Essay Example on Religious Donations: Older Generations Lead, Young Follow

Introduction

Individuals who strongly believe in religion have more chances of making charitable donations. Although there is a reduction of persons who give to a religious congregation, those who are donating are offering at stead rates. Contrary to the popular beliefs, young generations are emulating older individual's attitude of offering to religious matters. This action needs to encourage religious leaders, especially Christian, to involve believers in providing not only to the church but also in entire aspects that's needs financial support. According to David P.King, faith is necessary when it comes to the attitude of giving (King, 2016). Ultimately, religious beliefs and practices is a driving force towards charitable contributions ranging from denominations, houses of worship, ethical media, and missionary societies.

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Article Summary

The article introduces the desire of religious giving and service to God. The value of the offering is deeply rooted in traditions, texts, and practices of different faiths. In Hebrew Scriptures in Judaism, giving is considered as a moral obligation and a commandment that every Jewish need to follow. The desire to commit justice is prioritized to help the vulnerable or needy. According to giving in the United States, the annual philanthropy report showed that 73% of individuals who give are religious believers or identified with faith-based organizations (King, 2016). Also, the Christians traditions view giving as a primary religious practice. Believers look at the tithing and Hebrew bible, which engages offering one-tenth of a person's income according to God's commandment. In the New Testament, Christ emphasizes the attitude of giving beyond and also tithe. For example, in the Gospel of Mathew, Jesus Christ told the wealthy young leader to sell his possessions (King, 2019). Today, although few people practice tithing, the majority of Christians understand the importance of offering as the central part of their faith. In Muslim, giving falls under five pillars of Islam. (Zakat) Implying to grow in purity is a yearly payment of almost 2.5% of one's assets, which is considered as a minimum obligation according to their religious offering (King, 2019). Apart from Zakat, various Muslims makes additional gifts to show justices. Hence, in Muslim, charitable giving is not for the wealthy since those who lack money, even the prophet Muhammad address them to keep smiling to be a gift or charity to another.

Purpose of Author's Work

In the article, cultural and socioeconomic factors affect how young generations may give and how they are cultivated and conditioned to be givers. I would recommend that religious leaders and institutions should expand their imaginations on how they talk about offering. Holy offering works when we are connected with the faith society. For example, attending worships, visiting the poor and sick, service, volunteering, and spiritual formation as well as involving the community in giving. Besides, the article shows that giving is fulfilling God's commandment because Jesus Christ talked about tilting, which is mandatory. Those who give are more connected to God since they show compassion, justice, and religious faith. In general, factors such as income, wealth, marital status, and education are the predictors of giving although spiritual practice and belief are the best.

Author's Background

David P. King is a director (Karen Lake Buttrey) of Lake Institute on Giving and Faith in the school of Philanthropy at IUPUI in Indiana University. He is also an assistant professor of Philanthropy. David P.King has written many articles, such as the role of religious institutions and communities to captivate the culture of compassion or generosity. Through his theological knowledge, he writes, "Why faith leads to philanthropy." In this article, he has incorporated various statistical data from previous researches to strength his material; for example, the report of Philanthropy in the USA, 2016 (King, 2016). He has also related the article with the religious written materials to improve his knowledge by incorporating biblical books like Hebrews scripture, and the Gospel of Mathew.

Critical Evaluation of the Article

The article impacts people to show charity to the poor since the donors give out of faith and desire to serve. For instance, the global day of "Giving Tuesday" last year raised more than US$177 million through online platform equivalence to about 31% (King, 2019). The material talks about the need for becoming a religious believer because those who offer are fulfilling God's commandment. For example, the religious institutions like Salvation Army, National Christian Foundation, and, Catholic Charities are top charities organization in America. Hence, spiritual value is the motivation for giving since the statistics show that almost 55% of people who give in America are driven by Christian faith.

However, the material is only focusing on religious giving for those who have faith and are believers, yet there are some non-believers organizations and people who offer charity giving. The article lacks clear evidence or statistical data to prove the attitude of non-believers toward giving. In Muslim, people who lack offering should keep smiling as a gift and charity to another. While the material has not talked about Christians who had the attitude of giving but lack what to offer. So I think more information is needed about the topic of "why faith leads to philanthropy."

Conclusion

David P. King article "why faith leads to philanthropy" plays a significant role in giving among the religious people. Although some factors such as income, education, wealth, and marital status influence charity giving, the religious faith and practices should drive one in the offering. For instance, the Gospel of Mathew talks to people the importance of tithing; hence offering is the fulfillment of God's commandment. Therefore, faith helps in answering questions regarding work, justice, vocation, and the economy.

References

King, D. P. (2016). Millennials, Faith and Philanthropy: Who Will be Transformed?. Bridge/Work, 1(1), 2.

King, D. (2019). Why Faith Leads to Philanthropy. Retrieved 15 August 2019, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/12/why-faith-leads-to-philanthropy/