The current recession is affecting all Americans, and religious organizations are no exception. Michael Paulson writes in the Boston Globe about how churches and synagogues are coping with these economically hard times, and the worries they have for the future:
The next few weeks, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, will be a key indicator of how dramatically the nation’s financial crisis will affect religious organizations. Contributions to date have been stable or up for many denominations and congregations, but this period is the high season for American philanthropy, in part because people are motivated by the spirit of Christmas to be charitable, and in part because people are try ing to amass tax deductions as the year closes.
…For religious organizations, the nation’s economic woes hit twice. The faith groups rely for income on sources vulnerable to a downturn—contributions from individuals, income from investments, and, in the case of faith-based social service organizations, funding from government. But the faith groups also aspire to assist the hungry and homeless and unemployed, meaning that during a recession their expenses go up even as their revenue may go down.
Read the full article here.