date=12 March 2017 }}</ref>
===In the time of Abraham/Abram===
: "the palace has taken eight garments as your tithe (on 85 garments)"
According to the ] account, ], returning from a battle by the ], was hailed by ], king of Salem (]) who was also the priest of ] ("the Most High God") ({{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Genesis|chapter=14|verse=18}}):
:"...eleven garments as tithe (on 112 garments)"..
:"...(the ]) ] demands the tithe..."
:"four ] of silver, the tithe of ], ], and ]..."
:"...he has paid, in addition to the tithe for ], the tax of the gardiner"
:"...the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to Shamash"
:"...why do you not pay the tithe to the ]?"
:"...(a man) owes barley and dates as balance of the tithe of the **years three and four"
:"...the tithe of the king on barley of the town..."
:"...with regard to the elders of the city whom (the king) has **summoned to (pay) tithe..."
:"...the collector of the tithe of the country Sumundar..."
:"...(the official Ebabbar in ]) who is in charge of the tithe..."
<gallery widths="120" heights="120" perrow="6">
File:Weihgeschenk des Hermonax.jpg|"Hermonax and his son dedicated me as a tithe of their works to Apollo."
File:Závaží ze Susa.jpg|Weight from Didyma.
File:Dedanitský nápis.jpg|Dedanite inscription.
File:Apollo Piombino.jpg|Apollo of Piombino.
File:Ancient Collection MfA Boston 0198-2.jpg|"Mantiklos donated me as a tithe to the far shooter, the bearer of the Silver Bow. You, Phoebus (Apollo) give something pleasing in return."
File:AGMA Stèle de la démocratie.jpg|Law against tyranny. "Both he and his descendants, and his estate shall be public property,and a tithe for the goddess."
</gallery>


=== Tyre and Carthage ===
::18. ''And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.''
According to ], the ], who were originally ] colonists, customarily sent ] (] in ]) a tenth of all that was paid into the public revenue.<ref>], '']'' 20.14.1–20.14.2 (see in ] translation: )</ref>
::19. ''And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:''
::20. ''And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.''
:::::(Genesis 14:18-20, Holy Bible, King James Version)


==Hebrew Bible==
When Melchizedek appeared and offered Abram bread and wine and blessed him in the name of ], tithes were exchanged. While the biblical text is not precise in naming who actually gave the tithes, most believe Abram gave the tithes to Melchizedek. The verse records, "…and he gave him a tenth of everything;" the "he" could stand for either Melchizedek or Abram, or perhaps El Elyon Himself. A reference found in {{bibleverse||Hebrews|7:2|NRSV}} expresses the tradition that Abram gave Melchizedek the tithes, and this is the belief that is held by most Christians. {{bibleverse||Hebrews|7:4|NRSV}} indicates that Abram gave a tenth of the spoils and not necessarily all of his personal wealth. Also, this was the only reference of Abram tithing.
{{main|Tithes in Judaism}}


===Laws===
Later, in ({{bibleverse||Genesis|28:22|NRSV}}), Abraham's grandson ] also made a commitment to give God back a tenth of his increase.
]]]


The ] commands the giving of various agricultural tithes in various situations, specifically ], ], the ], ], ], and ]. Not all these "tithes" actually had the proportion of {{frac|10}}. These tithes are mentioned in the Books of ], ] and ].
According to Christians, tithes are received by priests and high priests according to {{bibleverse||Hebrews|7:5|NRSV}}. The Hebrew Scriptures state that there is a distinct difference between priests (kohanim), the sons of Aaron, and the Leviim, the rest of the sons of Levi. The sons of Aaron were appointed to be priests and the tribe of Levi were appointed to minister to the priests and help in sacred matters({{bibleverse||Numbers|18:1-7|NRSV}}). The Children of Israel were commanded by God to give Bikkurim and Terumah to the kohanim and tithes to the sons of Levi. {{bibleverse||Numbers|18:11-24|NRSV}} In turn, the Leviim were commanded by God to give a tithe (a tenth) of the tithes they received to a priest. {{bibleverse||Numbers|18:26|JudaicaPress}}


Every year, ''terumah'', first tithe and ''terumat ma'aser'' were separated from the grain, wine and oil.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|14:23|HE}}</ref> (As regards other fruit and produce, the Biblical requirement to tithe is a source of debate.) Terumah did not have a set amount, but the rabbis suggested it be {{frac|50}} of the crop. First tithe was {{frac|10}} of the crop. ''Terumah'' and ''terumat maaser'' were given to priests (]); the first tithe was given to ]. As priests and Levites did not own or inherit a territorial ]<ref>{{Bibleverse|Numbers|18:21-28|HE}}</ref> these tithes were their means of support. The Levites, in turn, separated ''terumat ma'aser'' from their tithe ({{frac|10}} of the tithe, or {{frac|100}} of the crop).
===The Esretu — the standard Babylonian one-tenth tax===
Hebrew is a Semitic language, related to ], the ] of that time. An Akkadian noun that Abraham was most likely familiar with given his Babylonian background was ''esretu'', meaning "one-tenth." By the time of Abraham, this phrase was used to refer to the "one-tenth tax," or "tithe." Listed below are some specific instances of the Mesopotamian tithe, taken from ''The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago'', Vol. 4 "E":


The second tithe and poor tithe, both {{frac|10}} of the crop, were taken in an alternating basis according to the seven-year '']'' cycle. In years 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the cycle, second tithe was taken. In years 3 and 6, poor tithe was taken. (In year 7, private agriculture was prohibited, all crops that grew were deemed ownerless, and no tithes taken.) The ] was kept by the owner, but had to be eaten at the site of the ].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> (If this was difficult, the second could be redeemed for money which would be used to buy food at the Temple site.<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|14:24–26|HE}}</ref>) The ] was given to the strangers, orphans, and widows, and distributed locally "within thy gates"<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|14:28|HE}}</ref> to support the Levites and assist the poor.
"the palace has taken eight garments as your tithe (on 85 garments)"


An additional tithe, mentioned in {{bibleverse||Leviticus|27:32–33|HE}} is the ], which is to be sacrificed as a '']'' at the ].
:"…eleven garments as tithe (on 112 garments)"
:"...(the sun-god) Shamash demands the tithe..."


===Stories===
:"four minas of ], the tithe of Bel, Nabu, and Nergal..."
Tithing is mentioned twice in the stories of the ]:
* In {{bibleverse|Genesis|14:18–20|HE}}, ], after rescuing ], met with ]. After Melchizedek's blessing, Abraham gave him a tenth of everything he has obtained from battle.
* In {{bibleverse|Genesis|28:16–22|HE}}, ], after his ] ] of ] and receiving a blessing from God, promises God a tenth of his possessions.


Tithing is mentioned several times in the ], which chronicles events in the latter half of the 5th century BC. {{bibleverse|Nehemiah|10|HE}} outlines the customs regarding tithing. The Levites were to receive one tenth (the tithe) "in all our farming communities" and a tithe of the tithe were to be brought by them to the temple for storage.<ref name="Quiggle2009">{{cite book|author=James D. Quiggle|title=Why Christians Should Not Tithe: A History of Tithing and a Biblical Paradigm for Christian Giving|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0ZMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|date=1 August 2009|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-60608-926-2|pages=52–3}}</ref> {{bibleverse|Nehemiah|13:4-19|HE}} recounts how ] gave ] office space in the temple in a room that had previously been used to store tithes while Nehemaiah was away.<ref name="Quiggle2009"/> When Nehemiah returned he called it an evil thing, threw out all Tobiah's household items and had his rooms purified so that they could once more be used for tithes.<ref name="Seminary1985">{{cite book|author=Dallas Theological Seminary|title=The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSJWE-sR5HkC&pg=PA695|year=1985|publisher=David C Cook|isbn=978-0-88207-813-7|pages=695–}}</ref>
:"...he has paid, in addition to the tithe for Ninurta, the tax of the gardiner"


The ] has one of the most quoted Biblical passages about tithing. God (according to Malachi) promises that if the Jews begin to keep the laws of tithing, God will "open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need".<ref>{{Bibleverse|Malachi|3:6–12|HE}}</ref>
:"...the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to Shamash"


==Deuterocanonical==
:"...why do you not pay the tithe to the Lady-of-Uruk?"
{{further|Deuterocanonical books|Biblical apocrypha}}
The ] ] provides an example of all three classes of tithes practiced during the ]:
{{blockquote|"I would often go by myself to Jerusalem on religious holidays, as the Law commanded for every Israelite for all time. I would hurry off to Jerusalem and take with me the early produce of my crops, a tenth of my flocks, and the first portion of the wool cut from my sheep. I would present these things at the altar to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. I would give the first tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruit to the Levites who served in Jerusalem. For six out of seven years, I also brought the cash equivalent of the second tenth of these crops to Jerusalem where I would spend it every year. I gave this to orphans and widows, and to Gentiles who had joined Israel. In the third year, when I brought and gave it to them, we would eat together according to the instruction recorded in Moses' Law, as Deborah my grandmother had taught me..."|{{bibleverse |Tobit |1:6–8 |CEB}}}}


==Judaism==
:"...(a man) owes ] and dates as balance of the tithe of the **years three and four"
{{Main|Tithes in Judaism}}
] continue to follow the biblical laws of tithes (see ]) to a limited extent. As understood by the rabbis, these laws never applied and do not apply outside the ]. For produce grown in modern Israel, the tithes are separated but not given, as no Jew can prove they are a priest or Levite and thus entitled to the produce. Instead, a custom has arisen to tithe 10% of one's earnings to charity (''ma'aser kesafim'').<ref>Norman Solomon, ''Historical Dictionary of Judaism'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2015, p. 459</ref><ref>Sara E. Karesh, Mitchell M. Hurvitz, ''Encyclopedia of Judaism'', Infobase Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 521</ref>


The ] and ] contain analysis of the ], ] and ].<ref>See {{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |noicon=1|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10232-ma-aserot |title=MA'ASEROT}}</ref>
:"...the tithe of the king on barley of the town..."


Animals are not tithed in the modern era when the Temple is not standing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1062899/jewish/Perek-6.htm |title=Mishneh Torah, Sefer Korbanot: Bechorot, Perek 6, Halacha 2 |author=Maimonides |author-link=Maimonides|website=Chabad.org}}</ref>
:"...with regard to the elders of the city whom (the king) has **summoned to (pay) tithe..."


==Christianity==
:"...the collector of the tithe of the country Sumundar..."
{{see also|Stewardship (theology)}}
] to collect a portion of ones' tithes during the ]]]
Many churches practiced tithing, as it was taught by the ], and in the ] in AD 585, a penalty of ] was prescribed for those who did not adhere to this ecclesiastical law.<ref name="Babbs1912">{{cite book |last=Babbs |first=Arthur Vergil |title=The Law of the Tithe as Set Forth in the Old Testament |url=https://archive.org/details/lawoftitheassetf00babb |year=1912 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell Company |page= |quote=Tithes were recommended by the Second Council of Tours, AD 567; and excommunication was added to the command to observe the tithing law, by the Third Council of Mâcon, which met in 585.}}</ref> Tithes can be given to the Church at once (as is the custom in many Christian countries with a ]), or distributed throughout the year; during the part of ] liturgies known as the ], people often place a portion of their tithes (sometimes along with additional offerings) in the collection plate.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2009/march/passing-plate.html |title=Passing the Plate |last=Rogers |first=Mark |year=2009 |magazine=] |access-date=20 April 2018 |quote=After America ended state support of churches in the early 19th century, the collection of "tithes and offerings" became a standard feature of Sunday morning worship.}}</ref>


{{bibleverse |2Corinthians |9:7||2 Corinthians 9:7}} talks about giving cheerfully, {{bibleverse |2Corinthians |8:12||2 Corinthians 8:12}} encourages giving what one can afford, {{bibleverse |1Corinthians |16:1–2||1 Corinthians 16:1–2}} discusses giving weekly (although this is a saved amount for ]), {{bibleverse |1Timothy |5:17–18| |1 Timothy 5:17–18}} exhorts supporting the financial needs of Christian workers, {{bibleverse |Acts |11:29}} promotes feeding the hungry wherever they may be and {{bibleverse |James |1:27}} states that pure religion is to help widows and orphans.<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>
:"...(the official Ebabbar in Sippar) who is in charge of the tithe..."


According to a 2018 study by LifeWay Research that interviewed 1,010 Americans, 86% of people with ] beliefs say that tithe is still a biblical commandment.<ref>Bob Smietana, , lifewayresearch.com, USA, 10 May 2018</ref> Of those surveyed, 87% of ] believers, 86% of ] believers, 81% of ] believers share this position.
Because of this standard one-tenth tax in Babylon, Abraham of the Genesis account was most likely familiar with the concept of giving up ten-percent of goods as tax.


