Charitable givings are going down.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that. Just read the newspapers. Or talk to people. But finally, it has made it’s way to the top level.

According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, a publication that studies these things, charitable giving has dropped to levels not seen in 80 years. You have to go back to the Great Depression of the 1930s to find a time when people gave as little to charity as they do today.

In terms of numbers, the percentage of a church member’s i ncome given to the church dropped to 2.3% in 2011 ( the latest year for which numbers are available), down from 2.4% in 2010, according to the Yearbook.

By comparison, i n 1968, church members gave an average of 3.1% of their income.

I know a lot of churches are struggling financially. In my own denomination, the United Church of Canada, congregations are closing or amalgamating across the country. Church buildings are being sold and repurposed into concert halls, condos or just being torn down.

We have seen concrete evidence of that right here i n Owen Sound. The former Knox United Church has been repurposed into a community centre.

Our Salvation Army in GreyBruce is struggling to receive donations for the local food bank.

I notice that one of our local churches, who operate a residential hostel, says it will (once again) have to close its doors unless it receives an infusion of cash from local churches, the community or the government.

But digging a little deeper into the report on giving, I have found some really interesting trends.

First, charitable giving declined, no matter what church was analyzed. Protestant, Roman Catholic, conservative, liberal, theological orientation made no difference.