What is your opinion on churches asking for an offering from their members?

They do need some way to pay the bills and other expenses like new equipment. Now, I've been to churches that go so far as to guilt trip their members into giving. That's just taking it too far.

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canusernamebemyusername · M

I can understand churches needing to pay rent, utilities, etc... But there are a few problems.

One: A religion does not need a building or even a leader to function.

Second: Churches should already be able to stay afloat just on tax exemption alone. Yet they not only have more than enough to pay their bills, they ask for more on top of that. And they have done that throughout history. Making churches the most profitable business in history other than drug cartels.

Third: When they collect for "charity" that money almost always goes directly into their own pockets. With some churches themselves reporting that over three quarters of charity money goes into administration and overhead.

So for most churches, it's really just a way to scam people and pay church leaders who have no real skills other than thievery.