===Denominational positions===
The Sikh religion has a similar practice called "Duswanth", which means "a tenth of one's income to be devoted to religious purposes". Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh started this practice.
<!-- NOTE: This list has been alphabetized. PLEASE DO NOT EDIT WAR. If you make a change that is reverted, please open a discussion or contribute to an existing one, per ]. Consensus items require prior discussion.-->


====Adventist Churches====
===In the time of Moses and Under Mosaic Law===
The ] teaches in its ] that "We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support of His Church."<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>
The tithe is specifically mentioned in the ], the ] and also in the ]. The tithing system was organized in a 7 year cycle, corresponding to the Shemittah cycle. Every year, Bikkurim, Terumah, Ma'aser Rishon and Terumat Ma'aser were separated from the grain, wine and oil (as regards other fruit and produce, the Biblical requirement to tithe is a source of debate). {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:22|JudaicaPress}} The yearly tithe to the Levites could be consumed anywhere. {{bibleverse||Numbers|18:31|JudaicaPress}}On years one, two, four and five of the Shemittah cycle, God commanded the Children of Israel to take a second tithe that was to be brought to the city of ]. {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:23|JudaicaPress}} The owner of the produce was to separate and bring 1/10 of his finished produce to Jerusalem after separating Terumah and the first tithe, but if the family lived too far from Jerusalem, the tithe could be redeemed upon coins. {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:23|JudaicaPress}}Then, the Bible required the owner of the redeemed coins to spend the tithe "to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish." {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:22-27|JudaicaPress}} Implicit in the commandment was an obligation to spend the coins on items meant for human consumption. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, the second tithe could be brought to Jerusalem any time of the year and there was no specific obligation to bring the second tithe to Jerusalem for the Festival of Sukkot. The only time restriction was a commandment to remove all the tithes from one's house in the third year. {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:28|JudaicaPress}}


====Anabaptist Churches====
The third year was called "the year of tithing" {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Deuteronomy|chapter=26|verse=12|range=-14}} in which the Israelites set aside 10% of the increase of the land, they were to give this tithe to the Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows. These tithes were in reality more like taxes for the people of Israel and were mandatory, not optional giving. This tithe was distributed locally "within thy gates" {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Deuteronomy|chapter=14|verse=28}} to support the Levites and assist the poor.
The ] teaches that "tithing as a minimum baseline is one of the principles on which financial giving in this ']' system is based":<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>
{{blockquote|We depend on God's gracious gifts for food and clothing, for our salvation, and for life itself. We do not need to hold on tightly to money and possessions, but can share what God has given us. The practice of mutual aid is a part of sharing God's gifts so that no one in the family of faith will be without the necessities of life. Whether through community of goods or other forms of financial sharing, mutual aid continues the practice of Israel in giving special care to widows, orphans, aliens, and others in economic need (Deut. 24:17–22). Tithes and first-fruit offerings were also a part of this economic sharing (Deut. 26; compare Matt. 23:23).<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>}}


====Baptist Churches====
The Levites, also known as the tribe of ], were descendants of Levi. They were assistants to the Israelite priests (who were the children of Aaron and, therefore,a subset of the Tribe of Levi) and did not own or inherit a territorial ] {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Numbers|chapter=18|verse=21|range=-28}}. Their function in society was that of temple functionaries, teachers and trusted civil servants who supervised the weights and scales and witnessed agreements. The goods donated from the other Israeli tribes were their source of sustenance. They received from "all Israel" a tithe of food or livestock for support, and in turn would set aside a tenth portion of that tithe for the Aaronic priests in Jerusalem.
The ] resolved in 2013 to "exhort all Southern Baptists to tithe cheerfully and give sacrificially as good stewards of God’s blessings to their local churches."<ref>{{Cite web |title=On Tithing, Stewardship, And The Cooperative Program |url=https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-tithing-stewardship-and-the-cooperative-program/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=www.sbc.net/ |language=en-US}}</ref> Article XIII the ] recognizes a Christian obligation to contribute without specifically mention a tithe.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Baptist Faith and Message |url=https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#xiii |website=Sbc.net |at=XIII. Stewardship}}</ref> Other Southern Baptists do not observe a tithe, only an offering. Representing ], Professor Tom Schreiner states, "Is a tithe required? ... I would say no, because a tithe is part of the Mosaic covenant."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schreiner |first=Thomas R. |date=2017-09-06 |title=Is tithing required today? |url=https://equip.sbts.edu/video/tithing-required-today/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Southern Equip |language=en-US}}</ref>


The ] teaches that "Baptists believe that a proper sense of stewardship begins with the 'tithe'; a presentation of which belongs to Him. 'The tithe is the Lord's.' We have not given as a result of presenting the tithe. Our giving begins with the offering {after we have tithed}."<ref name="SmithEmerson2008" />
===In the time of the Israelite Kings===


The Treatise of the ], Chapter XVI, specifically states that both the Old and New Testaments "teach tithing as God's financial plan for the support of His work."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nafwb.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2016-FWB-Treatise.pdf |title=A TREATISE of the Faith and Practices of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, Inc.|website=Nafwb.org|access-date=29 June 2022}}</ref>
]s may represent the oldest archaeological evidence of tithing. About 10 percent of the storage jars manufactured during ]'s reign (circa 700 BC) were stamped (Grena, 2004, pp. 376-8). See ] 29–31 for a record of this early worship reformation.


====Catholic Church====
The book of Nehemiah also talks about the collection of tithes to Leviim and distribution of Terumah to the priests: {{bibleverse||Nehemiah|13:5|JudaicaPress}}. People were actually appointed to collect mandatory tithes and place them in specially designated chambers which eventually came to be known as storehouses: {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Nehemiah|chapter=12|verse=44}}.
The ], which was held after the ], taught that "tithes are due to God or to religion, and that it is sacrilegious to withhold them",<ref name="Croly1834">{{cite book |last=Croly |first=David O. |title=An Essay Religious and Political on Ecclesiastical Finance, as regards the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, etc |year=1834 |publisher=John Bolster |language=en |page=72 |quote=The Council of Trent – the last general Council – declares that "tithes are due to God or to religion, and that it is sacrilegious to withold them." And one of the six precepts of the Church commands the faithful "to pay tithes to their pastors."}}</ref> but the Catholic Church no longer requires anyone to give ten percent of income.<ref name=":0" /> The Church simply asks Catholics to support the mission of their parish.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grondin |first1=Charles |title=What Did Trent Mean By "Tithes"? |url=https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-did-trent-mean-by-tithes|website=Catholic.com}}</ref> According to the ] "The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a3.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church #2043|website=Vatican.ca|access-date=29 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/cic_index_en.html|title=Code of Canon Law: Table of Contents|website=Vatican.va|access-date=29 June 2022}}</ref>


====Lutheran Churches====
===Tithing in the Books of the (Minor) Prophets===
The ] teaches that "Encourage cheerful, first-fruit, proportionate (including but not limited to tithing) living and giving in all areas of life by Christian stewards".<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>


====Methodist Churches====
The ] has some of the most quoted Biblical versus on tithing, {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Malachi|chapter=3|verse=8|range=-12}}.
'']'', which teaches the doctrine of the Storehouse Tithing, holds:<ref name="Black1960"/><ref name="AWMC2014">{{cite book |title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference) |year=2014 |publisher=]|location=Salem |language=en |pages=133–166}}</ref> {{blockquote |That all our people pay to God at least one-tenth of all their increase as a minimum financial obligation, and freewill offerings in addition as God has prospered them. The tenth is figured upon the tither's gross income in salary or net increase when operating a business.<ref name="AWMC2014"/>}}
Jews, Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians who tithe, understand that no man may outdo God in the act of ]. These verses talk about the supposed cause and effect of tithing. If one gives to God, they are to be blessed, where if one refuses to give they will be cursed. They also refer back to the storehouses mentioned in Nehemiah. (Malachi ):


The ] of the ] states that it is the responsibility of ecclesiastics to "educate the local church that tithing is the minimum goal of giving in The United Methodist Church."<ref name="SmithEmerson2008">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Christian |last2=Emerson |first2=Michael O|last3=Snell |first3=Patricia |title=Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money |date=29 September 2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |isbn=9780199714117 |pages=215–227}}</ref>
:''' 8''' ''Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How are we robbing thee?’ In your tithes and offerings.''
:''' 9''' ''You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you.''
:'''10''' ''Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the {{LORD}} of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.''
:'''11''' ''I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the {{LORD}} of hosts.''
:'''12''' ''Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the {{LORD}} of hosts.''
:'''Revised Standard Edition'''


] teaches Storehouse Tithing, in which members are asked to donate one-tenth of their income to their local church—this is to be prioritized before giving an offering to apostolates or charities.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tithing Tradition |url=http://nazarene.org/files/docs/stewardship_tithetrad.pdf|publisher=The Church of the Nazarene |access-date=23 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510201028/http://nazarene.org/files/docs/stewardship_tithetrad.pdf|archive-date=10 May 2017 }}</ref>
The ] (1:6–8) provides an example of all three classes of tithes practiced during the ]n exile:


====Moravian Church====
{{quote|But I alone went often to ] at the feasts, as it was ordained unto all the people of ] by an everlasting decree, having the ] and tenths of increase, with that which was first shorn; and them gave I at the altar to the priests the children of Aaron. The first tenth part of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who ministered at ]: another tenth part I sold away, and went, and spent it every year at ]: And the third I gave unto them to whom it was meet, as Debora my father's mother had commanded me…}}
The ] encourages its members to "financially support the ministry of the Church toward the goal of tithing."<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/> It "deem it a sacred responsibility and genuine opportunity to be faithful stewards of all God has entrusted to us: our time, our talents, our financial resources".<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>


====Orthodox Churches====
==Tithing in the New Testament==
Tithing in medieval Eastern Christianity did not spread so widely as in the West. A ] of the Emperors ] (reigned 457–474) and ] (reigned 467–472) apparently expected believers to make voluntary payments and forbade compulsion.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia |last= Сильвестрова |first= Е. В. |editor-first= Vladimir Mikhailovich |editor-last= Gundyayev |editor-link= Patriarch Kirill of Moscow |encyclopedia= Православная энциклопедия |title= ДЕСЯТИНА |trans-title=Tithe |url= http://www.pravenc.ru/text/171766.html |access-date=23 January 2015 |language= ru |edition= Electronic version |date=24 March 2012 |publisher= Церковно-научный центр «Православная Энциклопедия» |volume= 14 |pages=450–452
|quote= На Востоке Д не получила такого распространения, как на Западе. Известна, в частности, конституция императоров Льва и Антемия, в которой священнослужителям запрещалось принуждать верующих к выплатам в пользу Церкви под угрозой различных прещений. Хотя в конституции не употребляется термин decima, речь идет о начатках и, по всей видимости, о выплатах, аналогичных Д., к-рые, по мнению императоров, верующие должны совершать добровольно, без всякого принуждения .}}
</ref>


The ] teaches "proportionate giving and tithing as normal practices of Christian giving."<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>
According to ]s, as those who serve at the altar should live by the altar (), it became necessary for provision of some kind to be made for the sacred ministers.


====Pentecostal Churches====
In the beginning this was supplied by the spontaneous offerings of the faithful. In the course of time, however, as the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would ensure the proper and permanent support of the clergy.
The ] teaches that "We recognize the scriptural duty of all our people, as well as ministers, to pay tithes as unto the Lord. Tithes should be used for the support of active ministry and for the propagation of the Gospel and the work of the Lord in general."<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>


The ] likewise instructs the faithful that:<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>
Many Christians (both Catholic and ]) support their churches and pastors with monetary contributions of one sort or another. Frequently these monetary contributions are called tithes whether or not they actually represent ten-percent of anything. Some claim{{Fact|date=February 2007}} that as tithing was an ingrained Jewish custom by the time of ], no specific command to tithe per se is found in the ]. However, this view overlooks the fact that Israel's tithes were of an agricultural nature, not financial.<ref name = "tithe">{{cite web | url = http://thetithe.org | title = The Tithe}}</ref> References to tithing in the New Testament can be found in ], ], and the ].
{{blockquote|Our commitment to Jesus Christ includes stewardship. According to the Bible everything belongs to God. We are stewards of His resources. Our stewardship of possessions begins with the tithe. All our members are expected to return a tenth of all their income to the Lord.<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>}}


====Reformed Churches====
For Catholics, the payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of conscience, rather than any direct command by Jesus Christ.
The ] of the ] states, with respect to the obligation to tithe:<ref name="PMA1997"/>
{{blockquote|"Giving has always been a mark of Christian commitment and discipleship. The ways in which a believer uses God's gifts of material goods, personal abilities, and time should reflect a faithful response to God's self-giving in Jesus Christ and Christ's call to minister to and share with others in the world. Tithing is a primary expression of the Christian discipline of stewardship".<ref name="PMA1997">{{cite web |url=https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/stewardship/ |title=Presbyterian Mission Agency Stewardship |year=1997 |publisher=Presbyterian Mission Agency |language=en |access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref>}}


The ], a denomination in the ] tradition, teaches that:<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>
Some Protestant denominations cite {{bibleref|Matthew|23:23}} as support for tithing.
{{blockquote|When we tithe we place God as our first priority. We trust in God's abundance instead of worrying about not having enough. Tithing churches live out a vision of abundance rather than a mentality of scarcity.<ref name="SmithEmerson2008"/>}}
:''Away with you, you pettifogging Pharisee lawyers! You give to God a tenth of herbs, like mint, dill, and cumin, but the important duties of the Law — judgement, mercy, honesty — you have neglected. Yet these you ought to have performed, without neglecting the others.''
:(Albright & Mann, '''Matthew, Anchor Bible''', Vol. 26 (1971))


====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints====
and its parallel Luke 11:42
{{Main|Tithing in Mormonism}}
:''Woe to you, Pharisees! You tithe mint and rue and every edible herb but disregard justice and the love of God. These were rather the things one should practice, without neglecting the others.''
]
:(Fitzmyer, '''Luke, Anchor Bible''', Vol. l, 28A (1985))
] (LDS Church) bases its tithing on the additional scriptures:<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.lds.org/manual/primary-6-old-testament/lesson-44-malachi-teaches-about-tithes-and-offerings |contribution= Lesson 44: Malachi Teaches about Tithes and Offerings |title= Primary 6: Old Testament |publisher= LDS Church |year= 1996 |pages= 196–201 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150224044120/https://www.lds.org/manual/primary-6-old-testament/lesson-44-malachi-teaches-about-tithes-and-offerings |archive-date= 24 February 2015 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>


{{blockquote|And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.|] {{LDS| |dc |119 |3 |4}} (see also {{LDS |Doctrine and Covenants |dc |64 |23 |24}})}}
Because of Jesus' specific mention of the tithe in this passage, those who support the tithe believe that he gave his endorsement to the practice of tithing in general. Some scholars disagree, however, pointing out that Jesus was simply obeying Mosaic law as an obedient Jew and telling Pharisees they ought to have tithed as they claimed they were living under that law.


{{blockquote|And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed.|] {{lds| |alma |13 |15}} }}
The final mention of tithing in the New Testament is {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Hebrews|chapter=7|verse=1|range=-10}}. This refers back to the tithe Abram paid to ]. This passage, although serving as confirmation that Abraham did indeed pay his tithe to Melchisedec, is not so much about tithing as about trying to show the superiority of Christ to that of the Levitical priesthood.
]
] near ], England, with names of its fields and two farms. Note the tithe-officer signature and ''stamp'' near the top.]]
]
] tithe memorial in Suffolk, England, opposite the parish church, protesting against a tithe seizure]]
Tithing is defined by the church as payment of one-tenth of one's annual income. Many church leaders have made statements in support of tithing.<ref>
{{cite web |url= http://www.lds.org/topics/tithing/what-the-church-teaches |title=Gospel Topics – What the Church Teaches about Tithing |work=lds.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224051325/https://www.lds.org/topics/tithing/what-the-church-teaches |archive-date=24 February 2015 |df= dmy-all}}
</ref> Every ] has an opportunity once a year to meet with their ] for ]. The payment of tithes is mandatory for members to receive the ] or obtain a temple recommend for admission to ].


