Summers just posted a diary pointing out false equivalence in FOX's coverage of charitable donations by the Obama and Romney families. Not a surprise.
Several news sources, following the release of Romney's tax returns from the last two years, point to his generous, open-handed nature. As Business Week points out, Romney and the Mrs. donated over $4.1 million during the period to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormon Church.
That's a lot of charity. If it were charity.
If the number looks familiar, add a zero. Yup, the amount donated to the Church is exactly 10% of the Romney's income for the two years reported.
Ten percent to a church. Sounds familiar. There's a word for it, I think...
Oh, yeah: "tithe."
Tithing, the dedication of 10% of one's earnings to a church, is not unique to the LDS, but it's taken damn seriously there. As in "damned if you don't."
Churches that call for tithing take justification from the Book of Proverbs, third chapter, ninth verse:
Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase
"First fruits" is almost universally interpreted as the first 10% of gain. As in, a tenth off the top of gross. This is indeed how the LDS Church interprets the scripture, and tithes of members are the Church's primary source of income, as Gordon B. Hinckley, past president of the Church explains on the Church's website:
“Our major source of revenue is the ancient law of the tithe. Our people are expected to pay 10 percent of their income to move forward the work of the Church. The remarkable and wonderful thing is that they do it. Tithing is not so much a matter of dollars as it is a matter of faith. It becomes a privilege and an opportunity, not a burden."
However gently Church members and leaders broach the subject, tithing is not voluntary, nor is the amount optional. As a contributor to the "Mormon Curtain" site for ex-members writes:
Tithing always comes first in Mormonism. Any member who is struggling in any way (job loss, broken down car, depression, etc) will always be counseled to pay tithing in order to receive blessings. All blessings, privileges and callings in the LDS Church are centered around tithing. Without paying a full tithe, a member cannot be a “member in good standing”.
emphasis added
Tithing is a requirement of belonging to the Church, which teaches that the surrender of 10% of gross income is a commandment of the Lord. Failing to do so is a grievous sin which imperils not only a member's standing in the Church, but the fate of his soul.
I do not have a beef with Mormons or other theists. Religious belief, in the words of Jefferson, "neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." That I do not share such beliefs is something of which I make no secret, nor crusade.
Many people, on the other hand, do take their beliefs seriously, and I am told Willard Mitt Romney is one. As a lifelong member of his Church, he presumably shares the belief that cutting loose 10% of his yearly take to the Church is more than a nice gesture. It is indeed the commandment of God and a requirement for avoiding eternal damnation.
That, as I say, is his business. I hope it brings him joy in his heart and peace in his soul.
It just strikes me as a little odd that such a religious duty is seen in the same light as my donations to the food bank or Heifer International, which I make, not for my own salvation, but simply because I can and wouldn't like my own company as much if I didn't.
That tithes to churches are allowed as tax deductions does not sit well at all with me, though that is the subject of another diary.