(October 22, 2016 at 5:22 pm)Nihilist Virus Wrote: Assume 1/3 of Catholics do not attend church; assume 1/3 of Catholics attend church only on special occasions, such as Easter; assume 1/3 of Catholics attend church regularly. Therefore, 400 million Catholics regularly attend church.
Assume that for every 5 Catholics, there is 1 father, 1 mother, and 3 children. Therefore there are (400 million)/5=80 million regular attendees who have the capacity to donate. Assume that of the regular attendees who are able to donate, 1/3 donate nothing, 1/3 donate 1% regularly, and 1/3 donate 10% regularly. Assume that the average Catholic household earns $9K after taxes annually (Google "average income worldwide" to see average income is $10K, so I put it at $9K after taxes).
This puts a low estimate of the Catholic Church's tax-free annual income at (80 million)(1/3)(0.01)($9K)+ (80 million)(1/3)(0.1)($9K)=$26.4 billion. Is the Catholic Church providing $26.4 billion worth of services per year?
Item 1: ratio of declared Christians to church-goers = 9:1. ref; numerous studies.
So you're looking at a pool of ~ 100,000,000 regulars.
I doubt if many donate as much as 10% of income, tithing is a characteristically protestant thing, typically the weekly collection plate is an assortment of small change in the bottom of pockets, a few foreign coins and a couple of buttons. You'll only see bank notes on special occasions.
The real money spinners are hatches, matches and dispatches so you'd have to look at hire of a church for said functions.
There is also the various education services funded by governments that appear on the Dr side of the balance sheet.
Quote:I don't understand why you'd come to a discussion forum, and then proceed to reap from visibility any voice that disagrees with you. If you're going to do that, why not just sit in front of a mirror and pat yourself on the back continuously?-Esquilax
Evolution - Adapt or be eaten.