The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1993/10/combatting-spiritual-drift-our-global-pandemic?lang=eng&query=lay+ministry|title=Combatting Spiritual Drift – Our Global Pandemic|author=Russell M. Nelson |work=lds.org}}</ref> The money that is given is used to construct and maintain its buildings as well as to further the work of the church.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mormon.org/faq/topic/tithing|title=FAQ – Mormon.org|author=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |work=mormon.org}}</ref> None of the funds collected from tithing is paid to local church officials or those who serve in the church. Those serving in full-time church leadership do receive stipends for living expenses, but they are paid from non-tithing resources, such as investments.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} ], a church-sponsored institution, also receives "a significant portion"{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} of its maintenance and operating costs from tithes of the church's members.
Most New Testament discussion promotes giving and does not mention tithing. {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=2 Corinthians|chapter=9|verse=7}} talks about giving cheerfully; {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=2 Corinthians|chapter=8|verse=3}} encourages giving what you can afford; {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=1 Corinthians|chapter=16|verse=1|verse=2}} discusses giving weekly; {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=1 Timothy|chapter=5|verse=17|verse=18}} exhorts supporting the financial needs of Christian workers; {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=Acts|chapter=11|verse=29|verse=29}} promotes feeding the hungry wherever they may be; and {{sourcetext|source=Bible (King James)|book=James|chapter=1|verse=27}} states that pure religion is to help widows and orphans.


===Church collection of religious offerings and taxes===
==Tithing in the Middle Ages==
====England and Wales====
] in ] village, Germany]]
] Church, Wales]]
Farmers had to offer a tenth of their harvest, while craftsmen had to offer a tenth of their production.
The right to receive tithes was granted to the English churches by ] in 855. The ] was a royal tax, but assessed using ecclesiastical boundaries, in 1188. The legal validity of the tithe system was affirmed under the ]. The ] led to the transfer of many rights to tithe to secular landowners and ] – and tithes could be extinguished until 1577 under an Act of the 37th year of ]'s reign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details/C3252914-details|title=Middlesex: London City without the Walls: St Botolph without Aldgate, parish |work=The National Archives Collection IR 18/5462}}</ref> ] criticized the system in '']'' (1776), arguing that a fixed rent would encourage peasants to work far more efficiently.


]
In Europe, special barns were built in villages order to store the tithe (], in German ''Zehntscheunen''). These were often the largest building in the village after the church. The priest or the collector (''decimator'') collected the tithe, though usually tithers delivered their tithe to a collection point themselves. Villages or homesteads were documented as owing tithe. A requirement to tithe was usually acquired by purchase, donation to the church, or when the settlement was founded.
]


====Dissenters====
The Ebstorf Abbey in the Lüneburger Heathlands, for example, was owed tithe from over 60 villages.
In the seventeenth century various dissenting groups objected to paying tithes to Church of England. ] were prominent among these, objecting to 'forced payments for the maintenance of a professional ministry'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braithwaite |first1=William C. |last2=Cadbury |first2=Henry J. |title=The Beginnings of Quakerism |date=1970 |publisher=William Sessions Ltd |location=York, England |page=136 |edition=2nd}}</ref> In 1659 guidance was issued for a national system for recording the fines, ]s and imprisonments for non-payment of tithes as seen in the following extract from a document.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braithwaite |first1=William C. |last2=Cadbury |first2=Henry J. |title=The Beginnings of Quakerism |date=1970 |publisher=William Sessions Ltd |location=York, England |page=315 |edition=2nd}}</ref>
{{Blockquote
|text=Clause 9. Sufferings of Friends to be gathered up and recorded, the sufferes to report to a recorder in each meeting who is to report to the next General Meeting for the county for record by a county recorder.
|author=From Register Book of a Monthly Meeting in Hampshire, 1659
}}


These records were eventually collated and published in 1753 by ], documenting widespread persecution throughout the British Isles and further abroad. This only abated in the 1680s, due in no small measure to the efforts of ] who, through ]'s earlier connections at court, was friendly with ] and ] and interceded with them in behalf of Quakers in England and on the Continent, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=Richard |last2=Dunn |first2=Mary Maples |title=The Papers of William Penn |date=1982 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0-8122-7852-6 |page=21 |edition=1st}}</ref>
In the Middle Ages the tithe from the Old Testament was expanded, through a differentiation between a Great Tithe and a Little Tithe.


] for a fuller description and history, until the reforms of the 19th century, written by ] and edited by other learned lawyers of the period.<ref>.Alan Wharham, "Tithes in Country Life," ''History Today'' (June 1972), Vol. 22 Issue 6, pp 426-433.</ref>
* The Great Tithe was analogous to the tithe in the Bible where one had to tithe on grain and large farm animals.
* The Little Tithe added fruits of the field: kitchen herbs, fruit, vegetables and small farm animals. Exactly what was tithable varied from place to place.


====End of the tithing system====
Other tithes appeared that varied from location to location:
The system gradually ended with the ], whose long-lasting Tithe Commission replaced them with a commutation payment, land award and/or rentcharges to those paying the commutation payment and took the opportunity to map out (apportion) residual ] where the rectory had been appropriated during the medieval period by a religious house or college. Its records giving a snapshot of land ownership in most parishes, the Tithe Files, are a socio-economic history resource. The rolled-up payment of several years' tithe would be divided between the tithe-owners as at the date of their extinction.<ref name=na> The National Archives</ref>


This commutation reduced problems to the ultimate payers by effectively folding tithes in with rents however, it could cause transitional money supply problems by raising the transaction demand for money. Later the decline of large landowners led ] to become ] and again have to pay directly; this also led to renewed objections of principle by non-]s.<ref>One account of the objections in the 1920s and 1930s appears in the book ''The Tithe War'' by ] (London: Gollancz, 1934).</ref> It also kept intact a system of chancel repair liability affecting the minority of parishes where the rectory had been lay-appropriated. The precise land affected in such places hinged on the content of documents such as the content of deeds of merger and apportionment maps.<ref name=na/>
* Wine tithe (also called the wet tithe) upon wine cellars
* Hay tithe upon harvest hay
* Wood tithe upon cut wood
* Meat or blood tithe upon slaughtered animals or animal products such as eggs and milk
* Cleared-land tithe upon land that has been newly cleared for farming


=====Tithe redemption{{anchor|Tithe Act 1936|Tithe Act 1951}}=====
After the ] the tithe was increasingly taken over from the church by the state. In countries such as Germany and Switzerland, this remained the case until the 19th century, when the tithe was abolished. In England, church tithes remained until the 19th century and in some cases to this day voluntary tithes are paid by the devout. In some cases the abolishment of the tithe was accompanied by a one-time tax upon the farmers. This led many farmers into debt.
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Tithe Act 1936
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to extinguish tithe rentcharge and extraordinary tithe rentcharge, and to make provision with respect to the compensation of the owners thereof and rating authorities and to the liabilities of the owners of land charged therewith in respect of the extinguishment thereof; to reduce the rate at which tithe rentcharge is to be payable pending its extinguishment and to make provision with respect to the recovery of arrears thereof; to make provision for the redemption and extinguishment of corn rents and similar payments; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
| year = 1936
| citation = ]. c. 43
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 31 July 1936
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces = {{ubli|]|]|]}}
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status = amended
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5and1Edw8/26/43/contents/enacted
| revised_text =
| use_new_UK-LEG =
| UK-LEG_title = Tithe Act 1936
| collapsed = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Tithe Act 1951
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to provide, in lieu of the obligation imposed by the Tithe Act, 1936, to register all annuities charged thereby, for registration in selected districts, to amend and to repeal certain provisions of that Act, and to make further provision with respect to certain matters connected therewith.
| year = 1951
| citation = ]. c. 62
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 1 August 1951
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status = amended
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/14-15/62/contents/enacted
| revised_text =
| use_new_UK-LEG =
| UK-LEG_title = Tithe Act 1951
| collapsed = yes
}}


Rent charges in lieu of abolished English tithes paid by landowners were converted by a public outlay of money under the '''Tithe Act 1936''' (]. c. 43) into ] paid to the state through the Tithe Redemption Commission. Such payments were transferred in 1960 to the Board of ], and those remaining were terminated by the ].
==Modern-day teachings==


The '''Tithe Act 1951''' (]. c. 62) established the compulsory redemption of English tithes by landowners where the annual amounts payable were less than £1, so abolishing the bureaucracy and costs of collecting small sums of money.
In recent years, tithing has been taught in Christian circles as a form of "stewardship" that God requires of Christians. The primary argument is that God has never formally "abolished" the tithe, and thus Christians should pay the tithe (usually calculated at 10 percent of all gross income from all sources), although at the ] the Apostles did not include it in the letter to the Gentile believers ({{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Acts|chapter=15|verse=29}}). The tithe is usually given to the local congregation, though some teach that a part of the tithe can go to other Christian ministries, so long as total giving is at least 10 percent. Some holding to ] doctrines go even further, teaching that God will ''bless'' those who tithe and ''curse'' those who do not.


====Greece====
Some scholars cite that since the account of Abram giving tithe to the high priest occurred before the law was given to Moses, the tithe does not fit into Mosaic Law and therefore is relevant today. That interpretation, however, is suspect since Abram also practised ] before the Mosaic law came into being, but that practice has itself been de-emphasized in the New Testament church. It is therefore a much better interpretation, both similar to circumcision and the observation of the ], that the practise of tithing (that is compulsory giving of 10% of one's income) is no longer applicable to the New Testament church. Instead church members are encouraged "to give as the Lord has prospered (them)” , and "every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” .
There has never been a separate church tax or mandatory tithe on Greek citizens. The state pays the salaries of the clergy of the established ], in return for use of real estate, mainly forestry, owned by the church. The remainder of church income comes from voluntary, tax-deductible donations from the faithful. These are handled by each ] independently.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}


====Ireland====
Opponents of tithing argue that the only Biblical references to the tithe occurred (or referenced events that occurred) during the period of Mosaic Law, applicable only to Jews. They further argue that Jesus taught He came to "fulfill" the Law, which they believe occurred at His crucifixion, and therefore Christians are no longer obligated to pay a minimum amount, but should give only as God specifically directs them to do (which may be more or less than 10 percent) 2 Corinthians 8 & 9. Further, opponents hold that the "blessing/cursing" teachings used in prosperity theology would result in God being able to be "bribed" or acting as an "extortionist". In addition, the blessings / curse point of view invalidates the gospel, i.e. if one is cursed, then Christ could not have been a "curse on our behalf" and if we can get more blessing by tithing, then we cannot possibly have "all Spiritual blessings in Christ" (Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:3). If it's true that all giving should be non-compulsory and rooted in the Christ in each believer, then tithing is moot.
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2012}}
From the ] in the 16th century, most Irish people chose to remain ] and had by now to pay tithes valued at about 10 per cent of an area's agricultural produce, to maintain and fund the established state church, the ] ], to which only a small minority of the population converted. ] and other minorities like the ] and ] were in the same situation.


The collection of tithes was resisted in the period 1831–36, known as the ]. Thereafter, tithes were reduced and added to rents with the passing of the ] in 1836. With the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the ], tithes were abolished.
Proponents argue that one cannot throw out the Law in the name of "fulfillment" because that also would cause the argument that Christians are no longer obligated to live a holy lifestyle according to the ten commandments, which scholars agree is not the intention of Jesus' teachings that He came to "fulfill" the Law.


====United States====
] created a program called 4T--Tithing of Time, Talent, and Teasure, which is used in many ]es.<ref>Official site: http://www.4tprosperity.com/</ref>
While the federal government has never collected a church tax or mandatory tithe on its citizens, states <!---such as Massachusetts, specifically--> collected a tithe into the early 19th century. The United States and its governmental subdivisions also exempt most churches from payment of income tax (under Section ] of the ] and similar state statutes, which also allows donors to claim the donations as an income tax ]). Also, churches may be permitted exemption from other state and local taxes such as sales and property taxes, either in whole or in part. Clergy, such as ministers and members of religious orders (who have taken a vow of poverty) may be exempt from federal self-employment tax on income from ministerial services. Income from non-ministerial services are taxable and churches are required to withhold Federal and state income tax from this non-exempt income. They are also required to withhold employee's share of ] and ] taxes under ], and pay the employer's share for the non-exempt income.<ref name="IRS517">


Publication 517, '''', Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury. ''Retrieved 23 September 2016''</ref>
==Governmental collection of religious offerings and taxes==
===Austria===


====Spain and Latin America====
] is compulsory in Austria and Catholics can be sued by the Church for not paying it. Anyone who wants to stop paying it has to declare in writing, at their local municipal council, that they are leaving the Church. They are then crossed off the Church registers and can no longer receive the sacraments. The tax amounts to about 1% of the income.
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2012}}
], Málaga, Spain]]
{{Main|Diezmo}}
Both the tithe (''diezmo''), a levy of 10 per cent on all agricultural production, and "first fruits" (''primicias''), an additional harvest levy, were collected in Spain throughout the medieval and early modern periods for the support of local ] parishes.


The tithe crossed the Atlantic with the ]; however, the ] who made up the vast majority of the population in colonial ] were exempted from paying tithes on native crops such as corn and potatoes that they raised for their own subsistence. After some debate, Indians in colonial Spanish America were forced to pay tithes on their production of European agricultural products, including wheat, silk, cows, pigs, and sheep.
===Denmark===


The tithe was abolished in several ]n countries, including Mexico, soon after independence from Spain (which started in 1810). The tithe was abolished in Argentina in 1826, and in Spain itself in 1841.
All members of the Church of Denmark pay a church tax, which varies between municipalities. The tax is generally around 1% of the taxable income.


