GENEROUS CONGREGATIONS, GENEROUS GIVERS - CONGREGATIONAL CONTEXTS THAT STIMULATE INDIVIDUAL GIVING

Using a very large but little-analyzed study of United Church of Christ (UCC) congregations and attenders conducted during the mid-1970s, we find that the amount of money attenders give to their congregations is strongly related to individual background characteristics such as disposable income, level of church participation, and desire for meaning in life. More importantly we find that people also give more when they attend certain kinds of UCC churches, more than one would expect given their individual background characteristics. Consistent with the predictions of free rider theory, individuals give more generously to small congregations but less generously to congregations where other attenders have high incomes and where the congregation receives substantial income from rents and endowments. Contrary to some analyses, we find that individual giving does not increase in response to membership declines.