EVIL Internet Proclaims Tithing = $7B/year (link)

[_The Mighty Builder]

http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/20 ... cates?lite

[_ludwigm]

http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/13/13262285-mormon-church-earns-7-billion-a-year-from-tithing-analysis-indicates?lite

From the article:

Those temples take a lot of money to operate, Purdy points out, and many of the grand church buildings are short on congregants, says David Stewart, a physician who leads the research group Cumorah.

"I have been to beautiful church buildings in Hungary and Ukraine, and Latvia and other places, and there are these huge buildings and 35 people there, and you say, how can this work financially? The math - it just doesn't work."

As of Hungary, I would some things correct, some things agree.
(check http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target=main&wid=99 - the data about H.)

There is one ward (Kispest of Budapest - the capital ) I know forward, backward and round.
There are 400 +some members on the lists. There are 85 +- 2 chairs in the chapel. On average sundays, there are 60-70 member. At Christmas, Easter, baptism, marriage, or any chance of agape - the word is not used in moism - (read as eating and drinking event) I've counted 90-100.
During vacation, we typically visit the local meetinghouse (ward? branch?).
I've remember three of them: Győr, Debrecen, Veszprém.
Membership around 300, chairs around 60, filled nearly full.

So, the "35" seems to be underestimated.
The cumorah.com put the retention rate to 28%. It is around 20%, seems to be constant.

"...how can this work financially? The math - it just doesn't work..."
True. At Kispest (the ward I really know) their incoming is barely enough to pay the communal costs - water, electricity.

You must not forget: it is not the blame of the membership. The average incoming is 1/6 - 1/8 of West Europe.
Don't get it as whining, only set the case:
- My pension (was lieutant colonel, 39 years service time, department's deputy leader at Military college, special engineer, licensed teacher, docent=associate professor) 690 USD /month
- My wife's pension is 430 USD (assistant, teacher in primary, highschool, college, same time, preference after four children)

I think the main data in the article is correct. 6 of the 7 billion (milliard... damn!) is from US. Anyway, this is an american church, which has a lot of (half of) walk-on. (procession man? showgirl? supernumerary?) We, in Hungary, use the word "vatta" (bombast/cotton/wad).

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If I had the [ img ] feature, here may be found an image to support my comment.

This.