===Governmental collection of Christian religious offerings and taxes===
===England===
{{Main|Church tax}}


====Austria====
The right to receive tithes was granted to the English churches by ] in 855. The ] was a royal tax, but assessed using ecclesiastical boundaries, in 1188. Tithes were given legal force by the ] of 1285. ] criticized the system in '']'' (1776), arguing that a fixed rent would encourage peasants to farm more efficiently. The ] led to the transfer of many tithe rights from the Church to secular landowners, and then in the 1530s to the Crown. The system ended with the ], which replaced tithes with a rent charge decided by a Tithe Commission. The records of land ownership, or Tithe Files, made by the Commission are now a valuable resource for historians.
In Austria a colloquially called ] (''Kirchensteuer'', officially called ''Kirchenbeitrag'', i. e. ''church contribution'') has to be paid by members of the ] and ]{{which|date=January 2017}}. It is levied by the churches themselves and not by the government. The obligation to pay church tax can just be evaded by an official declaration to cease church membership. The tax is calculated on the basis of personal income. It amounts to about 1.1 per cent (Catholic church) and 1.5 per cent (Protestant church).{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}


====Denmark====
At first this commutation reduced problems to the ultimate payers by folding tithes in with rents (however it could cause transitional money supply problems by raising the transaction demand for money). Later the decline of large landowners led ]s to become ]ers and again have to pay directly; this also led to renewed objections of principle by non-]s.
All members of the ] pay a church tax, which varies between municipalities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedanishparliament.dk/Publications/My_Constitutional_Act_with_explanations/Chapter%207.aspx|title=Chapter 7 – The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Denmark |date=23 August 2013 |website=Folketinget |access-date=30 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331120111/http://www.thedanishparliament.dk/Publications/My_Constitutional_Act_with_explanations/Chapter%207.aspx|archive-date=31 March 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The tax is generally around 1% of the taxable income.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.km.dk/folkekirken/oekonomi/kirkeskat|title=Kirkeskat|language=da|date=April 2020}}</ref>


====Finland====
The rent charges paid to landowners were converted by the Tithe Commutation Act to ] paid to the state through the Tithe Redemption Commission. The payments were transferred in 1960 to the Board of ], and finally terminated by the ].
Members of ] pay a church tax of between 1% and 2% of income, depending on the municipality. In addition, 2.55 per cent of corporate taxes are distributed to the state churches. Church taxes are integrated into the common national taxation system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://evl.fi/EVLfi.nsf/0/F4798384ACD179A1C22572E5003ACBF9?OpenDocument |title=Verot ja muut tulot |work=EVL.fi |publisher=Suomen evankelisluterilainen kirkko |language=fi |access-date=17 May 2013}}</ref>


===Finland=== ====Germany====
Germany levies a ], on all persons declaring themselves to be Christians, of roughly 8–9% of their income tax, which is effectively (very much depending on the social and financial situation) typically between 0.2% and 1.5% of the total income. The proceeds are shared among Catholic, Lutheran, and other Protestant Churches.<ref name=times/>


The church tax ('']'') traces its roots back as far as the '']'' of 1803. It was reaffirmed in the ] between Nazi Germany and the Catholic Church. Its legal basis is article 140 of the '']'' (the German constitution) in connection with article 137 of the ]. These laws originally merely allowed the churches themselves to tax their members, but in Nazi Germany, collection of church taxes was transferred to the German government. As a result, both the German government and the employer are notified of the religious affiliation of every taxpayer. This system is still in effect. Mandatory disclosure of religious affiliation to government agencies or employers constituted a violation of the original European data protection directives but is now permitted after the German government obtained an exemption.<ref name=times/>
Members of state churches pay a church tax of between 1% and 2.25% of income, depending on the municipality. Church taxes are integrated into the common national taxation system.


Church tax (''Kirchensteuer'') is compulsory in Germany for those confessing members of a particular religious group. It is deducted at the ] level. The duty to pay this tax theoretically starts on the day one is christened. Anyone who wants to stop paying it has to declare in writing, at their local court of law (''Amtsgericht'') or registry office, that they are leaving the Church. They are then crossed off the Church registers and can no longer receive the sacraments, confession and certain services; a Roman Catholic church may deny such a person a burial plot.<ref name=times>{{cite news |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/faith/article3544885.ece |newspaper=The Times |title=Excommunication for German Catholics who refuse church tax |date=21 September 2012}}</ref> In addition to the government, the taxpayer also must notify his employer of his religious affiliation (or lack thereof) in order to ensure proper tax withholding.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19699581 |title=BBC News ''German Catholics lose church rights for unpaid tax'' 2012-09-24 |newspaper=BBC News|date=24 September 2012 }}</ref>
===France===


This opt-out is also used by members of "free churches" (e.g. Baptists) (non-affiliated to the scheme) to stop paying the church tax, from which the free churches do not benefit, in order to support their own church directly.
In ], the tithes -- called "la dîme" -- were a land tax. Originally a voluntary tax, in 1585 the "dîme" became mandatory. In principle, unlike the ], the "dîme" was levied on both noble and non-noble lands. The dîme was divided into a number of types, including the "grosses dîmes" (grains, wine, hay), "menues" or "vertes dîmes" (vegetables, poultry), "dîmes de charnage" (veal, lamb, pork). Although the term "dîme" comes from the Latin ''decima '' ("one tenth", same origin for U.S. coin ]), the "dîme" rarely reached this percentage and (on the whole) it was closer to 1/13th of the agricultural production.


====Italy====
The "dîme" was originally meant to support the local parish, but by the 16th century many "dîmes" went directly to distant abbeys, monasteries, and bishops, leaving the local parish impoverished, and this contributed to general resentment. In the Middle Ages, some monasteries also offered the "dîme" in homage to local lords in exchange for their protection (see ]) (these are called "dîmes inféodées"), but this practice was forbidden by the Lateran Council of 1179.
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2012}}
Originally the Italian government of ], under the ] of 1929 with the ], paid a monthly ] to ] clergymen. This salary was called the ''congrua''. The eight per thousand law was created as a result of an agreement, in 1984, between the Italian Republic and the ].


Under this law Italian taxpayers are able to vote how to partition the 0.8% ('eight per thousand') of the total income ] ] levied by Italy among some specific ] ] or, alternatively, to a ] program run by the Italian State. This declaration is made on the ] form. This vote is not compulsory; the whole amount levied by the ] ] is distributed in proportion to explicit declarations.
===Germany===


The last official statement of Italian Ministry of Finance made in respect of the year 2000 singles out seven beneficiaries: the Italian State, the ], the ], the ], the ], the ] and the ].
] levies a ], on all persons declaring themselves to be Christians, of roughly 8-9% of the income tax, which is effectively (very much depending on the social and financial situation) typically between 0.2% and 1.5% of the total income. The proceeds are shared amongst Catholic, Lutheran, and other Protestant Churches. In 1933 Hitler had the entry "church tax" added to the official tax card, which meant that the tax could now be deducted by the employer like any of the other taxes.


The tax was divided up as follows:
Some believe that the church taxation system was established or started through the Concordat of 1933 signed between the Holy See and the Third Reich. This is a simple misunderstanding or misrepresentation of §13 of the Appendix (The Supplementary Protocol) of the Concordat (Schlußprotokoll, §13). The article reads: „Es besteht Einverständnis darüber, daß das Recht der Kirche, Steuern zu erheben, gewährleistet bleibt.“, (refer to External Links). In English, this translates to: It is understood that the Church retains the right to levy Church taxes, (refer to External Links). Notice that §13 states that the Church "retains the right" or, in German, "gewährleistet bleibt". The church tax (]) actually traces its roots back as far as the ] of 1803. Today its legal basis is §140 of the ] (the German "constitution") in connection with article 137 of the ].
*87.17% Catholic Church
*10.35% Italian State
*1.21% Waldenses
*0.46% Jewish Communities
*0.32% Lutherans
*0.28% Adventists of the Seventh Day
*0.21% Assemblies of God in Italy


In 2000, the ] raised almost a billion ]s, while the Italian State received about €100 million.
Church tax (Kirchensteuer) is compulsory in Germany for those confessing members of a particular religious group. It is deducted at the ] level. The duty to pay this tax theoretically starts on the day one is christened. Anyone who wants to stop paying it has to declare in writing, at their local court of law (Amtsgericht) or registry office, that they are leaving the Church. They are then crossed off the Church registers and can no longer receive the sacraments.


===Ireland=== ====Scotland====
{{main|Teind}}
In Scotland ''teinds'' were the tenths of certain produce of the land appropriated to the maintenance of the Church and clergy. At the Reformation most of the Church property was acquired by the Crown, nobles and landowners. In 1567 the ] provided that a third of the revenues of lands should be applied to paying the clergy of the reformed ]. In 1925 the system was recast by statute<ref>Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act 1925, Part I.</ref> and provision was made for the standardisation of stipends at a fixed value in money. The ] acted as the Teind Court. Teinds were finally abolished by section 56 of the ].


====Switzerland====
Tithes were introduced after the ] of 1169-1172, and were specified in the ] ] as a duty to: ''...pay yearly from every house the pension of one penny to St Peter, and to keep and preserve the rights of the churches in that land whole and inviolate''. However, collection outside the Norman area of control was sporadic.
There is no official state church in Switzerland; however, all the 26 cantons (states) financially support at least one of the three traditional denominations — ], ], or ] — with funds collected through taxation. Each canton has its own regulations regarding the relationship between church and state. In some cantons, the church tax (up to 2.3 per cent) is voluntary but in others an individual who chooses not to contribute to church tax may formally have to leave the church. In some cantons private companies are unable to avoid payment of the church tax.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}


===Tithes and tithe law in England before reform===
From the ] in the 1500s, most Irish people chose to remain ] and had by now to pay tithes valued at about 10% of an area's agricultural produce, to maintain and fund the established state church, the ] ], to which only a small minority of the population converted. ]s and other minorities like the ]s and ]s were in the same situation.
Excerpts from ], '']'':


====Definition and classification and those liable to pay tithes====
The collection of tithes was violently resisted in the period 1831-36, known as the ]. Thereafter, tithes were reduced and added to rents with the passing of the ] in 1836. With the ], tithes were abolished.
<blockquote>. . . tithes; which are defined to be the tenth part of the increase, yearly arising and renewing from the profits of lands, the stock upon lands, and the personal industry of the inhabitants:
:the first species being usually called ''predial,''<ref>from praedium, a farm</ref> as of corn, grass, hops, and wood;
:the second ''mixed'', as of wool, milk, pigs, &c, consisting of natural products, but nurtured and preserved in part by the care of man; and of these the tenth must be paid in gross:
:the third ''personal'', as of manual occupations, trades, fisheries, and the like; and of these only the tenth part of the clear gains and profits is due.
...
in general, tithes are to be paid for every thing that yields an annual increase, as corn, hay, fruit, cattle, poultry, and the like; but not for any thing that is of the substance of the earth, or is not of annual increase, as stone, lime, chalk, and the like; nor for creatures that are of a wild nature, or ''ferae naturae'', as deer, hawks, &c, whose increase, so as to profit the owner, is not annual, but casual.<ref name = 'BlackstoneII'>{{cite book |last=Blackstone |first=William |title=Commentaries on the Laws of England vol II |date=1766 |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press|title-link=Commentaries on the Laws of England }}</ref>{{rp|24}}</blockquote>


====History====
===Italy (Eight per Thousand)===
<blockquote>We cannot precisely ascertain the time when tithes were first introduced into this country. Possibly they were contemporary with the planting of Christianity among the Saxons, by Augustin the monk, about the end of the fifth century. But the first mention of them, which I have met with in any written English law, is in a constitutional decree, made in a synod held A.D. 786, wherein the payment of tithes in general is strongly enjoined. This canon, or decree, which at first bound not the laity, was effectually confirmed by two kingdoms of the heptarchy, in their parliamentary conventions of estates, respectively consisting of the kings of Mercia and Northumberland, the bishops, dukes, senators, and people. Which was a few years later than the time that Charlemagne established the payment of them in France, and made that famous division of them into four parts; one to maintain the edifice of the church, the second to support the poor, the third the bishop, and the fourth the parochial clergy.<ref name = "BlackstoneII" />{{rp|25}}</blockquote>


====Beneficiaries====
{{Unreferenced|date=July 2007}}
<blockquote>And upon their first introduction (as hath formerly been observed), though every man was obliged to pay tithes in general, yet he might give them to what priests he pleased; which were called ''arbitrary'' consecrations of tithes: or he might pay them into the hands of the bishop, who distributed among his diocesan clergy the revenues of the church, which were then in common. But, when dioceses were divided into parishes, the tithes of each parish were allotted to its own particular minister; first by common consent, or the appointment of lords of manors, and afterwards by the written law of the land.<ref name = "BlackstoneII" />{{rp|26}}


...It is now universally held, that tithes are due, of common right, to the ] of the ], unless there be a special exemption. This parson of the parish, we have formerly seen, may be either the actual ], or else the ] of the ]: appropriations being a method of endowing monasteries, which seems to have been devised by the regular clergy, by way of substitution to arbitrary consecrations of tithes.<ref name = "BlackstoneII" />{{rp|28}}</blockquote>
Originally the Italian government of ], under the ] of 1929 with the ], paid a monthly ] to ] clergymen. This salary was called the ''congrua''. The '''eight per thousand''' law was created as a result of an agreement, in 1984, between the Italian Republic and the ].


====Exemptions====
Under this law Italian taxpayers are able to declare that 0.8% ('eight per thousand') of their ]es go to a ] ] or, alternatively, to a ] program run by the Italian State. This declaration is made on the ] form. People are not required to declare a recipient; in that case the law stipulates that this undeclared amount be distributed among the normal recipients of such taxes in proportion to what they have already received from explicit declarations. Only the Catholic Church and the Italian State have agreed to take this undeclared portion of the tax.
<blockquote>We observed that tithes are due to the parson of common right, unless by special exemption: let us therefore see, thirdly, who may be exempted from the payment of tithes ... either in part or totally, first, by a real composition; or secondly, by custom or prescription.


First, a real composition is when an agreement is made between the owner of the lands, and the parson or vicar, with the consent of the ordinary and the patron, that such lands shall for the future be discharged from payment of tithes, by reason of some land or other real recompence given to the parson, in lieu and satisfaction thereof.
The last official statement of Italian Ministry of Finance made in respect of the year 2000 singles out seven beneficiaries: the Italian State, the ], the ], the ], the ], the ] and the ] in ].


