Do you believe in tithing? Do you tithe for anything other than church? Do you believe any money you tithe comes back to you? Should you be allowed to be a church member if you don't tithe?

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Baha'is have two general forms of giving to the authorities of the religion for their use - generally they are referred to as Funds and the Right of God( Huququllah, in translation.) The first is more common but the second is of a higher order of commitment. In either case giving is entirely voluntary. The first one, it's just a matter of giving a donation. In the second one, one must apply and convince to some degree that the gift can be accepted (one must review one's economics with certain guidelines and if one "has enough" above one's means, whatever that means to ourselves, then one can give and offer the contribution in joyful radiance, or it may not be accepted. In either case only Baha'is are allowed to give - but giving in any form is always always always voluntary. I know some church situations are rather cohercive - Baha'is are studiously not.

I know many Baha'is also contribute to various institutions - Southern Poverty Law Center, Tahireh Law Center, Amnesty International, ACLU, Doctors without Borders, Humane Society.... are among the institutions I've known Baha'is to contribute to. Some money I know is destributed back to assist those known to be in some kind of systematic endangerment of poverty.

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They that believe in vain thoughts forsake their own mercy.

There was a letter written by Abdul-Baha on the subject of economics to a Mrs. Parsons that concerns tithing in part:

"In every village a council of wise men of the village should be established and the whole village should be placed under its jurisdiction. In addition, a public treasury should be established with its own administrator....

The first means of income is the tithe, which must be administered as follows: If a person's average income is $500 and his necessary expenses amount to the same sum, no tithe will be collected from him. If another person has an income of $1,000 and his necessary expenses amount to $500, he will be able to pay the tithe because he will have more than he needs. If he pays the tithe there will be no decline in his standard of living. Another has an income of $5,000 and his expenses are only $1,000, so he will have to pay one and one-half times the tithe because he has an even greater amount than he needs. Another has an income of $10,000 and his necessary expenses amount to $1,000; therefore he will have to pay two times the tithe because his surplus is larger. Another person has an income of $100,000 and expenses amounting to $4,000 or $5,000; he will have to pay one-fourth of his income. Another has an income of $200 but the expenses he requires to live at subsistence level amount to $500. He spares no pains in working and laboring for his livelihood but the fruit of his labor is inadequate. He must be helped from the treasury so that he may not be in want and may live in comfort."

So this applies in say a village or jurisdiction that is largely Baha'i but these regulations have not been implemented as yet as far as I know..but someday they will be.

A rough approximation of this scheme would be what is called negative income tax...If your income falls below yuor legitimate expenses you're ergo entitled to a supplement and this would be supported by those whose income exceeds their needs, thus the extremes of wealth and poverty are avoided.

- Art

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

Tithing in Sweden occurs, I think, in some fringe sects. When I was a Christian, the church tax collected by the govt. sufficed for continuing membership. Now that I left the Church of Sweden, there's only a smallish "funeral due" that I pay. Like I cared. But I suppose it will make things easier for surviving relatives.

My UU church accepts voluntary offerings, and pledges (a la national public radio). Voting membership is contingent on a pledge of at least enough to cover the congregations' denominational dues per pledge unit (usually family or individual). In our case, that's roughly $125/year.. about $2.50/week. This can be waived in cases where the member cannot afford it.

I currently pledge approximately .5% of my gross income, well over membership level, but not quite as much as I feel the need to do.

My wife, on the other hand, feels that she must begin "tithing" - 10% of her income at the Church of God where she attends.

I'm uncomfortable with that because a) it is more than we can afford, b) it is taught to her that to do otherwise would be sinful. I haven't asked her whether she plans on tithing from her gross or net income... I guess I will eventually... Do you think I should ask her if I can do the same? That would really put us under financially... but she might better see why I feel uncomfortable with her tithing...

What do you all think?

Well donations are fine but I don't see why they should be a % of income.

i believe strongly in tithing but that being said i don't tithe as much as i should...
but you can tithe to more than just your religious institution, giving to charities or the poor is tithing too.

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I don't personally believe in tithing. Shamanic disciplines dictate that people pay what they can, and what it is worth to them, which is pretty reasonable. I believe that Christian priciples are this way as well. Requiring tithing, to me, is somewhat like saying that if you don't set aside a certain amount of your income to the church, you cannot get "into the kingdom of heaven", or whatever a particular religion uses as the purpose of the religion. I certainly don't think that this is a Christian principle. Now, if people want to give what they can, that is perfectly okay and commendable. What I object to is requiring it. (I definitely do not.)