Secondly, a discharge by custom or prescription, is where time out of mind such persons or such lands have been, either partially or totally, discharged from the payment of tithes. And this immemorial usage is binding upon all parties, as it is in its nature an evidence of universal consent and acquiescence; and with reason supposes a real composition to have been formerly made. This custom or prescription is either ''de modo decimandi'', or ''de non-decimando''.
The tax was divided up as follows:
* 87.17% Catholic Church
* 10.35% Italian State
* 1.21% Waldenses
* 0.46% Jewish Communities
* 0.32% Lutherans
* 0.28% Adventists of the Seventh Day
* 0.21% Assemblies of God in Italy


A ''modus decimandi'', commonly called by the simple name of a ''modus'' only, is where there is by custom a particular manner of tithing allowed, different from the general law of taking tithes in kind, which are the actual tenth part of the annual increase. This is sometimes a pecuniary compensation, as twopence an acre for the tithe of land : sometimes it is a compensation in work and labour, as that the parson shall have only the twelfth cock of hay, and not the tenth, in consideration of the owner's making it for him: sometimes, in lieu of a large quantity of crude or imperfect tithe, the parson shall have a less quantity, when arrived to greater maturity, as a couple of fowls in lieu of tithe eggs; and the like. Any means, in short, whereby the general law of tithing is altered, and a new method of taking them is introduced, is called a ''modus decimandi'', or special manner of tithing.<ref name = "BlackstoneII" />{{rp|28–29}}
In 2000, the ] raised almost a billion ]s, while the Italian State received about 100 million euros.


A prescription ''de non-decimando'' is a claim to be entirely discharged of tithes, and to pay no compensation in lieu of them. Thus the king by his prerogative is discharged from all tithes. So a vicar shall pay no tithes to the rector, nor the rector to the vicar, for ''ecclesia decimas non-folvit ecclesiae''. But these ''personal'' to both the king and the clergy; for their tenant or lessee shall pay tithes of the same land, though in their own occupation it is not tithable. And, generally speaking, it is an established rule, that in ''lay'' hands, ''modus de non-decimando non-valet''. But spiritual persons or corporations, as monasteries, abbots, bishops, and the like, were always capable of having their lands totally discharged of tithes, by various ways: as
===Scotland===
#By real composition :
#By the pope's ] of exemption :
#By unity of possession; as when the rectory of a parish, and lands in the same parish, both belonged to a religious house, those lands were discharged of tithes by this unity of possession :
#By prescription; having never been liable to tithes, by being always in spiritual hands :
#By virtue of their order; as the ], ], and others, whose lands were privileged by the pope with a discharge of tithes. Though, upon the dissolution of abbeys by ], most of these exemptions from tithes would have fallen with them, and the lands become tithable again; had they not been supported and upheld by the ] (]. c. 13) which enacted, that all persons who should come to the possession of the lands of any abbey then dissolved, should hold them free and discharged of tithes, in as large and ample a manner as the abbeys themselves formerly held them.


And from this original have sprung all the lands, which, being in lay hands, do at present claim to be tithe-free: for, if a man can shew his lands to have been such abbey lands, and also immemorially discharged of tithes by any of the means before-mentioned, this is now a good prescription ''de non-decimando''. But he must shew both these requisites; for abbey lands, without a special ground of discharge, are not discharged of course; neither will any prescription ''de non-decimando'' avail in total discharge of tithes, unless it relates to such abbeylands.<ref name = "BlackstoneII" />{{rp|31–32}}</blockquote>
In Scotland ''teinds'' were the tenths of certain produce of the land appropriated to the maintenance of the Church and clergy. At the Reformation most of the Church property was acquired by the Crown, nobles and landowners. In 1567 the ] provided that a third of the revenues of lands should be applied to paying the clergy of the reformed ]. In 1925 the system was recast by statute and provision was made for the standardisation of stipends at a fixed value in money. The ] acted as the Teind Court. Teinds were finally abolished by the ].


<gallery widths="220px" heights="150px">
===Spain and Latin America===
Image:The tithe barn, Abbotsbury near Weymouth.jpg|The Tithe Barn, ], Dorset (scene of the sheep-shearing in ]'s '']'')
Both the tithe (''diezmo''), a tax of 10% on all agricultural production, and "first fruits" (''primicias''), an additional harvest tax, were collected in ] throughout the medieval and early modern periods for the support of local ] parishes. The tithe crossed the Atlantic with the ]; however, the ] who made up the vast majority of the population in colonial ] were exempted from paying tithes on native crops such as corn and potatoes that they raised for their own subsistence. After some debate, Indians in colonial Spanish America were forced to pay tithes on their production of European agricultural products, including wheat, silk, cows, pigs, and sheep. The tithe was abolished in several ]n countries, including ], soon after independence from Spain (which started in 1810); others, including ] and ] still collect tithes today for the support of the Catholic Church. The tithe was abolished in Spain itself in 1841.
Image:Tithe Barn at Bradford on Avon.JPG| ] at Bradford on Avon, West Wiltshire
Image:Tithe Barn Pilton interior.jpg|Interior of the ], Somerset
File:GrangeBarn-interior.jpg|], Essex; the timber has been dated to between 1130 and 1270.
</gallery>


===Sweden=== ==Islam==
{{main|Zakāt}}
Until the year 2000, Sweden had a mandatory ] to be paid if one did belong to the Church of Sweden which had been funneling about $500 million annually to the church. Because of change in legislation, the tax was withdrawn in year 2000. However, the Swedish government has agreed to continue collecting from individual taxpayers the annual payment that has always gone to the church. But now the tax will be an optional checkoff box on the tax return. The government will allocate the money collected to Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and other faiths as well as the Lutherans, with each taxpayer directing where his or her taxes should go.
] ({{langx|ar|زكاة}} {{IPA|ar|zækæːh|}}) or "alms giving", one of the ], is the giving of a small percentage of one's assets to ]. It serves principally as the ] contribution to poor and deprived Muslims, although others may have a rightful share. It is the duty of an Islamic state not just to collect zakat but to distribute it fairly as well.


Zakat is payable on three kinds of assets: wealth, production, and animals. The more well-known zakat on wealth is 2.5 per cent of accumulated wealth, beyond one's personal needs. Production (agricultural, industrial, renting, etc.), is subject to a 10 per cent or 5 per cent zakat (also known as Ushur (عُشر), or "one-tenth"), using the rule that if both labor and capital are involved, 5% rate is applied, if only one of the two are used for production, then the rate is 10 per cent. For any earnings that require neither labor nor capital, like finding underground treasure, the rate is 20 per cent. The rules for zakat on animal holdings are specified by the type of animal group and tend to be fairly detailed.<ref name=ghamidi>The book ''Meezan'', by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, published by Al-Mawrid, 2002, Lahore, Pakistan</ref>
===Switzerland===


Muslims fulfill this religious obligation by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth. Zakat has been paired with such a high sense of righteousness that it is often placed on the same level of importance as performing the five-daily repetitive ritualised prayer (]).<ref name=zysow>{{citation |last= Zysow |first= A. Zakāt |title= Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition= Second |editor1= P. Bearman |editor2= Th. Bianquis |editor3= C.E. Bosworth |editor4= E. van Donzel |editor5= W.P. Heinrichs |publisher= Brill |year= 2009}}.{{page needed|date=October 2014}} Available from (subscription).</ref> Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness and also safeguarding future business.<ref name=zysow/> In addition, Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich.<ref>Robinson, Neal. Islam; A Concise Introduction. Richmond; Curzon Press. 1999</ref> Because it holds such a high level of importance the "punishment" for not paying when able is very severe. In the 2nd edition of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' it states, "...the prayers of those who do not pay zakat will not be accepted".<ref name=zysow/> This is because without Zakat a tremendous hardship is placed on the poor which otherwise would not be there. Besides the fear of their prayers not getting heard, those who are able should be practicing this third pillar of Islam because the Quran states that this is what believers should do.<ref>Chapter 2 verse 155, "be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss on goods, lives, and fruits. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere."</ref>
There is no official state church in ]; however, all the 26 cantons (states) financially support at least one of the three traditional denominations--], ], or ]--with funds collected through taxation. Each canton has its own regulations regarding the relationship between church and state. In some cantons, the church tax (up to 2.3%) is voluntary but in others an individual who chooses not to contribute to church tax may formally have to leave the church. In some cantons private companies are unable to avoid payment of the church tax.


Non-Muslims (able-bodied adult males of military age) living in an Islamic state are required to pay ], this exempts them from military service and they do not pay Zakat.
===United States===


Ismaili Muslims pay tithes to their spiritual leader the ], known by the Gujarati language term ''dasond'', which in turn refers to one-eighth of the earned income of the community member.
The United States has never collected a church tax or mandatory tithe on its citizens, which is generally specified in the ] (specifically the ]) to the US Constitution. The United States and its governmental subdivisions also exempt most churches from payment of income tax (under Section ] of the ] and similar state statutes, which also allows donors to claim the donations as an income tax itemized deduction). Also, churches may be permitted exemption from other state and local taxes such as sales and property taxes, either in whole or in part. However, churches are required to withhold Federal and state income tax from their employees along with the employee's share of ] and ] taxes, and pay the employer's share of the latter two taxes, unless the employee is an ordained minister.


==Sikhism==
====Religious organizations====
{{main|Daswandh}}
''Daswandh'' (Punjabi: ਦਸਵੰਧ), sometimes spelled ''Dasvandh'', is the one tenth part (or 10 per cent) of one's income that should be donated in the name of the God, according to ] principles.<ref>"Daswandh". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 20 January 2012.</ref><ref>"Daswandh – Gateway to Sikhism". www.allaboutsikhs.com. Retrieved 20 January 2012.</ref>


== Non-religious ==
Actual collection procedures vary from church to church, from the common, strictly voluntary practice of "passing the plate" in Catholic and mainline Protestant churches, to formal, church-mediated tithing in some conservative Protestant churches (as well as the ]), to membership fees as practiced in many Jewish congregations. There is no government involvement in church collections (though some contributions are considered ] as charity donations), but because of less-strict income and tax reporting requirements for religious groups, some churches have been placed under legal and media scrutiny for their spending habits.
Outside religion, there are also organizations that encourage ] tithing.


] promotes a public commitment to donate at least 10% of one's income to the most ] ].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://medium.com/@RhysLindmark/we-should-tithe-more-and-where-im-personally-giving-20-of-my-income-8772541c2685 | title = We Should Tithe More! (and where I'm personally giving 20% of my income) | date = 7 March 2019 | access-date =17 March 2021 | publisher = medium.com}}</ref>
==Juridical sense==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=August 2007}}
The non-economic, juridical sense of "tithing" is in reference to the Anglo-Norman practice of dividing the population into groups of ten men who were responsible for policing each other; if one broke the law, the other nine were responsible for chasing him down, or would face legal punishment themselves. In his 1595 essay ], ], best noted for his colossal poem ] recommended that the Anglo-Norman practice of tithing be revived and implemented in the rebellious territories of ]. The Anglo-Norman practice of tithing was also linked to the evolution of the juridical concept of murder; the penalties for killing a Norman were four times as great as the penalties for killing anyone else. It was presumed that any person murdered should be considered as if he were Norman, unless it could be proven otherwise. The higher communal payment of blood money (wergild) for killing a Norman bore the special designation ''murdrum,'' from which the modern English word "murder" is derived.


==See also== ==See also==
]]]
{{wiktionarypar|tithe}}
* ], giving to others as an act of virtue
*] in ]
* ]
*]
*] * ] in ]
*] the Islamic concept of tithing and alms * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* '']'' novel by Holly Black
* ]
* ], historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit
* ], form of alms-giving treated in Islam as a religious obligation or tax

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}


==References== ==References==
*Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S. ''Matthew, The Anchor Bible'', Vol. 26. Garden City, New York, 1971. *Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S. ''Matthew, The Anchor Bible'', Vol. 26. Garden City, New York, 1971.
*''The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago'', Vol. 4 "E." Chicago, 1958. *''The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago'', Vol. 4 "E." Chicago, 1958.
*Fitzmyer, Joseph A. ''The Gospel According to Luke, X-XXIV, The Anchor Bible'', Vol. 28A. New York, 1985. *Fitzmyer, Joseph A. ''The Gospel According to Luke, X-XXIV, The Anchor Bible'', Vol. 28A. New York, 1985.
* {{cite book | author=Grena, G.M. | year=2004 | title=LMLK--A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1 | location=Redondo Beach, California | publisher=4000 Years of Writing History | isbn=0-9748786-0-X}} *{{Cite book| author=Grena, G.M. | year=2004 | title=LMLK—A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1 | location=Redondo Beach, California | publisher=4000 Years of Writing History | isbn=0-9748786-0-X}}
*] ''Genesis, The Anchor Bible'', Vol.1. Garden City, New York, 1964. *] ''Genesis, The Anchor Bible'', Vol.1. Garden City, New York, 1964.
* Kelly, Russell Earl, "Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian's Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine," IUniverse, 2001. *Kelly, Russell Earl, "Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian's Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine," IUniverse, 2001.
*Matthew E. Narramore, "Tithing: Low-Realm, Obsolete & Defunct" – April 2004 – ({{ISBN|0-9745587-02}})
*Croteau, David A. "You Mean I Don't Have to Tithe?: A Deconstruction of Tithing and a Reconstruction of Post-Tithe Giving" (McMaster Theological Studies)

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Dallmann |first=Robert W. |year=2020 |title=To Tithe or Not To Tithe? That is the Question |url=http://www.christ-like.net/tithe.html |location=Niagara Falls, NY |publisher=ChristLife |isbn=9780991489138}}
*{{cite book|last=Gower|first=Granville William Gresham Leveson-|title=Tithes : a paper read at the Diocesan Conference at Rochester|year=1883|publisher=Rochester Diocese|location=Rochester|title-link=s:Tithes : a paper read at the Diocesan Conference at Rochester, 31 May 1883}}


==External links== ==External links==
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* Tithe, the most golden of all calves.
* by James H. Boyd.


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Latest revision as of 12:06, 1 January 2025

Religious donation
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The Tithe Pig, group in Derby Porcelain, c. 1770
Porcelain figure of a priest collecting the tithe (Austria)

A tithe (/taɪð/; from Old English: teogoþa "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via online giving, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural produce. Church tax linked to the tax system are used in many countries to support their national church. Donations to the church beyond what is owed in the tithe, or by those attending a congregation who are not members or adherents, are known as offerings, and often are designated for specific purposes such as a building program, debt retirement, or mission work.

Many Christian denominations hold Jesus taught that tithing must be done in conjunction with a deep concern for "justice, mercy and faithfulness" (cf. Matthew 23:23). Tithing was taught at early Christian church councils, including the Council of Tours in 567, as well as the Third Council of Mâcon in 585. Tithing remains an important doctrine in many Christian denominations, such as the Congregational churches, Methodist Churches and Seventh-day Adventist Church. Some Christian Churches, such as those in the Methodist tradition, teach the concept of Storehouse Tithing, which emphasizes that tithes must be prioritized and given to the local church, before offerings can be made to apostolates or charities.

Traditional Jewish law and practice has included various forms of tithing since ancient times. Orthodox Jews commonly practice ma'aser kesafim (tithing 10% of their income to charity). In modern Israel, some religious Jews continue to follow the laws of agricultural tithing, e.g., ma'aser rishon, terumat ma'aser, and ma'aser sheni.

Ancient Near East

None of the extant extrabiblical laws of the Ancient Near East deal with tithing, although other secondary documents show that it was a widespread practice in the Ancient Near East. William W. Hallo (1996) recognises comparisons for Israel with its ancient Near Eastern environment; however, as regards tithes, comparisons with other ancient Near Eastern evidence is ambiguous, and Ancient Near Eastern literature provides scant evidence for the practice of tithing and the collection of tithes.

  • Lysias dedicated first-fruits to Athena. Euarchis dedicated a tithe to Athena. Lysias dedicated first-fruits to Athena. Euarchis dedicated a tithe to Athena.
  • Cuneiform tablet: account of esru-tithe payments, Ebabbar archive. Cuneiform tablet: account of esru-tithe payments, Ebabbar archive.
  • The Famine Stele. The Famine Stele.
  • Brea fondation decree. "and his property shall be confiscated and a tithe given to the Goddess (Athena)." Brea fondation decree. "and his property shall be confiscated and a tithe given to the Goddess (Athena)."
  • "Peikon the potter dedicated this as a tithe to Athena by a vow." "Peikon the potter dedicated this as a tithe to Athena by a vow."
  • Statuette of Athena Promachos with dedication: "Meleso dedicated it to Athena as a tithe". 475-470 BC Statuette of Athena Promachos with dedication: "Meleso dedicated it to Athena as a tithe". 475-470 BC

The esretu – "ešretū" the Ugarit and Babylonian one-tenth tax

Some specific instances of the Mesopotamian tithe, taken from The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago:

"the palace has taken eight garments as your tithe (on 85 garments)"
"...eleven garments as tithe (on 112 garments)"..
"...(the sun-god) Shamash demands the tithe..."
"four minas of silver, the tithe of Bel, Nabu, and Nergal..."
"...he has paid, in addition to the tithe for Ninurta, the tax of the gardiner"
"...the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to Shamash"
"...why do you not pay the tithe to the Lady-of-Uruk?"
"...(a man) owes barley and dates as balance of the tithe of the **years three and four"
"...the tithe of the king on barley of the town..."
"...with regard to the elders of the city whom (the king) has **summoned to (pay) tithe..."
"...the collector of the tithe of the country Sumundar..."
"...(the official Ebabbar in Sippar) who is in charge of the tithe..."
  • "Hermonax and his son dedicated me as a tithe of their works to Apollo." "Hermonax and his son dedicated me as a tithe of their works to Apollo."
  • Weight from Didyma. Weight from Didyma.
  • Dedanite inscription. Dedanite inscription.
  • Apollo of Piombino. Apollo of Piombino.
  • "Mantiklos donated me as a tithe to the far shooter, the bearer of the Silver Bow. You, Phoebus (Apollo) give something pleasing in return." "Mantiklos donated me as a tithe to the far shooter, the bearer of the Silver Bow. You, Phoebus (Apollo) give something pleasing in return."
  • Law against tyranny. "Both he and his descendants, and his estate shall be public property,and a tithe for the goddess." Law against tyranny. "Both he and his descendants, and his estate shall be public property,and a tithe for the goddess."

Tyre and Carthage

According to Diodorus Siculus, the Carthaginians, who were originally Tyrian colonists, customarily sent Melqart (Heracles in Interpretatio graeca) a tenth of all that was paid into the public revenue.

Hebrew Bible

Main article: Tithes in Judaism

Laws

Tithing in the Temple by Pierre Monier

The Torah commands the giving of various agricultural tithes in various situations, specifically terumah, terumat hamaaser, the first tithe, second tithe, poor tithe, and animal tithe. Not all these "tithes" actually had the proportion of 1⁄10. These tithes are mentioned in the Books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Every year, terumah, first tithe and terumat ma'aser were separated from the grain, wine and oil. (As regards other fruit and produce, the Biblical requirement to tithe is a source of debate.) Terumah did not have a set amount, but the rabbis suggested it be 1⁄50 of the crop. First tithe was 1⁄10 of the crop. Terumah and terumat maaser were given to priests (kohanim); the first tithe was given to Levites. As priests and Levites did not own or inherit a territorial patrimony these tithes were their means of support. The Levites, in turn, separated terumat ma'aser from their tithe (1⁄10 of the tithe, or 1⁄100 of the crop).

The second tithe and poor tithe, both 1⁄10 of the crop, were taken in an alternating basis according to the seven-year shmita cycle. In years 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the cycle, second tithe was taken. In years 3 and 6, poor tithe was taken. (In year 7, private agriculture was prohibited, all crops that grew were deemed ownerless, and no tithes taken.) The second tithe was kept by the owner, but had to be eaten at the site of the Temple. (If this was difficult, the second could be redeemed for money which would be used to buy food at the Temple site.) The poor tithe was given to the strangers, orphans, and widows, and distributed locally "within thy gates" to support the Levites and assist the poor.

An additional tithe, mentioned in Leviticus 27:32–33 is the cattle tithe, which is to be sacrificed as a korban at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Stories

Tithing is mentioned twice in the stories of the Biblical patriarchs:

Tithing is mentioned several times in the Book of Nehemiah, which chronicles events in the latter half of the 5th century BC. Nehemiah 10 outlines the customs regarding tithing. The Levites were to receive one tenth (the tithe) "in all our farming communities" and a tithe of the tithe were to be brought by them to the temple for storage. Nehemiah 13:4–19 recounts how Eliashib gave Tobiah office space in the temple in a room that had previously been used to store tithes while Nehemaiah was away. When Nehemiah returned he called it an evil thing, threw out all Tobiah's household items and had his rooms purified so that they could once more be used for tithes.

The Book of Malachi has one of the most quoted Biblical passages about tithing. God (according to Malachi) promises that if the Jews begin to keep the laws of tithing, God will "open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need".

Deuterocanonical

Further information: Deuterocanonical books and Biblical apocrypha

The deuterocanonical Book of Tobit provides an example of all three classes of tithes practiced during the Babylonian captivity:

"I would often go by myself to Jerusalem on religious holidays, as the Law commanded for every Israelite for all time. I would hurry off to Jerusalem and take with me the early produce of my crops, a tenth of my flocks, and the first portion of the wool cut from my sheep. I would present these things at the altar to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. I would give the first tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruit to the Levites who served in Jerusalem. For six out of seven years, I also brought the cash equivalent of the second tenth of these crops to Jerusalem where I would spend it every year. I gave this to orphans and widows, and to Gentiles who had joined Israel. In the third year, when I brought and gave it to them, we would eat together according to the instruction recorded in Moses' Law, as Deborah my grandmother had taught me..."

— Tobit 1:6–8

Judaism

Main article: Tithes in Judaism

Orthodox Jews continue to follow the biblical laws of tithes (see above) to a limited extent. As understood by the rabbis, these laws never applied and do not apply outside the Land of Israel. For produce grown in modern Israel, the tithes are separated but not given, as no Jew can prove they are a priest or Levite and thus entitled to the produce. Instead, a custom has arisen to tithe 10% of one's earnings to charity (ma'aser kesafim).

The Mishnah and Talmud contain analysis of the first tithe, second tithe and poor tithe.

Animals are not tithed in the modern era when the Temple is not standing.

Christianity

See also: Stewardship (theology)
A collection bag used in the Lutheran Church of Sweden to collect a portion of ones' tithes during the offertory

Many churches practiced tithing, as it was taught by the Council of Tours in 567, and in the Third Council of Mâcon in AD 585, a penalty of excommunication was prescribed for those who did not adhere to this ecclesiastical law. Tithes can be given to the Church at once (as is the custom in many Christian countries with a church tax), or distributed throughout the year; during the part of Western Christian liturgies known as the offertory, people often place a portion of their tithes (sometimes along with additional offerings) in the collection plate.

2 Corinthians 9:7 talks about giving cheerfully, 2 Corinthians 8:12 encourages giving what one can afford, 1 Corinthians 16:1–2 discusses giving weekly (although this is a saved amount for Jerusalem), 1 Timothy 5:17–18 exhorts supporting the financial needs of Christian workers, Acts 11:29 promotes feeding the hungry wherever they may be and James 1:27 states that pure religion is to help widows and orphans.

According to a 2018 study by LifeWay Research that interviewed 1,010 Americans, 86% of people with Evangelical beliefs say that tithe is still a biblical commandment. Of those surveyed, 87% of Baptist believers, 86% of Pentecostal believers, 81% of Non-denominational believers share this position.

Denominational positions

Adventist Churches

The Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches in its Fundamental Beliefs that "We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support of His Church."

Anabaptist Churches

The Mennonite Church teaches that "tithing as a minimum baseline is one of the principles on which financial giving in this 'first fruits' system is based":

We depend on God's gracious gifts for food and clothing, for our salvation, and for life itself. We do not need to hold on tightly to money and possessions, but can share what God has given us. The practice of mutual aid is a part of sharing God's gifts so that no one in the family of faith will be without the necessities of life. Whether through community of goods or other forms of financial sharing, mutual aid continues the practice of Israel in giving special care to widows, orphans, aliens, and others in economic need (Deut. 24:17–22). Tithes and first-fruit offerings were also a part of this economic sharing (Deut. 26; compare Matt. 23:23).

Baptist Churches

The Southern Baptist Convention resolved in 2013 to "exhort all Southern Baptists to tithe cheerfully and give sacrificially as good stewards of God’s blessings to their local churches." Article XIII the Baptist Faith and Message recognizes a Christian obligation to contribute without specifically mention a tithe. Other Southern Baptists do not observe a tithe, only an offering. Representing Southern Seminary, Professor Tom Schreiner states, "Is a tithe required? ... I would say no, because a tithe is part of the Mosaic covenant."

The National Baptist Convention of America teaches that "Baptists believe that a proper sense of stewardship begins with the 'tithe'; a presentation of which belongs to Him. 'The tithe is the Lord's.' We have not given as a result of presenting the tithe. Our giving begins with the offering {after we have tithed}."

The Treatise of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, Chapter XVI, specifically states that both the Old and New Testaments "teach tithing as God's financial plan for the support of His work."

Catholic Church

The Council of Trent, which was held after the Reformation, taught that "tithes are due to God or to religion, and that it is sacrilegious to withhold them", but the Catholic Church no longer requires anyone to give ten percent of income. The Church simply asks Catholics to support the mission of their parish. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church "The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities"

Lutheran Churches

The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod teaches that "Encourage cheerful, first-fruit, proportionate (including but not limited to tithing) living and giving in all areas of life by Christian stewards".

Methodist Churches

The Discipline of The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, which teaches the doctrine of the Storehouse Tithing, holds:

That all our people pay to God at least one-tenth of all their increase as a minimum financial obligation, and freewill offerings in addition as God has prospered them. The tenth is figured upon the tither's gross income in salary or net increase when operating a business.

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church states that it is the responsibility of ecclesiastics to "educate the local church that tithing is the minimum goal of giving in The United Methodist Church."

The Church of the Nazarene teaches Storehouse Tithing, in which members are asked to donate one-tenth of their income to their local church—this is to be prioritized before giving an offering to apostolates or charities.

Moravian Church

The Moravian Church encourages its members to "financially support the ministry of the Church toward the goal of tithing." It "deem it a sacred responsibility and genuine opportunity to be faithful stewards of all God has entrusted to us: our time, our talents, our financial resources".

Orthodox Churches

Tithing in medieval Eastern Christianity did not spread so widely as in the West. A Constitution of the Emperors Leo I (reigned 457–474) and Anthemius (reigned 467–472) apparently expected believers to make voluntary payments and forbade compulsion.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America teaches "proportionate giving and tithing as normal practices of Christian giving."

Pentecostal Churches

The Pentecostal Church of God teaches that "We recognize the scriptural duty of all our people, as well as ministers, to pay tithes as unto the Lord. Tithes should be used for the support of active ministry and for the propagation of the Gospel and the work of the Lord in general."

The International Pentecostal Holiness Church likewise instructs the faithful that:

Our commitment to Jesus Christ includes stewardship. According to the Bible everything belongs to God. We are stewards of His resources. Our stewardship of possessions begins with the tithe. All our members are expected to return a tenth of all their income to the Lord.

Reformed Churches

The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (USA) states, with respect to the obligation to tithe:

"Giving has always been a mark of Christian commitment and discipleship. The ways in which a believer uses God's gifts of material goods, personal abilities, and time should reflect a faithful response to God's self-giving in Jesus Christ and Christ's call to minister to and share with others in the world. Tithing is a primary expression of the Christian discipline of stewardship".

The United Church of Christ, a denomination in the Congregationalist tradition, teaches that:

When we tithe we place God as our first priority. We trust in God's abundance instead of worrying about not having enough. Tithing churches live out a vision of abundance rather than a mentality of scarcity.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Main article: Tithing in Mormonism
Tithing forms and envelopes in an LDS meetinghouse.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) bases its tithing on the additional scriptures:

And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

— Doctrine and Covenants 119:3–4 (see also Doctrine and Covenants 64:23–24)

And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed.

— Alma 13:15
Public notice in Wales demanding tithe payments, 1837
Part of an 1842 tithe map including the small village of East Dundry near Bristol, England, with names of its fields and two farms. Note the tithe-officer signature and stamp near the top.
Tithe map for the property
Elmsett tithe memorial in Suffolk, England, opposite the parish church, protesting against a tithe seizure

Tithing is defined by the church as payment of one-tenth of one's annual income. Many church leaders have made statements in support of tithing. Every Latter-day Saint has an opportunity once a year to meet with their bishop for tithing declaration. The payment of tithes is mandatory for members to receive the priesthood or obtain a temple recommend for admission to temples.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a lay ministry. The money that is given is used to construct and maintain its buildings as well as to further the work of the church. None of the funds collected from tithing is paid to local church officials or those who serve in the church. Those serving in full-time church leadership do receive stipends for living expenses, but they are paid from non-tithing resources, such as investments. Brigham Young University, a church-sponsored institution, also receives "a significant portion" of its maintenance and operating costs from tithes of the church's members.

Church collection of religious offerings and taxes

England and Wales

Carved record of the judgement in a tithe dispute, in Clodock Church, Wales

The right to receive tithes was granted to the English churches by King Ethelwulf in 855. The Saladin tithe was a royal tax, but assessed using ecclesiastical boundaries, in 1188. The legal validity of the tithe system was affirmed under the Statute of Westminster of 1285. The Dissolution of the Monasteries led to the transfer of many rights to tithe to secular landowners and the Crown – and tithes could be extinguished until 1577 under an Act of the 37th year of Henry VIII's reign. Adam Smith criticized the system in The Wealth of Nations (1776), arguing that a fixed rent would encourage peasants to work far more efficiently.

page 254 of Besse's 'Sufferings'
The first page of chapter 28 of Besse's 'Collection of Sufferings', covering Herefordshire
Paragraph on prosecutions for non-payment of tithes in Herefordshire, 1674 (from page 258 of Besse's 'Sufferings of Quakers')

Dissenters

In the seventeenth century various dissenting groups objected to paying tithes to Church of England. Quakers were prominent among these, objecting to 'forced payments for the maintenance of a professional ministry'. In 1659 guidance was issued for a national system for recording the fines, impropriations and imprisonments for non-payment of tithes as seen in the following extract from a document.

Clause 9. Sufferings of Friends to be gathered up and recorded, the sufferes to report to a recorder in each meeting who is to report to the next General Meeting for the county for record by a county recorder.

— From Register Book of a Monthly Meeting in Hampshire, 1659

These records were eventually collated and published in 1753 by Joseph Besse, documenting widespread persecution throughout the British Isles and further abroad. This only abated in the 1680s, due in no small measure to the efforts of William Penn who, through his father's earlier connections at court, was friendly with Charles I and James, Duke of York and interceded with them in behalf of Quakers in England and on the Continent, respectively.

See below for a fuller description and history, until the reforms of the 19th century, written by Sir William Blackstone and edited by other learned lawyers of the period.

End of the tithing system

The system gradually ended with the Tithe Commutation Act 1836, whose long-lasting Tithe Commission replaced them with a commutation payment, land award and/or rentcharges to those paying the commutation payment and took the opportunity to map out (apportion) residual chancel repair liability where the rectory had been appropriated during the medieval period by a religious house or college. Its records giving a snapshot of land ownership in most parishes, the Tithe Files, are a socio-economic history resource. The rolled-up payment of several years' tithe would be divided between the tithe-owners as at the date of their extinction.

This commutation reduced problems to the ultimate payers by effectively folding tithes in with rents however, it could cause transitional money supply problems by raising the transaction demand for money. Later the decline of large landowners led tenants to become freeholders and again have to pay directly; this also led to renewed objections of principle by non-Anglicans. It also kept intact a system of chancel repair liability affecting the minority of parishes where the rectory had been lay-appropriated. The precise land affected in such places hinged on the content of documents such as the content of deeds of merger and apportionment maps.

Tithe redemption
United Kingdom legislation
Tithe Act 1936
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to extinguish tithe rentcharge and extraordinary tithe rentcharge, and to make provision with respect to the compensation of the owners thereof and rating authorities and to the liabilities of the owners of land charged therewith in respect of the extinguishment thereof; to reduce the rate at which tithe rentcharge is to be payable pending its extinguishment and to make provision with respect to the recovery of arrears thereof; to make provision for the redemption and extinguishment of corn rents and similar payments; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Citation26 Geo. 5. & 1 Edw. 8. c. 43
Dates
Royal assent31 July 1936
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Tithe Act 1936 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
United Kingdom legislation
Tithe Act 1951
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to provide, in lieu of the obligation imposed by the Tithe Act, 1936, to register all annuities charged thereby, for registration in selected districts, to amend and to repeal certain provisions of that Act, and to make further provision with respect to certain matters connected therewith.
Citation14 & 15 Geo. 6. c. 62
Dates
Royal assent1 August 1951
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Tithe Act 1951 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Rent charges in lieu of abolished English tithes paid by landowners were converted by a public outlay of money under the Tithe Act 1936 (26 Geo. 5. & 1 Edw. 8. c. 43) into annuities paid to the state through the Tithe Redemption Commission. Such payments were transferred in 1960 to the Board of Inland Revenue, and those remaining were terminated by the Finance Act 1977.

The Tithe Act 1951 (14 & 15 Geo. 6. c. 62) established the compulsory redemption of English tithes by landowners where the annual amounts payable were less than £1, so abolishing the bureaucracy and costs of collecting small sums of money.

Greece

There has never been a separate church tax or mandatory tithe on Greek citizens. The state pays the salaries of the clergy of the established Church of Greece, in return for use of real estate, mainly forestry, owned by the church. The remainder of church income comes from voluntary, tax-deductible donations from the faithful. These are handled by each diocese independently.

Ireland

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From the English Reformation in the 16th century, most Irish people chose to remain Roman Catholic and had by now to pay tithes valued at about 10 per cent of an area's agricultural produce, to maintain and fund the established state church, the Anglican Church of Ireland, to which only a small minority of the population converted. Irish Presbyterians and other minorities like the Quakers and Jews were in the same situation.

The collection of tithes was resisted in the period 1831–36, known as the Tithe War. Thereafter, tithes were reduced and added to rents with the passing of the Tithe Commutation Act in 1836. With the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the Irish Church Act 1869, tithes were abolished.

United States

While the federal government has never collected a church tax or mandatory tithe on its citizens, states collected a tithe into the early 19th century. The United States and its governmental subdivisions also exempt most churches from payment of income tax (under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and similar state statutes, which also allows donors to claim the donations as an income tax itemized deduction). Also, churches may be permitted exemption from other state and local taxes such as sales and property taxes, either in whole or in part. Clergy, such as ministers and members of religious orders (who have taken a vow of poverty) may be exempt from federal self-employment tax on income from ministerial services. Income from non-ministerial services are taxable and churches are required to withhold Federal and state income tax from this non-exempt income. They are also required to withhold employee's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes under FICA, and pay the employer's share for the non-exempt income.

Spain and Latin America

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Casa de los Diezmos, Canillas de Aceituno, Málaga, Spain
Main article: Diezmo

Both the tithe (diezmo), a levy of 10 per cent on all agricultural production, and "first fruits" (primicias), an additional harvest levy, were collected in Spain throughout the medieval and early modern periods for the support of local Catholic parishes.

The tithe crossed the Atlantic with the Spanish Empire; however, the Indians who made up the vast majority of the population in colonial Spanish America were exempted from paying tithes on native crops such as corn and potatoes that they raised for their own subsistence. After some debate, Indians in colonial Spanish America were forced to pay tithes on their production of European agricultural products, including wheat, silk, cows, pigs, and sheep.

The tithe was abolished in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, soon after independence from Spain (which started in 1810). The tithe was abolished in Argentina in 1826, and in Spain itself in 1841.

Governmental collection of Christian religious offerings and taxes

Main article: Church tax

Austria

In Austria a colloquially called church tax (Kirchensteuer, officially called Kirchenbeitrag, i. e. church contribution) has to be paid by members of the Catholic and Protestant Church. It is levied by the churches themselves and not by the government. The obligation to pay church tax can just be evaded by an official declaration to cease church membership. The tax is calculated on the basis of personal income. It amounts to about 1.1 per cent (Catholic church) and 1.5 per cent (Protestant church).

Denmark

All members of the Church of Denmark pay a church tax, which varies between municipalities. The tax is generally around 1% of the taxable income.

Finland

Members of state churches pay a church tax of between 1% and 2% of income, depending on the municipality. In addition, 2.55 per cent of corporate taxes are distributed to the state churches. Church taxes are integrated into the common national taxation system.

Germany

Germany levies a church tax, on all persons declaring themselves to be Christians, of roughly 8–9% of their income tax, which is effectively (very much depending on the social and financial situation) typically between 0.2% and 1.5% of the total income. The proceeds are shared among Catholic, Lutheran, and other Protestant Churches.

The church tax (Kirchensteuer) traces its roots back as far as the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803. It was reaffirmed in the Concordat of 1933 between Nazi Germany and the Catholic Church. Its legal basis is article 140 of the Grundgesetz (the German constitution) in connection with article 137 of the Weimar Constitution. These laws originally merely allowed the churches themselves to tax their members, but in Nazi Germany, collection of church taxes was transferred to the German government. As a result, both the German government and the employer are notified of the religious affiliation of every taxpayer. This system is still in effect. Mandatory disclosure of religious affiliation to government agencies or employers constituted a violation of the original European data protection directives but is now permitted after the German government obtained an exemption.

Church tax (Kirchensteuer) is compulsory in Germany for those confessing members of a particular religious group. It is deducted at the PAYE level. The duty to pay this tax theoretically starts on the day one is christened. Anyone who wants to stop paying it has to declare in writing, at their local court of law (Amtsgericht) or registry office, that they are leaving the Church. They are then crossed off the Church registers and can no longer receive the sacraments, confession and certain services; a Roman Catholic church may deny such a person a burial plot. In addition to the government, the taxpayer also must notify his employer of his religious affiliation (or lack thereof) in order to ensure proper tax withholding.

This opt-out is also used by members of "free churches" (e.g. Baptists) (non-affiliated to the scheme) to stop paying the church tax, from which the free churches do not benefit, in order to support their own church directly.

Italy

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Originally the Italian government of Benito Mussolini, under the Lateran treaties of 1929 with the Holy See, paid a monthly salary to Catholic clergymen. This salary was called the congrua. The eight per thousand law was created as a result of an agreement, in 1984, between the Italian Republic and the Holy See.

Under this law Italian taxpayers are able to vote how to partition the 0.8% ('eight per thousand') of the total income tax IRPEF levied by Italy among some specific religious confessions or, alternatively, to a social assistance program run by the Italian State. This declaration is made on the IRPEF form. This vote is not compulsory; the whole amount levied by the IRPEF tax is distributed in proportion to explicit declarations.

The last official statement of Italian Ministry of Finance made in respect of the year 2000 singles out seven beneficiaries: the Italian State, the Catholic Church, the Waldenses, the Jewish Communities, the Lutherans, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Assemblies of God in Italy.

The tax was divided up as follows:

  • 87.17% Catholic Church
  • 10.35% Italian State
  • 1.21% Waldenses
  • 0.46% Jewish Communities
  • 0.32% Lutherans
  • 0.28% Adventists of the Seventh Day
  • 0.21% Assemblies of God in Italy

In 2000, the Catholic Church raised almost a billion euros, while the Italian State received about €100 million.

Scotland

Main article: Teind

In Scotland teinds were the tenths of certain produce of the land appropriated to the maintenance of the Church and clergy. At the Reformation most of the Church property was acquired by the Crown, nobles and landowners. In 1567 the Privy Council of Scotland provided that a third of the revenues of lands should be applied to paying the clergy of the reformed Church of Scotland. In 1925 the system was recast by statute and provision was made for the standardisation of stipends at a fixed value in money. The Court of Session acted as the Teind Court. Teinds were finally abolished by section 56 of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

Switzerland

There is no official state church in Switzerland; however, all the 26 cantons (states) financially support at least one of the three traditional denominations — Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, or Protestant — with funds collected through taxation. Each canton has its own regulations regarding the relationship between church and state. In some cantons, the church tax (up to 2.3 per cent) is voluntary but in others an individual who chooses not to contribute to church tax may formally have to leave the church. In some cantons private companies are unable to avoid payment of the church tax.

Tithes and tithe law in England before reform

Excerpts from Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England:

Definition and classification and those liable to pay tithes

. . . tithes; which are defined to be the tenth part of the increase, yearly arising and renewing from the profits of lands, the stock upon lands, and the personal industry of the inhabitants:

the first species being usually called predial, as of corn, grass, hops, and wood;
the second mixed, as of wool, milk, pigs, &c, consisting of natural products, but nurtured and preserved in part by the care of man; and of these the tenth must be paid in gross:
the third personal, as of manual occupations, trades, fisheries, and the like; and of these only the tenth part of the clear gains and profits is due.

...

in general, tithes are to be paid for every thing that yields an annual increase, as corn, hay, fruit, cattle, poultry, and the like; but not for any thing that is of the substance of the earth, or is not of annual increase, as stone, lime, chalk, and the like; nor for creatures that are of a wild nature, or ferae naturae, as deer, hawks, &c, whose increase, so as to profit the owner, is not annual, but casual.

History

We cannot precisely ascertain the time when tithes were first introduced into this country. Possibly they were contemporary with the planting of Christianity among the Saxons, by Augustin the monk, about the end of the fifth century. But the first mention of them, which I have met with in any written English law, is in a constitutional decree, made in a synod held A.D. 786, wherein the payment of tithes in general is strongly enjoined. This canon, or decree, which at first bound not the laity, was effectually confirmed by two kingdoms of the heptarchy, in their parliamentary conventions of estates, respectively consisting of the kings of Mercia and Northumberland, the bishops, dukes, senators, and people. Which was a few years later than the time that Charlemagne established the payment of them in France, and made that famous division of them into four parts; one to maintain the edifice of the church, the second to support the poor, the third the bishop, and the fourth the parochial clergy.

Beneficiaries

And upon their first introduction (as hath formerly been observed), though every man was obliged to pay tithes in general, yet he might give them to what priests he pleased; which were called arbitrary consecrations of tithes: or he might pay them into the hands of the bishop, who distributed among his diocesan clergy the revenues of the church, which were then in common. But, when dioceses were divided into parishes, the tithes of each parish were allotted to its own particular minister; first by common consent, or the appointment of lords of manors, and afterwards by the written law of the land. ...It is now universally held, that tithes are due, of common right, to the parson of the parish, unless there be a special exemption. This parson of the parish, we have formerly seen, may be either the actual incumbent, or else the appropriator of the benefice: appropriations being a method of endowing monasteries, which seems to have been devised by the regular clergy, by way of substitution to arbitrary consecrations of tithes.

Exemptions

We observed that tithes are due to the parson of common right, unless by special exemption: let us therefore see, thirdly, who may be exempted from the payment of tithes ... either in part or totally, first, by a real composition; or secondly, by custom or prescription.

First, a real composition is when an agreement is made between the owner of the lands, and the parson or vicar, with the consent of the ordinary and the patron, that such lands shall for the future be discharged from payment of tithes, by reason of some land or other real recompence given to the parson, in lieu and satisfaction thereof.

Secondly, a discharge by custom or prescription, is where time out of mind such persons or such lands have been, either partially or totally, discharged from the payment of tithes. And this immemorial usage is binding upon all parties, as it is in its nature an evidence of universal consent and acquiescence; and with reason supposes a real composition to have been formerly made. This custom or prescription is either de modo decimandi, or de non-decimando.

A modus decimandi, commonly called by the simple name of a modus only, is where there is by custom a particular manner of tithing allowed, different from the general law of taking tithes in kind, which are the actual tenth part of the annual increase. This is sometimes a pecuniary compensation, as twopence an acre for the tithe of land : sometimes it is a compensation in work and labour, as that the parson shall have only the twelfth cock of hay, and not the tenth, in consideration of the owner's making it for him: sometimes, in lieu of a large quantity of crude or imperfect tithe, the parson shall have a less quantity, when arrived to greater maturity, as a couple of fowls in lieu of tithe eggs; and the like. Any means, in short, whereby the general law of tithing is altered, and a new method of taking them is introduced, is called a modus decimandi, or special manner of tithing.

A prescription de non-decimando is a claim to be entirely discharged of tithes, and to pay no compensation in lieu of them. Thus the king by his prerogative is discharged from all tithes. So a vicar shall pay no tithes to the rector, nor the rector to the vicar, for ecclesia decimas non-folvit ecclesiae. But these personal to both the king and the clergy; for their tenant or lessee shall pay tithes of the same land, though in their own occupation it is not tithable. And, generally speaking, it is an established rule, that in lay hands, modus de non-decimando non-valet. But spiritual persons or corporations, as monasteries, abbots, bishops, and the like, were always capable of having their lands totally discharged of tithes, by various ways: as

  1. By real composition :
  2. By the pope's bull of exemption :
  3. By unity of possession; as when the rectory of a parish, and lands in the same parish, both belonged to a religious house, those lands were discharged of tithes by this unity of possession :
  4. By prescription; having never been liable to tithes, by being always in spiritual hands :
  5. By virtue of their order; as the knights templars, cistercians, and others, whose lands were privileged by the pope with a discharge of tithes. Though, upon the dissolution of abbeys by Henry VIII, most of these exemptions from tithes would have fallen with them, and the lands become tithable again; had they not been supported and upheld by the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1539 (31 Hen. 8. c. 13) which enacted, that all persons who should come to the possession of the lands of any abbey then dissolved, should hold them free and discharged of tithes, in as large and ample a manner as the abbeys themselves formerly held them.

And from this original have sprung all the lands, which, being in lay hands, do at present claim to be tithe-free: for, if a man can shew his lands to have been such abbey lands, and also immemorially discharged of tithes by any of the means before-mentioned, this is now a good prescription de non-decimando. But he must shew both these requisites; for abbey lands, without a special ground of discharge, are not discharged of course; neither will any prescription de non-decimando avail in total discharge of tithes, unless it relates to such abbeylands.

Islam

Main article: Zakāt

Zakāt (Arabic: زكاة [zækæːh]) or "alms giving", one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a small percentage of one's assets to charity. It serves principally as the welfare contribution to poor and deprived Muslims, although others may have a rightful share. It is the duty of an Islamic state not just to collect zakat but to distribute it fairly as well.

Zakat is payable on three kinds of assets: wealth, production, and animals. The more well-known zakat on wealth is 2.5 per cent of accumulated wealth, beyond one's personal needs. Production (agricultural, industrial, renting, etc.), is subject to a 10 per cent or 5 per cent zakat (also known as Ushur (عُشر), or "one-tenth"), using the rule that if both labor and capital are involved, 5% rate is applied, if only one of the two are used for production, then the rate is 10 per cent. For any earnings that require neither labor nor capital, like finding underground treasure, the rate is 20 per cent. The rules for zakat on animal holdings are specified by the type of animal group and tend to be fairly detailed.

Muslims fulfill this religious obligation by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth. Zakat has been paired with such a high sense of righteousness that it is often placed on the same level of importance as performing the five-daily repetitive ritualised prayer (salat). Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness and also safeguarding future business. In addition, Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich. Because it holds such a high level of importance the "punishment" for not paying when able is very severe. In the 2nd edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam it states, "...the prayers of those who do not pay zakat will not be accepted". This is because without Zakat a tremendous hardship is placed on the poor which otherwise would not be there. Besides the fear of their prayers not getting heard, those who are able should be practicing this third pillar of Islam because the Quran states that this is what believers should do.

Non-Muslims (able-bodied adult males of military age) living in an Islamic state are required to pay Jizya, this exempts them from military service and they do not pay Zakat.

Ismaili Muslims pay tithes to their spiritual leader the Aga Khan, known by the Gujarati language term dasond, which in turn refers to one-eighth of the earned income of the community member.

Sikhism

Main article: Daswandh

Daswandh (Punjabi: ਦਸਵੰਧ), sometimes spelled Dasvandh, is the one tenth part (or 10 per cent) of one's income that should be donated in the name of the God, according to Sikh principles.

Non-religious

Outside religion, there are also organizations that encourage secular tithing.

Giving What We Can promotes a public commitment to donate at least 10% of one's income to the most effective charities.

See also

The Village Lawyer or The Tax Collector's Office by Pieter Brueghel the Younger

Notes

  1. David F. Burg (2004). A World History of Tax Rebellions. Taylor & Francis. p. viii. ISBN 9780203500897.
  2. ^ Smith, Christian; Emerson, Michael O; Snell, Patricia (29 September 2008). Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money. Oxford University Press. pp. 215–227. ISBN 9780199714117.
  3. Greg L. Bahnsen; Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.; Douglas J. Moo; Wayne G. Strickland; Willem A. VanGemeren (21 September 2010). Five Views on Law and Gospel. Zondervan. p. 354.
  4. Stanley E. Porter; Cynthia Long Westfall (January 2011). Empire in the New Testament. Wipf and Stock. p. 116.
  5. ^ Black, E. W. (1960). The Storehouse Plan. West Asheville, North Carolina: Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection.
  6. "Recognizing the importance of storehouse tithing". Church of the Nazarene. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. D. L. Baker, Tight fists or open hands?: wealth and poverty in Old Testament law (2009) p. 239. "This was provided by means of a tithe of agricultural produce. a. Tithes in the Ancient Near East None of the extant laws deal with tithing, though other documents show that it was a widespread practice in the ancient Near East."
  8. WW Hallo, Origins: The Ancient Near Eastern Background of Some Modern Western Institutions (Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East VI; Leiden/New York/Köln)
  9. Menahem Herman Tithe as gift: the institution in the Pentateuch and in light of ... 1992 p. 127 "Hallo recognizes comparisons for Israel with its ancient Near Eastern environment. However, in the instance of the tithe, comparisons with other ancient Near Eastern evidence has already been shown to be ambiguous, given the lack of ..."
  10. Bertil Albrektson, Remembering all the way: a collection of Old Testament studies (1981) p. 116. "The Tithes in the Old Testament." H. Jagersma Brussels I. Introduction "In the Old Testament as well as in other Ancient Near Eastern literature, we find only scant evidence for the practice of tithing and the collection of tithes."
  11. Vol. 4 "E" p. 369 "The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago" (PDF). 1958. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  12. Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 20.14.1–20.14.2 (see in C. H. Oldfather translation: )
  13. ^ Deuteronomy 14:23
  14. Numbers 18:21–28
  15. Deuteronomy 14:24–26
  16. Deuteronomy 14:28
  17. ^ James D. Quiggle (1 August 2009). Why Christians Should Not Tithe: A History of Tithing and a Biblical Paradigm for Christian Giving. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 52–3. ISBN 978-1-60608-926-2.
  18. Dallas Theological Seminary (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. David C Cook. pp. 695–. ISBN 978-0-88207-813-7.
  19. Malachi 3:6–12
  20. Norman Solomon, Historical Dictionary of Judaism, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2015, p. 459
  21. Sara E. Karesh, Mitchell M. Hurvitz, Encyclopedia of Judaism, Infobase Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 521
  22. See Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "MA'ASEROT". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
  23. Maimonides. "Mishneh Torah, Sefer Korbanot: Bechorot, Perek 6, Halacha 2". Chabad.org.
  24. Babbs, Arthur Vergil (1912). The Law of the Tithe as Set Forth in the Old Testament. Fleming H. Revell Company. p. 140. Tithes were recommended by the Second Council of Tours, AD 567; and excommunication was added to the command to observe the tithing law, by the Third Council of Mâcon, which met in 585.
  25. Rogers, Mark (2009). "Passing the Plate". Christianity Today. Retrieved 20 April 2018. After America ended state support of churches in the early 19th century, the collection of "tithes and offerings" became a standard feature of Sunday morning worship.
  26. Bob Smietana, Churchgoers Say They Tithe, But Not Always to the Church, lifewayresearch.com, USA, 10 May 2018
  27. "On Tithing, Stewardship, And The Cooperative Program". www.sbc.net/. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  28. "The Baptist Faith and Message". Sbc.net. XIII. Stewardship.
  29. Schreiner, Thomas R. (6 September 2017). "Is tithing required today?". Southern Equip. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  30. "A TREATISE of the Faith and Practices of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, Inc" (PDF). Nafwb.org. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  31. Croly, David O. (1834). An Essay Religious and Political on Ecclesiastical Finance, as regards the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, etc. John Bolster. p. 72. The Council of Trent – the last general Council – declares that "tithes are due to God or to religion, and that it is sacrilegious to withold them." And one of the six precepts of the Church commands the faithful "to pay tithes to their pastors."
  32. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church #2043". Vatican.ca. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  33. Grondin, Charles. "What Did Trent Mean By "Tithes"?". Catholic.com.
  34. "Code of Canon Law: Table of Contents". Vatican.va. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  35. ^ The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference). Salem: Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. 2014. pp. 133–166.
  36. "The Tithing Tradition" (PDF). The Church of the Nazarene. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  37. Сильвестрова, Е. В. (24 March 2012). "ДЕСЯТИНА" [Tithe]. In Gundyayev, Vladimir Mikhailovich (ed.). Православная энциклопедия (in Russian). Vol. 14 (Electronic version ed.). Церковно-научный центр «Православная Энциклопедия». pp. 450–452. Retrieved 23 January 2015. На Востоке Д не получила такого распространения, как на Западе. Известна, в частности, конституция императоров Льва и Антемия, в которой священнослужителям запрещалось принуждать верующих к выплатам в пользу Церкви под угрозой различных прещений. Хотя в конституции не употребляется термин decima, речь идет о начатках и, по всей видимости, о выплатах, аналогичных Д., к-рые, по мнению императоров, верующие должны совершать добровольно, без всякого принуждения .
  38. ^ "Presbyterian Mission Agency Stewardship". Presbyterian Mission Agency. 1997. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  39. "Lesson 44: Malachi Teaches about Tithes and Offerings", Primary 6: Old Testament, LDS Church, 1996, pp. 196–201, archived from the original on 24 February 2015
  40. "Gospel Topics – What the Church Teaches about Tithing". lds.org. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015.
  41. Russell M. Nelson. "Combatting Spiritual Drift – Our Global Pandemic". lds.org.
  42. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. "FAQ – Mormon.org". mormon.org.
  43. "Middlesex: London City without the Walls: St Botolph without Aldgate, parish". The National Archives Collection IR 18/5462.
  44. Braithwaite, William C.; Cadbury, Henry J. (1970). The Beginnings of Quakerism (2nd ed.). York, England: William Sessions Ltd. p. 136.
  45. Braithwaite, William C.; Cadbury, Henry J. (1970). The Beginnings of Quakerism (2nd ed.). York, England: William Sessions Ltd. p. 315.
  46. Dunn, Richard; Dunn, Mary Maples (1982). The Papers of William Penn (1st ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-8122-7852-6.
  47. .Alan Wharham, "Tithes in Country Life," History Today (June 1972), Vol. 22 Issue 6, pp 426-433.
  48. ^ How to look for records of Tithes – The History of Tithes The National Archives
  49. One account of the objections in the 1920s and 1930s appears in the book The Tithe War by Doreen Wallace (London: Gollancz, 1934).
  50. Publication 517, Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers (2015), Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury. Retrieved 23 September 2016
  51. "Chapter 7 – The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Denmark". Folketinget. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  52. "Kirkeskat" (in Danish). April 2020.
  53. "Verot ja muut tulot". EVL.fi (in Finnish). Suomen evankelisluterilainen kirkko. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  54. ^ "Excommunication for German Catholics who refuse church tax". The Times. 21 September 2012.
  55. "BBC News German Catholics lose church rights for unpaid tax 2012-09-24". BBC News. 24 September 2012.
  56. Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act 1925, Part I.
  57. from praedium, a farm
  58. ^ Blackstone, William (1766). Commentaries on the Laws of England vol II. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  59. The book Meezan, by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, published by Al-Mawrid, 2002, Lahore, Pakistan
  60. ^ Zysow, A. Zakāt (2009), P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.), Brill. Available from Brill Online (subscription).
  61. Robinson, Neal. Islam; A Concise Introduction. Richmond; Curzon Press. 1999
  62. Chapter 2 verse 155, "be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss on goods, lives, and fruits. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere."
  63. "Daswandh". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  64. "Daswandh – Gateway to Sikhism". www.allaboutsikhs.com. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  65. "We Should Tithe More! (and where I'm personally giving 20% of my income)". medium.com. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2021.

References

  • Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S. Matthew, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 26. Garden City, New York, 1971.
  • The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Vol. 4 "E." Chicago, 1958.
  • Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Gospel According to Luke, X-XXIV, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 28A. New York, 1985.
  • Grena, G.M. (2004). LMLK—A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1. Redondo Beach, California: 4000 Years of Writing History. ISBN 0-9748786-0-X.
  • Speiser, E. A. Genesis, The Anchor Bible, Vol.1. Garden City, New York, 1964.
  • Kelly, Russell Earl, "Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian's Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine," IUniverse, 2001.
  • Matthew E. Narramore, "Tithing: Low-Realm, Obsolete & Defunct" – April 2004 – (ISBN 0-9745587-02)
  • Croteau, David A. "You Mean I Don't Have to Tithe?: A Deconstruction of Tithing and a Reconstruction of Post-Tithe Giving" (McMaster Theological Studies)

Further reading

External links

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